James Buster Clarkson (March 13, 1915 – January 18, 1989) was an American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player who played briefly in

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 ...

and had a long career in the

Negro leagues The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relativel ...

, the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

, and the

Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Oriental Mi ...

. He is also known as Buzz.

Playing career

Clarkson was a native of

Hopkins, South Carolina Hopkins is a census-designated place (CDP) in Richland County, South Carolina, United States. It was founded circa 1836 and named after John Hopkins (1739–1775). It is located southeast of downtown Columbia and is part of the Columbia Metro ...

, where he grew up practicing baseball. In the Negro leagues, he played

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 ...

for the Crawfords in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

in 1937–38, in

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...

in 1939, and in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

in early 1940, where the team folded. He also briefly played in 1940 for the

Newark Eagles The Newark Eagles were a professional Negro league baseball team which played in the Negro National League from 1936 to 1948. They were owned by Abe and Effa Manley. History Formation The Newark Eagles were formed in 1936 when the Newark ...

before signing with the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

, where he played in 1940–41 and 1946–47. In 1942 he returned to the Negro leagues, playing for the Philadelphia Stars and hitting .360. He spent 1943–45 serving in the

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He played part of the 1946 season with Philadelphia and returned to play with them again in 1949-50. In 1948, he played in the independent

Canadian Provincial League Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

.Johnson, p. 69. In 1950 at age 35, Clarkson entered the minor leagues with the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

of the American Association. He played

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

and shortstop, hitting .302 in 1950 and .343 in 1951. In 1952, five years after

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first Black American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the Baseball color line, ...

became the first

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

major leagues baseball player, Clarkson at age 37 had his only opportunity to play in the major leagues when he played fourteen games for the

Boston Braves The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball club that originated in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, and played from 1871 to 1952. Afterwards they moved to History of the Atlanta Braves#Milwaukee, Milwaukee (and became the Milwaukee Braves). ...

. He managed to connect five hits in 25 at-bats, with one RBI. He spent the rest of 1952 in Milwaukee, hitting .318. In 1953–54, he played with

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

in the

Texas League The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the ...

, hitting .330 and .324. In 1954 he led the league with 42 home runs. In 1955 he played with the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

in the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

and hit .294. The next year was his final season in the minors, as he played with Los Angeles,

Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...

in the Texas League, and

Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

in the Western League. As a younger man, Clarkson went to the Caribbean, where he became very well known, particularly in

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. Clarkson played in Puerto Rico's winter baseball league until he was in his 40s. It was at the age of 39, in early 1955, that he participated in the

Caribbean Series The Caribbean Series ( Spanish: ''Serie del Caribe'') is an annual club tournament contested by professional baseball teams in Latin America. It is organized by the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation. The series is normally played in ...

, with the Santurce Crabbers. During the 1940s and 1950s, Clarkson was a resident of Puerto Rico, leading the Crabbers to a number of championships. The Crabbers took five years to win a new national title when the Caribbean Series was first played, in 1950. With the Crabbers, Clarkson played alongside two young stars in the making:

Roberto Clemente Roberto Enrique Clemente Walker (; August 18, 1934 – December 31, 1972) was a Puerto Rican professional baseball player who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, primarily as a right fielder. On December ...

and

Willie Mays Willie Howard Mays Jr. (May 6, 1931 – June 18, 2024), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid", was an American professional baseball center fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of ...

. Clarkson helped the team win the 1955 national title, and become the first team representing Puerto Rico to win a Caribbean Series championship. After his retirement, Buster Clarkson led a relatively quiet life in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, until his death, on January 18, 1989, in the small town of Jeannette. His remains are buried at the Brush Creek Cemetery, in nearby

Irwin Irwin may refer to: Places ;United States * Irwin, California * Irwin, Idaho * Irwin, Illinois * Irwin, Iowa * Irwin, Nebraska * Irwin, Ohio * Irwin, Pennsylvania * Irwin, South Carolina * Irwin County, Georgia * Irwin Township, Venango Co ...

. Some of the artifacts he used as a baseball player are on exhibition at the

Negro Leagues Baseball Museum The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum (NLBM) is a privately funded museum dedicated to preserving the history of Negro league baseball in America. It was founded in 1990 in Kansas City, Missouri, in the historic 18th and Vine – Downtown East, Kans ...

Notes

References

External links

an
Seamheadsbaseball-almanac.com Baseball Almanac entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarkson, Buster 1915 births 1989 deaths Boston Braves players Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente infielders Newark Eagles players Philadelphia Stars players Pittsburgh Crawfords players Toledo Crawfords players Cangrejeros de Santurce (baseball) players Caribbean Series managers Baseball players from Richland County, South Carolina People from Hopkins, South Carolina United States Army personnel of World War II African Americans in World War II Azules de Veracruz players 20th-century American sportsmen Alijadores de Tampico players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Beaumont Exporters players Dallas Eagles players Des Moines Bruins players Homestead Grays players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players St. Jean Braves players Tecolotes de Nuevo Laredo players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players African-American United States Army personnel

Playing career

See also

Notes

References

External links