William Henry McClellan (March 22, 1856 – July 3, 1929) was an American

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player for eight seasons, and primarily played as a

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

and

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

from 1878 to 1888. Born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, McClellan played one season for the St. Paul Red Caps of the

League Alliance The League Alliance was the first semi-affiliated minor league baseball league. Proposed by Al Spalding Albert Goodwill Spalding (September 2, 1849 – September 9, 1915) was an American pitcher, manager, and executive in the early years of p ...

in 1877. He appeared with the Chicago White Stockings of the National League in 1878, then with the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

of the Nationals of the National Association in 1879 and 1880. McClellan returned to the National League and the American Association after that, and he led the league in games played in 1885 (112) and 1886 (141) with the Brooklyn Grays. McClellan was unwittingly involved in the first of several forfeits that resulted from disagreements between a two-man umpiring crew. On July 14, 1888, the single scheduled umpire for the Brooklyn-Kansas City game was unable to make the game. Brooklyn's

Bill Terry William Harold Terry (October 30, 1898 – January 9, 1989) was an American professional baseball first baseman and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Giants from 1923 to 1936 and managed the Giants from 1932 to 1 ...

had umpired other games and was volunteered as a replacement umpire, but Kansas City asked that one of their players,

Jim Donahue James Augustus Donahue (January 8, 1862 – April 19, 1935) was an American Major League Baseball player from Lockport, Illinois, who played his entire career in the American Association from through . Career Donahue made his Major League ...

, be named the base umpire. In a close game in the ninth inning, Donahue called McClellan out on a

pickoff In baseball, a pickoff is an act by a pitcher or catcher, throwing a live ball to a fielder so that the fielder can tag out a baserunner who is either leading off or about to begin stealing the next base. A pickoff attempt occurs when this t ...

play. Brooklyn captain

Dave Foutz David Luther Foutz (September 7, 1856 – March 5, 1897) was an American Major League Baseball player for 13 seasons. He played multiple positions, including pitcher, from to , compiling a 147–66 career record, as well as first base and outfi ...

ordered his team off the field in protest, and the game was ruled a forfeit in favor of Kansas City. Despite the fact that McClelland had come off a good season in 1887, Brooklyn benched McClellan midway through 1888 and gave his starting position to

Jack Burdock John Joseph Burdock (April 1852 – November 27, 1931), nicknamed "Black Jack", was an American second baseman in Major League Baseball who played for several teams over a 20-year playing career. Burdock was known as a skilled fielder, and he ...

, a 36-year-old player who had just been released by Boston for intemperance. Toward the end of the 1888 season, Brooklyn sold McClellan to the Cleveland Blues, and he finished his major league career there that year. McClellan had lost his job in Brooklyn amid a shift away from left-handed middle infielders. In the early 1880s, left-handers had not been uncommon at these positions, but they became much more rare by the end of that decade. After the 1888 season, McClellan played minor league baseball through 1894. He died at the age of 73 in his hometown of

, and was interred at

Rosehill Cemetery Rosehill Cemetery (founded 1859) is a historic rural cemetery on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois in the United States. At , it is the largest cemetery in the city of Chicago and its first private cemetery. The Entrance Gate and Administration ...

References

External links

Profile on ESPN.com
1865 births 1929 deaths Brooklyn Bridegrooms players Brooklyn Grays players Burials at Rosehill Cemetery Chicago White Stockings players Cleveland Blues (1887–88) players Baseball players from Chicago Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball shortstops Philadelphia Quakers players Providence Grays players St. Paul Red Caps players Washington Nationals (minor league) players Nationals of Washington players Philadelphia Phillies (minor league) players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players Denver Grizzlies (baseball) players Denver Mountaineers players Omaha Lambs players Columbus Reds players Marinette Badgers players Chattanooga Warriors players Grand Rapids Rippers players {{US-baseball-shortstop-stub