John Clarkson
⭐ Hall of Fame 1963
Born: 7/1/1861 in Cambridge, MA, USA
Died: 2/4/1909 in Belmont, MA, USA
MLB Debut: 1882-05-02 | Final Game: 1894-07-12
Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 5'10" | Weight: 155 lbs
Full name: John Gibson Clarkson
Biography
John Clarkson, born in 1861, was a prominent pitcher who made his mark in Major League Baseball from 1882 to 1894. Renowned for his impressive skills on the mound, Clarkson finished his career with a record of 328 wins and 178 losses, boasting an earned run average (ERA) of 2.81. Over the course of his career, he recorded a total of 1,978 strikeouts and secured 5 saves, establishing himself as one of the premier pitchers of his era. Clarkson's contributions to the game were particularly significant during a time when baseball was transitioning into a more offense-driven sport, and his pitching prowess helped to shape the strategies of teams in the late 19th century.
Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1963, Clarkson's legacy endures as one of the early greats of the game. He was known for his durability and ability to pitch complete games, which was a hallmark of the era before the modern bullpen became prevalent. His accomplishments not only highlighted his individual talent but also reflected the competitive spirit of the league during his playing days. As one of the dominant pitchers of his time, Clarkson's influence is still felt in the way pitching is approached in the game today.
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 328 | 178 | 531 | 518 | 485 | 37 | 5 | 4536.3 | 4295 | 1417 | 159 | 1191 | 1978 | 2.81 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1882 | WOR | NL | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 24.0 | 49 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 4.50 | 23.7 |
| 1884 | CHC | NL | 10 | 3 | 14 | 13 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 118.0 | 94 | 28 | 25 | 102 | 2.14 | - |
| 1885 | CHC | NL | 53 | 16 | 70 | 70 | 68 | 10 | 0 | 623.0 | 497 | 128 | 97 | 308 | 1.85 | - |
| 1886 | CHC | NL | 36 | 17 | 55 | 55 | 50 | 3 | 0 | 466.7 | 419 | 125 | 86 | 313 | 2.41 | - |
| 1887 | CHC | NL | 38 | 21 | 60 | 59 | 56 | 2 | 0 | 523.0 | 513 | 179 | 92 | 237 | 3.08 | - |
| 1888 | BSN | NL | 33 | 20 | 54 | 54 | 53 | 3 | 0 | 483.3 | 448 | 148 | 119 | 223 | 2.76 | 361.7 |
| 1889 | BSN | NL | 49 | 19 | 73 | 72 | 68 | 8 | 1 | 620.0 | 589 | 188 | 203 | 284 | 2.73 | 7881.6 |
| 1890 | BSN | NL | 26 | 18 | 44 | 44 | 43 | 2 | 0 | 383.0 | 370 | 139 | 140 | 138 | 3.27 | -96.1 |
| 1891 | BSN | NL | 33 | 19 | 55 | 51 | 47 | 3 | 3 | 460.7 | 435 | 143 | 154 | 141 | 2.79 | -19.9 |
| 1892 | BSN | NL | 8 | 6 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 4 | 0 | 145.7 | 115 | 38 | 60 | 48 | 2.35 | -705.2 |
| 1892 | CL4 | NL | 17 | 10 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 1 | 1 | 243.3 | 235 | 69 | 72 | 91 | 2.55 | 2875.0 |
| 1893 | CL4 | NL | 16 | 17 | 36 | 35 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 295.0 | 358 | 146 | 95 | 62 | 4.45 | 2647.1 |
| 1894 | CL4 | NL | 8 | 10 | 22 | 18 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 150.7 | 173 | 74 | 46 | 28 | 4.42 | 1757.4 |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 546 | 1974 | 254 | 432 | 73 | 26 | 24 | 232 | 31 | 81 | 382 | 0.219 | 0.250 | 0.319 | 0.569 | -5403.6 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1882 | WOR | NL | 3 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.364 | 0.0 |
| 1884 | CHC | NL | 21 | 84 | 16 | 22 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 0.262 | 262.2 |
| 1885 | CHC | NL | 72 | 283 | 34 | 61 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 32 | 0 | 3 | 44 | 0.216 | -536.9 |
| 1886 | CHC | NL | 55 | 210 | 21 | 49 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 0.233 | -464.4 |
| 1887 | CHC | NL | 63 | 215 | 40 | 52 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 25 | 6 | 11 | 25 | 0.242 | -249.9 |
