John Gibson Clarkson

Background

John Gibson Clarkson was born on July 01, 1861 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. His father, Thomas Clarkson, was a Scottish immigrant and became a prosperous jeweler in Cambridge.

Education

John was given an valuable athletic coaching by his father who was an enthusiastic sportsman.

Career

John G. Clarkson early displayed ability as pitcher for the Beacons and other baseball teams about Boston, and of his three brothers two, Arthur and Walter, were also professional pitchers of ability. Attracting the attention of A. C. Anson, manager and captain of the Chicago Club of the National League, John Clarkson was induced by him in 1884 to sign a contract.

From the beginning of his professional career, he met success and speedily became the winning pitcher of Anson’s white-hosed champions. In 1889, together with his catcher, the aggressive Michael J. Kelly, he was sold by the Chicago management to Boston for what was then regarded as the phenomenal price of $10, 000. The transaction aroused much discussion, and Clarkson and Kelly became famous as “the Ten Thousand Dollar Battery. ” For Boston Clarkson won that year fifty-three games out of seventy-two. And in 1891 and 1892 the work of Clarkson and Kelly virtually gained the pennant for Boston. In 1892 Cleveland secured the services of Clarkson, but he soon afterward retired.

Later he conducted a cigar store in Bay City, Michigan, until his health failed in 1906. He died at Waltham, Massachusetts. For several years before his death he is said to have been insane.

In the history of baseball Clarkson stands as the first great exponent of the modern school of pitchers who study the weaknesses of batters and secure their results by control, change of pace, and outguessing their victims rather than by mere speed and curves. Clarkson possessed great speed when he chose to use it, but he was a clever baseball general who preferred to win by intelligence. At that time pitchers were forced to work day after day, and Clarkson was one of the first to demonstrate that something other than physical strength was necessary to carry on and win games. His coolness at critical stages was proverbial, and he was never more deadly than “in the pinches. ” Clarkson’s chief rival was Tim Keefe of the New York Giants, a pitcher who used somewhat similar methods, and the duels between these two real artists were famous. But though Clarkson played “inside ball” he remained a thorough sportsman who would not tolerate trickery or deception.

Achievements

• John Gibson Clarkson was considered one of the most popular players of his generation. He was ranked the twelfth on the Major League Baseball list of all-time wins. In 1885 he won fifty- five out of the seventy games which he pitched for Chicago and it was one of the best records ever made. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1963.

Personality

Clarkson was not an unusually large man, standing but 5 feet 9 inches and weighing 168-170 pounds. His hair was very dark, but his eyes were gray.

Connections

On March 4, 1884, Clarkson was married to Ella M. Barr.

Father:

Thomas Clarkson

Spouse:

Ella M. Barr

Brother:

Dad Clarkson

Brother:

Arthur Clarkson

broher:

Walter Clarkson

References

• Ghosts in the Gallery at Cooperstown: Sixteen Forgotten Members of the Hall of Fame