William Clarke
Catcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1893-1905)
William Clarke was a catcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1893 to 1905 for 4 teams, including the Baltimore Orioles, a span of 13 seasons. In 950 career games, he hit .256 with 858 hits, 20 home runs, and 429 RBI.
- AVG (Batting Average):
- Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
- HR (Home Runs):
- Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
- RBI (Runs Batted In):
- Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
- OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
- On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.
Data updated
- Position
- Catcher
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'11" / 170 lb
- Died
- 7/29/1959 in Princeton, NJ, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1893-05-01
- Last Game
- 1905-10-07
Full name: William Jones Clarke
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 950 | 3,346 | 394 | 858 | 110 | 32 | 20 | 429 | 54 | 176 | 218 | .256 | .310 | .326 | .637 | -4,475 |
Career AVG .256 vs. league average .274 across their career seasons — 6.4% below league average.
Career OBP .310 vs. league average .335 across their career seasons — 7.4% below league average.
Career SLG .326 vs. league average .362 across their career seasons — 9.9% below league average.
Career OPS .637 vs. league average .697 across their career seasons — 8.7% below league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1893 | BLN | NL | 49 | 183 | 23 | 32 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 24 | 2 | 19 | 14 | .175 | .279 (-37%) | .356 (-23%) | .379 (-39%) | .735 (-32%) | -930.5 |
| 1894 | BLN | NL | 28 | 100 | 18 | 24 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 2 | 16 | 14 | .240 | .309 (-22%) | .379 (-5%) | .435 (-20%) | .814 (-13%) | -197.2 |
| 1895 | BLN | NL | 67 | 241 | 38 | 70 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 35 | 8 | 13 | 18 | .290 | .296 (-2%) | .361 (-3%) | .399 (-6%) | .761 (-4%) | -178.9 |
| 1896 | BLN | NL | 80 | 300 | 48 | 89 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 71 | 7 | 14 | 12 | .297 | .290 (+2%) | .354 (-3%) | .387 (+6%) | .741 (+2%) | 40.6 |
| 1897 | BLN | NL | 64 | 241 | 32 | 65 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 38 | 5 | 9 | 12 | .270 | .291 (-8%) | .354 (-10%) | .387 (-17%) | .741 (-14%) | -516.5 |
| 1898 | BLN | NL | 82 | 285 | 26 | 69 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 27 | 2 | 4 | 14 | .242 | .270 (-11%) | .333 (-13%) | .347 (-21%) | .680 (-17%) | -730.4 |
| 1899 | BSN | NL | 60 | 223 | 25 | 50 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 32 | 2 | 10 | 17 | .224 | .282 (-21%) | .343 (-21%) | .366 (-23%) | .710 (-22%) | -793.2 |
| 1900 | BSN | NL | 81 | 270 | 35 | 85 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 30 | 0 | 9 | 16 | .315 | .279 (+13%) | .338 (+2%) | .366 (-2%) | .705 (avg) | -18.3 |
| 1901 | WS1 | AL | 110 | 422 | 58 | 118 | 15 | 5 | 3 | 54 | 7 | 23 | 32 | .280 | .271 (+3%) | .326 (+2%) | .359 (avg) | .686 (+1%) | 146.0 |
| 1902 | WS1 | AL | 87 | 291 | 31 | 78 | 15 | 0 | 6 | 40 | 1 | 23 | 15 | .268 | .266 (avg) | .321 (+3%) | .343 (+11%) | .665 (+7%) | 371.6 |
| 1903 | WS1 | AL | 126 | 465 | 35 | 111 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 38 | 12 | 15 | 28 | .239 | .261 (-9%) | .316 (-14%) | .345 (-11%) | .662 (-12%) | -900.0 |
| 1904 | WS1 | AL | 85 | 275 | 23 | 58 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 5 | 17 | 21 | .211 | .246 (-15%) | .300 (-10%) | .321 (-23%) | .622 (-17%) | -605.4 |
| 1905 | NY1 | NL | 31 | 50 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | .180 | .248 (-27%) | .307 (-22%) | .322 (-26%) | .629 (-24%) | -163.0 |
| Career · 13 seasons | 950 | 3,346 | 394 | 858 | 110 | 32 | 20 | 429 | 54 | 176 | 218 | .256 | — | — | — | — | -4,475 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (663 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 326 | 1134 | 132 | 305 | 11 | 145 | .269 |
