Baseball Hall of Famer Fred Clarke: Iowa Time Machine October 3, 1872

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On October 3, 1872, Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Fred Clarke was born in Winterset. Clarke played left field and managed both the Louisville Colonels and the Pittsburgh Pirates over a long, accomplished career.

Born on a farm in rural Madison County, Clarke’s family ventured west to Kansas in a covered wagon convoy before eventually resettling in Des Moines. By coincidence, Clarke sold newspapers for the Iowa State Register, where he worked with fellow future MLB Hall of Famer Ed Barrow. Clarke developed a reputation as a crack left-handed hitter and outfielder in Des Moines and lucked into a ticket to join a traveling team out of Nebraska after another player backed out.

Eventually, Clarke wound up in the Southern League, where he caught the Louisville Colonels' attention. In his first game, he racked up five hits in five at-bats, still a Major League record. In Clarke’s second season, he posted a .347 average, 191 hits, and 96 runs. In 1897, Clarke took over managerial duties at 24 and hit a career-high .390.

When the Colonels folded, Barney Dreyfuss became the owner of the Pittsburgh franchise and tapped Clarke as left fielder and manager for the Pirates. Of the nine pennants in Pittsburgh franchise history, Clarke served as player-manager for four, as well as the 1909 World Series. Clarke batted over .300 in 11 different seasons, and his 35-game hitting streak in 1895 represented the second-longest in Major League history at the time. For six years, Clarke held the Major League record for wins by a manager. #Iowa #OTD #History #Baseball #HallofFame