Early Life and Career
Fred Clarke was born on a farm near Winterset, Iowa. At age two, his family moved as part of a covered wagon caravan from Iowa to Kansas before relocating to Des Moines, Iowa, five years later. As a child in Des Moines, Clarke sold newspapers for the Iowa State Register where his boss was future Baseball Hall of Fame member, Ed Barrow. In 1892, a professional team in Hastings, Nebraska sent a railroad ticket to Des Moines semiprofessional player, Byron McKibbon, but McKibbon backed out and gave the ticket to Clarke instead. Clarke impressed the Hastings team and he signed his first professional contract. He was in the Southern League at age 21 and played for teams in Montgomery, Alabama, and Savannah, Georgia.
Clarke was discovered in the minor leagues by Louisville part-owner, Barney Dreyfuss, and joined the Colonels in 1894. In his first game, he collected five hits in five at bats which is still a major league record. In his second season, he asserted himself with a batting average of .347, 191 hits and 96 runs which were all best on the team by far. In 1897, Clarke took over managerial duties while only 24 years old. As a player, he hit a career high .390. Only the best average of Willie Keeler's career stopped Clarke from winning his only batting title. (For many years, Clarke's 1897 average was listed as .406 but further research led most official sources, including MLB.com, to list it at .390.) Despite Clarke's excellent hitting and the presence of fellow Hall of Famers, Honus Wagner and Rube Waddell, the team struggled for several years. While in Louisville, Clarke was teamed up with pitcher Chick Fraser. Clarke and Fraser became brothers-in-law when they married sisters. When the Colonels folded, Barney Dreyfuss became the owner of the Pittsburgh franchise and tapped Clarke, Wagner, Waddell, Deacon Phillippe and others to accompany him.
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