Arthur Hamilton "Dad" Clarkson (August 31, 1866 – February 5, 1911) was an American

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

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 ...

from 1891 to 1896. He played for the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

Boston Beaneaters Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of and a ...

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

, and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

Biography

Clarkson was born in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

, and starred on the

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

baseball team in the 1880s. He started his professional baseball career in 1891 with the New York Giants; however, he did not pitch much over the next two seasons. In 1893, Clarkson broke out with the St. Louis Browns, going 12–9 with a 3.48

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

. He was the only pitcher on the team to have a winning record. Clarkson received more innings of work in 1894 but slumped badly and posted a 6.36 ERA. In 1895, he started off even worse. He was 1–6 with a 7.38 ERA when the Browns traded him to the Orioles in June. Clarkson immediately turned things around in Baltimore. In his 14 remaining starts that season, he pitched 10

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s and won 12 of 15 decisions."Dad Clarkson Statistics and History"
''baseball-reference.com''. Retrieved 2010-11-20. The Orioles won the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

pennant. The following season, Clarkson was outpitched by the other members of Baltimore's staff, and he played his final major league game on August 8. His career MLB record was 39–39. In 1900, he is recorded as being on a Montana State League roster. Clarkson served as a fill-in umpire several times between 1893 and 1896. On July 29, 1893, Clarkson umpired a game that his Cardinals lost to the Cleveland Spiders. He was fined by Cardinals owner Chris von der Ahe for making calls that went against the team. In protest of the fine, Clarkson refused to make his scheduled August 1 start as a pitcher. As a result, outfielder Jimmy Bannon had to pitch. Bannon, a hitter, gave up 15 runs in four innings on the way to a 25–2 loss. Bannon was released by the Cardinals. Dad Clarkson had two brothers who also played in Major League Baseball: Hall of Famer

John Clarkson John Gibson Clarkson (July 1, 1861 – February 4, 1909) was an American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He played from 1882 to 1894. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Clarkson played for the Worcester Ruby Legs (1882), Chicago Whi ...

and

Walter Clarkson Walter Hamilton Clarkson (November 3, 1878 – October 10, 1946) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played for the New York Highlanders from 1904 to 1907 and the Cleveland Naps from 1907 to 1908. Clarkson attended Harvard ...

. Another brother, T. Henry Clarkson, was a golf and billiards player. After his baseball days were over, he became a salesman."The Players Speak: Heading Home"
''thedeadballera.com''. Retrieved 2010-11-20. He died in 1911, at the age of 44.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarkson, Dad 1866 births 1911 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers New York Giants (baseball) players Boston Beaneaters players St. Louis Browns players 20th-century American sportsmen Baltimore Orioles (NL) players Anaconda Serpents players 19th-century baseball players 19th-century American sportsmen Baseball players from Cambridge, Massachusetts Baseball players from Somerville, Massachusetts Chicago Maroons players New Haven Nutmegs players