| 1888 | BSN | NL | 55 | 205 | 20 | 40 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 17 | 5 | 7 | 48 | 0.195 | -683.3 |
| 1889 | BSN | NL | 73 | 262 | 36 | 54 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 23 | 8 | 11 | 59 | 0.206 | -1217.1 |
| 1890 | BSN | NL | 45 | 173 | 18 | 43 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 26 | 2 | 8 | 31 | 0.249 | -279.7 |
| 1891 | BSN | NL | 55 | 187 | 28 | 42 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 26 | 2 | 18 | 50 | 0.225 | -398.5 |
| 1892 | BSN | NL | 16 | 57 | 7 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 15 | 0.228 | -77.3 |
| 1892 | CL4 | NL | 29 | 101 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 24 | 0.139 | -77.3 |
| 1893 | CL4 | NL | 37 | 131 | 18 | 27 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 17 | 2 | 4 | 20 | 0.206 | -688.8 |
| 1894 | CL4 | NL | 22 | 55 | 8 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 9 | 0.200 | -349.8 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 36 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0.139 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1892 | CS | CL4 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0.250 |
| 1886 | WS | CHN | 4 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0.067 |
| 1885 | WS | CHN | 4 | 13 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.154 |
Playoff Career Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 64.0 | 64 | 19 | 18 | 52 | 2.67 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
| Year | Round | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1892 | CS | CL4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 17.0 | 24 | 10 | 5 | 9 | 5.29 |
| 1886 | WS | CHN | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 31.0 | 25 | 7 | 12 | 28 | 2.03 |
| 1885 | WS | CHN | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 16.0 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 1.12 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 3B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| OF | 27 | 0 | 15 | 5 | 11 | 1 |
| P | 531 | 0 | 221 | 1143 | 162 | 44 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1882 | WOR | P | 3 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
| 1882 | WOR | 1B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1884 | CHN | P | 14 | 0 | 6 | 38 | 11 | 5 |
| 1884 | CHN | 1B | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 1884 | CHN | 3B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 1884 | CHN | OF | 8 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 1 |
| 1885 | CHN | P | 70 | 0 | 26 | 174 | 20 | 8 |
| 1885 | CHN | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1885 | CHN | OF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1886 | CHN | P | 55 | 0 | 19 | 114 | 19 | 3 |
| 1886 | CHN | OF | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1887 | CHN | P | 60 | 0 | 34 | 125 | 7 | 5 |
| 1887 | CHN | OF | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1888 | BSN | P | 54 | 0 | 22 | 117 | 19 | 3 |
| 1888 | BSN | OF | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1889 | BSN | P | 73 | 0 | 36 | 172 | 27 | 8 |
| 1889 | BSN | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1889 | BSN | OF | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1890 | BSN | P | 44 | 0 | 21 | 72 | 14 | 3 |
| 1890 | BSN | OF | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 1891 | BSN | P | 55 | 0 | 27 | 114 | 13 | 2 |
| 1891 | BSN | OF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1892 | BSN | P | 16 | 0 | 2 | 36 | 5 | 3 |
| 1892 | CL4 | P | 29 | 0 | 9 | 51 | 10 | 1 |
| 1893 | CL4 | P | 36 | 0 | 15 | 82 | 7 | 1 |
| 1893 | CL4 | OF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1894 | CL4 | P | 22 | 0 | 3 | 42 | 9 | 2 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 531 |
| First Base | 2 |
| Third Base | 4 |
| Left Field | 4 |
| Center Field | 1 |
| Right Field | 20 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1889 | Pitching Triple Crown |