Horace Clarke--1972
Poor Horace Clarke.
Caught between the aging Mickey Mantle
and a youthful Thurman Munson, Clarke
was a bridge between the Yankee
pennant years of 1964 and 1976.
Yet he was often blamed for the
Yankees' woes, as the period of
extended mediocrity for the Bronx
Bombers is routinely referred to as the
"Horace Clarke Era."
In reality, he should have been viewed
upon as a hero; as Clarke broke up
three no-hitters in the ninth inning during
1970 in the space of one month (Kansas
City's Jim Rooker 6/4, Boston's Sonny
Siebert 6/18, Detroit's Joe Niekro 7/2).
Not winning pennants for years was
difficult for the Yankee faithful, but just
think about the humiliation for Yankee
fans if New York had been no-hit by a
Kansas City hurler. Heck, when Kansas
City was home to the A's they were
virtually the farm club for the Yankees in
the 1950's and '60's. And to be no-hit by
a Red Sox pitcher would have been
fodder for years of verbal abuse from the
folks in the Back Bay. Lastly, if Clarke
didn't get those three hits; well it would
have been one of the worst months for
ANY franchise in baseball history.
So, instead of belittling the tiny man from
the Virgin Islands, we should be
celebrating him and his lifetime .256
average. Who else was going to play
second base? Jerry Kenney?
Thank you.
Editor's Note: Here is a recent article on
Horace Clarke. Looking at the picture of
him in his Yankee garb with the beautiful
waters of the Virgin Islands in the
background (cue the steel drum band),
we have to think that Horace is having
the last laugh as he collects his big
league pension while living in a garden
paradise. (5/24/10)
Where are they now? Horace Clarke in
the New York Daily News
Caught between the aging Mickey Mantle
and a youthful Thurman Munson, Clarke
was a bridge between the Yankee
pennant years of 1964 and 1976.
Yet he was often blamed for the
Yankees' woes, as the period of
extended mediocrity for the Bronx
Bombers is routinely referred to as the
"Horace Clarke Era."
In reality, he should have been viewed
upon as a hero; as Clarke broke up
three no-hitters in the ninth inning during
1970 in the space of one month (Kansas
City's Jim Rooker 6/4, Boston's Sonny
Siebert 6/18, Detroit's Joe Niekro 7/2).
Not winning pennants for years was
difficult for the Yankee faithful, but just
think about the humiliation for Yankee
fans if New York had been no-hit by a
Kansas City hurler. Heck, when Kansas
City was home to the A's they were
virtually the farm club for the Yankees in
the 1950's and '60's. And to be no-hit by
a Red Sox pitcher would have been
fodder for years of verbal abuse from the
folks in the Back Bay. Lastly, if Clarke
didn't get those three hits; well it would
have been one of the worst months for
ANY franchise in baseball history.
So, instead of belittling the tiny man from
the Virgin Islands, we should be
celebrating him and his lifetime .256
average. Who else was going to play
second base? Jerry Kenney?
Thank you.
Editor's Note: Here is a recent article on
Horace Clarke. Looking at the picture of
him in his Yankee garb with the beautiful
waters of the Virgin Islands in the
background (cue the steel drum band),
we have to think that Horace is having
the last laugh as he collects his big
league pension while living in a garden
paradise. (5/24/10)
Where are they now? Horace Clarke in
the New York Daily News