| Away | 337 | 1158 | 103 | 273 | 4 | 96 | .236 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1905-10-07 | NY1 | PHI | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1905-10-07 | NY1 | PHI | W | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1905-10-06 | NY1 | PHI | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1905-10-05 | NY1 | PHI | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1905-10-03 | NY1 | CIN | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1905-10-03 | NY1 | CIN | L | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1905-10-01 | NY1 | CIN | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1905-09-30 | NY1 | STL | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1905-09-29 | NY1 | STL | W | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1905-09-28 | NY1 | STL | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 193 | 35 | 1787 | 77 | 40 | 99 |
| C | 739 | 54 | 2587 | 806 | 190 | 66 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1893 | BLN | 1B | 11 | 0 | 97 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 1893 | BLN | C | 38 | 0 | 135 | 45 | 18 | 3 |
| 1894 | BLN | 1B | 5 | 0 | 40 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
| 1894 | BLN | C | 23 | 0 | 80 | 22 | 11 | 1 |
| 1895 | BLN | 1B | 6 | 0 | 43 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 1895 | BLN | C | 60 | 0 | 176 | 67 | 16 | 8 |
| 1896 | BLN | 1B | 14 | 0 | 116 | 2 | 5 | 11 |
| 1896 | BLN | C | 67 | 0 | 203 | 53 | 14 | 5 |
| 1897 | BLN | 1B | 4 | 0 | 35 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 1897 | BLN | C | 59 | 0 | 191 | 38 | 15 | 2 |
| 1898 | BLN | 1B | 10 | 0 | 87 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 1898 | BLN | C | 70 | 0 | 289 | 69 | 14 | 6 |
| 1899 | BSN | C | 60 | 0 | 213 | 69 | 18 | 4 |
| 1900 | BSN | 1B | 8 | 0 | 60 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 1900 | BSN | C | 67 | 0 | 246 | 104 | 27 | 8 |
| 1901 | WS1 | 1B | 3 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1901 | WS1 | C | 107 | 0 | 358 | 122 | 24 | 11 |
| 1902 | WS1 | C | 87 | 0 | 288 | 97 | 11 | 8 |
| 1903 | WS1 | 1B | 88 | 0 | 891 | 44 | 18 | 44 |
| 1903 | WS1 | C | 37 | 0 | 148 | 46 | 14 | 1 |
| 1904 | WS1 | 1B | 29 | 28 | 288 | 14 | 6 | 15 |
| 1904 | WS1 | C | 52 | 52 | 229 | 72 | 7 | 9 |
| 1905 | NY1 | 1B | 15 | 7 | 106 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| 1905 | NY1 | C | 12 | 2 | 31 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Catcher | 739 |
| First Base | 193 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
William Clarke (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
William Clarke: the record in brief
May 1, 1893 and October 7, 1905 bracket William Clarke's time in the majors: the debut and the last game on record. The season rows list, in order, the Baltimore Orioles (1893 through 1898), the Boston Beaneaters (1899 through 1900), the Washington Senators (1901 through 1904), and the New York Giants (1905). Clarke, born on October 18, 1868, in New York, NY, USA, is listed as a catcher and threw and hit right-handed. Size on record: 5-foot-11 and 170 pounds. The bio records the death on July 29, 1959, in Princeton, NJ, USA. William Clarke was the playing name; the full given name is William Jones.
Across 950 games at the plate, Clarke's career line reads 858 hits in 3,346 at bats for a .256 average, adding 20 homers, 429 runs batted in, and 54 stolen bases. Clarke's career OPS of .637 combines a .310 on-base mark with .326 slugging. Clarke's .256 average ran 6.4% below the .274 that the league posted over the same seasons. The OPS comparison is .637 to a league .697, 8.7% below average. 1901 produced Clarke's most hits, 118 of them for the Washington Senators.
Frequently Asked Questions about William Clarke
- What years did William Clarke play?
- William Clarke played in Major League Baseball from 1893 to 1905.
- Was William Clarke a pitcher?
- No. William Clarke was a position player (Catcher).
- How many home runs did William Clarke hit?
- William Clarke hit 20 career home runs with 858 hits.
- What was William Clarke's career batting average?
- William Clarke batted .256 over his career, with 858 hits in 3,346 at bats.
- How many RBI did William Clarke have?
- William Clarke drove in 429 runs in his career.
- Is William Clarke in the Hall of Fame?
- No. William Clarke has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.