Bus Clarkson
Shortstop · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1952)
Bus Clarkson was a shortstop who played in Major League Baseball in 1952 for 8 teams, including the Pittsburgh Crawfords. In 188 career games, he hit .310 with 202 hits, 25 home runs, and 145 RBI. Bus Clarkson was an All-Star. His totals include Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB recognized as major league in 2020. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 3,031.
- 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
- Shortstop
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'11" / 210 lb
- Died
- 1/18/1989 in Jeannette, PA, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1952-04-30
- Last Game
- 1952-06-22
- Awards
- All-Star
Full name: James Buster Clarkson
Negro Leagues (season totals). Additive Retrosheet-digitized totals for seasons not already in the logs above; they are not summed into the career line. No team/league breakdown is available, and coverage may be partial.
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 188 | 652 | 134 | 202 | 45 | 9 | 25 | 145 | 13 | 91 | 8 | .310 | .395 | .521 | .917 | 3,031 |
Career AVG .310 vs. league average .263 across their career seasons — +17.7% above league average.
Career OBP .395 vs. league average .333 across their career seasons — +18.6% above league average.
Career SLG .521 vs. league average .375 across their career seasons — +38.9% above league average.
Career OPS .917 vs. league average .708 across their career seasons — +29.4% above 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | PC | NN2 | 22 | 70 | 8 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 11 | 0 | .243 | .272 (-11%) | .341 (+1%) | .392 (+20%) | .734 (+11%) | 135.8 |
| 1939 | TC2 | NN2 | 7 | 27 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .333 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1939 | TC | NAL | 12 | 41 | 14 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 6 | 0 | .366 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1940 | TIC | NAL | 7 | 26 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .308 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1940 | NE | NN2 | 22 | 87 | 21 | 31 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 27 | 2 | 11 | 0 | .356 | .267 (+33%) | .335 (+28%) | .387 (+78%) | .722 (+55%) | 0.0 |
| 1942 | NE | NN2 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .286 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1942 | PS | NN2 | 58 | 209 | 51 | 67 | 19 | 5 | 8 | 43 | 6 | 34 | 5 | .321 | .253 (+27%) | .323 (+29%) | .349 (+64%) | .672 (+47%) | 0.0 |
| 1942 | HG | NN2 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .125 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1946 | PS | NN2 | 42 | 152 | 27 | 47 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 34 | 1 | 21 | 0 | .309 | .256 (+20%) | .328 (+19%) | .358 (+14%) | .687 (+17%) | 466.8 |
| 1952 | BSN | NL | 14 | 25 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | .200 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 10 seasons | 188 | 652 | 134 | 202 | 45 | 9 | 25 | 145 | 13 | 91 | 8 | .310 | — | — | — | — | 603 | ||
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 (199 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 112 | 383 | 73 | 114 | 12 | 58 | .298 |
| Away | 87 | 290 | 52 | 104 | 13 | 49 | .359 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952-06-22 | BSN | STL | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1952-06-21 | BSN | STL | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1952-06-18 | BSN | CIN | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1952-06-14 | BSN | CHC | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1952-06-13 | BSN | CHC | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1952-06-12 | BSN | PIT | W | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1952-06-11 | BSN | PIT | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1952-05-27 | BSN | PHI | L | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1952-05-17 | BSN | STL | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1952-05-10 | BSN | NY1 | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 3 | 2 | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2B | 12 | 10 | 22 | 33 | 6 | 6 |
| 3B | 34 | 32 | 34 | 58 | 5 | 5 |
| OF | 24 | 23 | 29 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| SS | 109 | 103 | 238 | 292 | 43 | 29 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | PC | 3B | 16 | 16 | 12 | 25 | 3 | 2 |
| 1938 | PC | OF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1938 | PC | SS | 5 | 5 | 6 | 10 | 2 | 1 |
| 1939 | TC2 | OF | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1939 | TC2 | SS | 6 | 6 | 13 | 20 | 3 | 2 |
| 1939 | TC | 2B | 11 | 10 | 22 | 33 | 6 | 6 |
| 1939 | TC | OF | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1940 | TIC | SS | 7 | 7 | 11 | 12 | 3 | 2 |
| 1940 | NE | SS | 22 | 22 | 46 | 65 | 11 | 6 |
| 1942 | NE | OF | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1942 | PS | 1B | 1 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1942 | PS | SS | 56 | 56 | 131 | 165 | 21 | 15 |
| 1942 | HG | SS | 2 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 1946 | PS | 1B | 2 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1946 | PS | 2B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1946 | PS | 3B | 16 | 16 | 20 | 28 | 1 | 3 |
| 1946 | PS | OF | 19 | 19 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1946 | PS | SS | 5 | 5 | 17 | 10 | 2 | 2 |
| 1952 | BSN | 3B | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 1952 | BSN | SS | 6 | 0 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 3 |
| Second Base | 12 |
| Third Base | 34 |
| Shortstop | 109 |
| Left Field | 14 |
| Right Field | 10 |
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilberforce University | Wilberforce | OH | 1933, 1936, 1937, 1938 |
Bus Clarkson: the record in brief
Bus Clarkson's season table begins in 1938 with Negro Leagues seasons, which MLB now counts as major league; the bio gives the date of the MLB debut as April 30, 1952, and the final game as June 22, 1952. The season rows list, in order, the Pittsburgh Crawfords (1938), the Toledo Crawfords (1939), the Toledo-Indianapolis Crawfords (1940), the Newark Eagles (1940 through 1942), the Philadelphia Stars (1942 to 1946), the Homestead Grays (1942), and the Boston Braves (1952). The bio lists Clarkson as a shortstop who batted and threw right-handed. The recorded size is 5 feet, 11 inches and 210 pounds. The birth record reads March 13, 1915, in Hopkins, SC, USA. The bio records the death on January 18, 1989, in Jeannette, PA, USA.
Clarkson's career batting table shows 188 games, 652 at bats and 202 hits, a .310 average, adding 25 homers and 145 RBI. On-base and slugging figures of .395 and .521 give Clarkson a career OPS of .917.
Frequently Asked Questions about Bus Clarkson
- Was Bus Clarkson a pitcher?
- No. Bus Clarkson was a position player (Shortstop).
- How many home runs did Bus Clarkson hit?
- Bus Clarkson hit 25 career home runs with 202 hits.
- What was Bus Clarkson's career batting average?
- Bus Clarkson batted .310 over his career, with 202 hits in 652 at bats.
- How many RBI did Bus Clarkson have?
- Bus Clarkson drove in 145 runs in his career.
- Is Bus Clarkson in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Bus Clarkson has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
- What teams did Bus Clarkson play for?
- Bus Clarkson played for the Pittsburgh Crawfords, the Toledo Crawfords, the Toledo Crawfords, the Toledo-Indianapolis Crawfords, the Newark Eagles, and the Philadelphia Stars, among 8 clubs in all.