Lloyd McClendon---1988
While many of us armchair GMs are
a legend in our minds from our days
of youth; Lloyd McClendon really was
a legend in Little League. As the
youngsters grab their bats and
gloves this weekend in Williamsport,
PA for the start of the Little League
World Series, we are reminded of
McClendon’s utter dominance that
brought him the nickname
“Legendary Lloyd.”
Starring for the Anderson Little
League team from Gary, IN,
McClendon blasted five home runs in
each of his five official Little League
World Series at bats in 1971.
Standing 5-foot-8, McClendon was a
man amongst boys as he led the
Anderson Nine, the first team to field
an all-black team in the series.
McClendon would hit two long balls in
each of Anderson’s first two games,
with a fifth homer coming in his first at
bat in the third game. Amazingly all
his long balls came on the first pitch.
After that, the opponents threw up
the white flag and decided to just
walk the young slugger.
Splitting duties between pitching and
catching, McClendon took to the
mound in the title game against
Taiwan. He fanned 12 while pitching
into the ninth inning in a contest won
12-3 by Taiwan, as McClendon tired
and yielded seven runs to the
eventual champions. Thirty-five years
after his fabled performance in
Williamsport, McClendon was
honored for his heroics by being
placed in the Little League Hall of
Fame in 2006.
McClendon would go on to star at
Gary’s Roosevelt High School and be
drafted in the 8th round by the New
York Mets out of Valparaiso
University in 1980. During his eight-
year major league career with the
Reds, Cubs and Pirates; the pride of
Gary would establish himself as a
handy man with a reliable bat off the
bench. Shifting between five
positions (1B, 3B, LF, RF & C),
McClendon would hit .244 in 570
games, including 35 home runs. He
would go on to successful stints as a
big league coach, while logging a
336-446 managerial record from
2001 through 2005 guiding the
hapless Pirates.
But it was his unparalleled display of
power that created the legend of
Lloyd McClendon.
(8/15/08)
a legend in our minds from our days
of youth; Lloyd McClendon really was
a legend in Little League. As the
youngsters grab their bats and
gloves this weekend in Williamsport,
PA for the start of the Little League
World Series, we are reminded of
McClendon’s utter dominance that
brought him the nickname
“Legendary Lloyd.”
Starring for the Anderson Little
League team from Gary, IN,
McClendon blasted five home runs in
each of his five official Little League
World Series at bats in 1971.
Standing 5-foot-8, McClendon was a
man amongst boys as he led the
Anderson Nine, the first team to field
an all-black team in the series.
McClendon would hit two long balls in
each of Anderson’s first two games,
with a fifth homer coming in his first at
bat in the third game. Amazingly all
his long balls came on the first pitch.
After that, the opponents threw up
the white flag and decided to just
walk the young slugger.
Splitting duties between pitching and
catching, McClendon took to the
mound in the title game against
Taiwan. He fanned 12 while pitching
into the ninth inning in a contest won
12-3 by Taiwan, as McClendon tired
and yielded seven runs to the
eventual champions. Thirty-five years
after his fabled performance in
Williamsport, McClendon was
honored for his heroics by being
placed in the Little League Hall of
Fame in 2006.
McClendon would go on to star at
Gary’s Roosevelt High School and be
drafted in the 8th round by the New
York Mets out of Valparaiso
University in 1980. During his eight-
year major league career with the
Reds, Cubs and Pirates; the pride of
Gary would establish himself as a
handy man with a reliable bat off the
bench. Shifting between five
positions (1B, 3B, LF, RF & C),
McClendon would hit .244 in 570
games, including 35 home runs. He
would go on to successful stints as a
big league coach, while logging a
336-446 managerial record from
2001 through 2005 guiding the
hapless Pirates.
But it was his unparalleled display of
power that created the legend of
Lloyd McClendon.
(8/15/08)
