Frederick Cifford Clarke (1960)
BURNEY, LARKE, DONAHOE, SULLIVAN
Posted By: Linda Smith
Date: 11/8/2023 at 18:03:06
Winterset Madisonian
Winterset, Iowa
Wednesday, August 17, 1960
Section 2, Page 1, Column 1WINTERSET'S BASEBALL STAR DIED SUNDAY
Madison county's most distinguished contribution to organized baseball died Sunday night. He was Fred Clarke, who was born in Winterset, and who for 15 years played center field for the Pittsburg Pirates.
Clarke died Sunday at his home in Winfield, Kansas, at the age of 87 years. He was born in Winterset in 1872, but when he was 2 years of age he moved with his parents to Des Moines.
He was elected to the national Baseball Hall of Fame, and was one of the first persons named to the Iowa Hall of Fame when it was originated in 1951.
Clarke had a life-time batting average in the major leagues of .315. His best year was 1897, when he hit .407. He was the league batting champion several years.
He also served as manager of the Pirates from 1900 to 1915, and was part owner of the club.
________________________The Great Bend Tribune
Great Bend, Kansas
Monday, August 15, 1960
Page 9, Column 4WINFIELD, Kan. (AP)—Frederick Clifford Clarke, 87, one of baseball’s greatest outfielders, died Sunday night of pneumonia. He was the oldest member of the Hall of Fame.
As player-manager, he led the Pittsburgh Pirates to four National League pennants and a world championship in 16 seasons. His club finished second five times and was in the second division only twice. He spent 22 years in the big leagues.
Clarke’s batting average in his major league career was .315.
After two years in the minors, he joined Louisville, then in the National League, in 1894. Three years later he became the club’s manager at 24.
Louisville and Pittsburgh merged in 1900 and Clarke went to the Pirates as manager, along with Honus Wagner, Chief Bender, Rube Waddell, Tommy Leach, Claude Ritchey, Deacon Phillippe and Pat Flaherty.
The year before, the Pirates had finished seventh. Clarke lifted them to second in 1900, and the next three years won the pennant.
Clarke’s greatest triumph came in 1909 when the Pirates beat the Detroit Tigers and the great Ty Cobb four games to three in the World Series. Clarke hit two home runs in that series.
He retired in 1915 and in later years would say with pride, “I was in baseball 22 years and I was never released.”
Clarke lived on his 1,320-acre “Little Pirate Ranch” near Winfield. He sponsored sandlot baseball in Winfield, and served non-pro baseball for 10 years as national president of leagues.
______________________The Salina Journal
Salina, Kansas
Tuesday, August 16, 1960
Page 10, Column 8Fred Clarke Rites Wednesday
WINFIELD, Kan., (AP0—Funeral services will be conducted Wednesday for Frederick C. Clarke, former major league outfielder and manager, who died Sunday night of pneumonia.
The services will be at the Holy Name Catholic Church in Winfield. Burial will be in St. Mary’s Cemetery here.
Clarke, 87, was the oldest member of baseball’s Hall of Fame. As player-manager, he led the Pittsburgh Pirates to four National League pennants and a world championship in 16 seasons beginning at the turn of the century.
Survivors include his widow; two daughters, Mrs. D. J. Donahoe of Ponca City, Okla., and Mrs. Neal Sullivan of Newkirk, Okla.; eight grandchildren, a great grandson; a brother, Josh Clarke of Ventura, Calif., a former minor and major league player and umpire; and a sister, Mrs. Mabel Burney of Seattle, Wash.
________________________The Catholic Advance
Wichita, Kansas
Friday, August 19, 1960
Page 13, Columns 1 & 2, Page 16, Column 1OUTSPOKEN CATHOLIC CONVERT
Death Takes Baseball Immortal at Winfield
Winfield. —Fred Clarke, 87, a member of Holy Name Parish, Winfield, and one of baseball’s immortal, died in St. Mary’s Hospital last Sunday night after a lingering illness.
As a member of baseball’s Hall of Fame, the playing manager in the first World Series and the winner of four pennant races and a World Series while with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Mr. Clarke was remembered by a host of baseball dignitaries who sent messages of condolence to the family and by others who attended the Solemn Mass of Requiem Wednesday at 10 a.m. in Holy Name Church. Celebrant of the Mass was Father James Shaughnessy, pastor of Holy Name Parish.
Clarke, a convert to the faith and always known in his baseball career as an outspoken Catholic, is survived by his wife, Ann Gray Clarke, who has been living with him on the 1,320 acre “Pirate Ranch,” just off Highway 15, on the Walnut River, 10 miles northwest of Winfield. Last July 5, the couple observed their 62nd wedding anniversary.
Also surviving are two daughters, Mrs. D. J. Donohoe, Ponca City, Okla., and Mrs. Neal Sullivan, New Kirk, Okla.; a brother, Josh Clarke, Ventura, Calif.; and a sister, Mrs. Mabel Burney, Seattle, Wash.
Fred Clarke was born in Winterset, Ia., Oct. 3, 1872, but grew up in the neighborhood of the ranch he loved so well. After a short hitch in the minors, he reached the National League at the age of 21.
His Record
Clarke gained his recognition to Baseball’s Hall of Fame as an outfielder and manager of the Pirates, a club he joined in 1900 after four previous seasons with Louisville, one of the old National League clubs.
The Pirates were managed by Clark from 1900 through 1915, and during those 16 years Pittsburgh won the National League pennant four times and one World Series.
Pennant Teams
Pirate teams won the NL title in 1901-02-03. John McGraw’s New York Giants snapped the Clarke Dynasty in winning the championship in 1904 and 1905. Frank Chance halted the Giants in guiding his Chicago Cubs to the pennant in 1906-07-08.
Clarke then won his final pennant for the Pirates in 1909.
After retiring from baseball Clarke took up his residence here.
Clarke also served as head of the National Association of Umpires for many years. He gave up his active service in that capacity eight seasons back.
Clarke smashed 2,703 hits in his 2,204 major league games.
In 1897 he batted a lusty .406 for Louisville, then in the National League. In 1895 he hit .354 for Louisville and connected safely in 31 straight games. His best year with Pittsburgh was 1903 when he hit .351.
Perhaps his greatest triumph came in the 1909 World Series when the Pirates beat the Detroit Tigers and the great Ty Cobb, four games to three. Clarke got two homers in that series and got four bases on balls in one game.
Gravesite
Madison Obituaries maintained by Linda Griffith Smith.
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