On August 5, 2020, just a short time ago, Horace Clarke passed away. During the peak of his playing days (1965-1974) one could argue that Clarke was one of the faces of the New York Yankees. Sure, whenever you’re on a team with the legend – Mickey Mantle – you’d be hard-pressed to say anyone but The Mick was the face of the franchise. But, there was much fanfare around Clarke. While he wasn’t the greatest, he personified what the Yankees were during this down time in their illustrious history. In fact, in 1966, the Yankees finished last for the first time since 1912 when they were known as the New York Highlanders. Clarke first learned to play the game in Frederiksted, U.S. Virgin Islands; and it’s there, Frederiksted, where Horace Clarke is best known as a hero. After all, so few Major League baseball players hail from the tiny island. Clarke caught the eye of scouts in his early 20s and worked his way through the Yankees minor-league system in short fashion and in order moving from Class D, to Class C, and on to A, AA and finally AAA. The Yankees were a team going through a transition and Clarke wound up replacing Bobby Richardson in the lineup. Horace had speed, swung a consistent bat, and didn’t strike out much. He was a decent infielder too. Some of the highlights of his career included hitting a grand slam as his first home run and then a grand slam for his second home run. (he is the only player in history to do that). In 1970, in less than a month, Horace broke up three no-hitters in the ninth inning with hits off Jim Rooker, Sonny Siebert and Joe Niekro. So, while Horace was a good ballplayer, you might be wondering why Horace Clarke is classified as a forgotten hero. There are two reasons: 1.) In his native Frederiksted, he was a hero based on all the work he did with recreational baseball after his playing days ended and 2.) selfishly, he was one of my favorite Yankees when I watched the team. I was always curious as to why he wore a helmet in the field and at my very first bat day, I got a Horace Clarke bat. Rory Costello who has written numerous bios for the SABR Bio Project, is my guest on this edition of SFH as we talk about the career of Horace Clarke.
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