John Clarkson

John Clarkson, (1861-1909), American baseball player, who pitched for more than 300 wins during a relatively short 12-year professional career, including 53 triumphs to lead the Chicago White Stockings in their championship season of 1885. He was one of the early game’s true workhorses, pitching more than 600 innings in both the 1885 and 1889 seasons. The smallish right-hander specialized in the drop curve, an overhand pitch that sank sharply as it approached the plate.

Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, John Gibson Clarkson joined a team in nearby Worcester in 1882 at age 21. After a season in Saginaw, Michigan, he signed with the White Stockings in 1884. A year later he led the National League (NL) in a number of categories: 53 wins (against 16 losses), 70 starts, 68 complete games, 308 strikeouts, and 10 shutouts. On July 27, 1885, he tossed a no-hitter against the Providence (Rhode Island) Grays as the White Stockings went on to capture the NL pennant.

From 1886 to 1892, Clarkson averaged 34 wins per season. He led the league with 38 victories for Chicago in 1887 and 49 triumphs for the Boston Beaneaters in 1889. The Beaneaters had acquired him in 1888 for the then-princely sum of $10,000.

After two seasons with the Cleveland Spiders, Clarkson retired in 1894 with 328 career wins, 485 complete games, 37 shutouts, and a .648 winning percentage. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1963.