Clarence Emir Allen (September 8, 1852 – July 9, 1932) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

. Born in Girard Township,

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 ...

, Allen attended the district school and Girard (Pennsylvania) Academy. He studied law. He graduated from Western Reserve College, then at

Hudson, Ohio Hudson is a city in northern Summit County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,110 at the 2020 census. It is a suburban community in the Akron metropolitan area. John Brown made his first public vow to destroy slavery here and the ci ...

, graduating in 1877

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. After graduation, Allen married Corinne Marie Tuckerman, where together they had seven children—five girls, one of whom died in infancy, and two boys. Their daughter Florence E. Allen, became the first woman to serve on a state supreme court, the

Ohio Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of Ohio is the highest court in the U.S. state of Ohio, with final authority over interpretations of Ohio law and the Ohio Constitution. The court has seven members, a chief justice and six associate justices, ...

, and first woman judge to serve on a federal court,

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. Another daughter, Esther Allen Gaw, served as the Dean of Women at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

. Their two sons lost their lives due to

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. Three of his daughters,

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, Esther, and Helen, graduated from his alma mater Western Reserve, present-day

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a Private university, private research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1967 by a merger between Western Reserve University and the Case Institute of Technology. Case ...

Baseball Fame

In the mid-1870s, Allen pitched collegiately for Western Reserve College, now known as

. He is credited as the first college baseball player to perfect the

curve ball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch (baseball), pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the baseball (object), ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties o ...

, and notably never lost a game once mastering the "curve." With fellow college teammate, John P. Barden, Allen played professionally with the Erie Keystones during the summer of 1876. While in

Erie Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 ...

, he learned the concept of a

from a competitive

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pitcher, perfecting it in the college ranks.

Professional and Political Life

Allen served as an instructor of

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at Western Reserve College from 1880 to 1881. He moved to

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th st ...

, in August 1881 and was an instructor at Salt Lake Academy until 1886, when he resigned to engage in mining pursuits. He served as member of the territorial House of Representatives in 1888, 1890, and 1894. Allen and his college-educated wife (of

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

), Corinne, both strongly supported public education. Allen is credited with authoring a bill passed by the territorial legislature in 1890 that provided free public schools for students age six to eighteen. Some have called him the "Father of Utah's Free Schools." Allen was elected

county clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts record keeping as well as general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keepin ...

of Salt Lake County in August 1890 and served until January 1, 1893. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1893 and commenced practice in Salt Lake City. He was an unsuccessful Liberal candidate for election in 1892 as a Delegate to the Fifty-third Congress. He served as delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1892 and 1896. With the admission of Utah as a State into the Union, Allen was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-fourth Congress and served from January 4, 1896, to March 3, 1897. He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1896. He resumed his former mining pursuits until 1922, when he retired from active business and resided in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...

, until 1931. He died in

Escondido, California Escondido (Spanish language, Spanish for "Hidden") is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. Located in the North County (San Diego area), North County region, it was incorporated in 1888, and is one of the oldest cities in San ...

on July 9, 1932. His body was cremated and the ashes interred in Salt Lake City's Mount Olivet Cemetery.

Baseball Fame

Professional and Political Life

References

Further reading