Daniel J. McClellan (July 1, 1878 – March 10, 1962) 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 ...

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, ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

who starred for top-tier independent black teams before the Negro National League was founded. His career began about 1903, and he continued as a playing manager and organizer of lesser teams well into the 1920s. 1904XGiants

With the

Cuban X-Giants The Cuban X-Giants were a professional Negro league baseball, Negro league baseball team that played from 1896 to 1906. Originally most of the players were former Cuban Giants, or ex-Giants. Like the Cuban Giants, the original players were not Cu ...

in 1903 he pitched the earliest known perfect game in black baseball against a semi-pro team. He switched to the Philadelphia Giants during the 1904 season and pitched for them through 1906. The X-Giants were arguably the best black team in 1903, and the Philadelphia Giants were also arguably the best black team in those three years while McClellan and

Rube Foster Andrew "Rube" Foster (September 17, 1879 – December 9, 1930) was an American baseball player, manager, and executive in the Negro leagues. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981. Foster is considered by sports historians to hav ...

were regular pitchers. McClellan was described as a "smart pitcher ... to offset his lack of a substantial fastball" by blackball historian Jame Riley. Sportswriters Harry Daniels and Jimmy Smith both named McClellan to their 1909 "All American Team.""The Base Ball Spirit In The East." Indianapolis Freeman, Indianapolis, Indiana, Saturday, December 25, 1909, Page 7, Columns 1 and 2
/ref> McClellan was named as "Dream Team" coach in the 1952 Pittsburgh ''Courier'' poll of outstanding black baseball players.
/ref>

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Philadelphia Giants players 1962 deaths 1878 births Baseball players from Norfolk, Virginia 20th-century African-American sportsmen Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Philadelphia {{Negro-league-baseball-pitcher-1870s-stub