John Clarkson

June 4, 1889

Today, if you want to know the details of a perfect inning, you can go to YouTube and watch the highlights on video or get a pitch-by-pitch breakdown on Pitchf/x. While we do not have such records for the early accounts of immaculate innings, we do know this — the first recorded immaculate inning occurred on June 4th, 1889 and the first pitcher was John Clarkson. Clarkson was a pitcher for the Boston Beaneaters. The team may be long forgotten by fans of the game today, but Clarkson, at least among baseball historians, is certainly remembered. The Beaneaters were a National League team, so the first recorded instance of an immaculate inning is credited to this league. But who was John Clarkson and what happened that day?

Born on July 1st, 1861, Clarkson came from a middle class family — his father the owner of a jewelry business. He attended Business school in Boston and subsequently worked for a time in the family shop. His prowess in baseball, already evident in high school where he played as a catcher, meant it would not be long before Clarkson sought a different path than his father. Interestingly, there must have been a collective passion for the game in his family, as he had two brothers who both played baseball for Harvard University. He entered professional baseball, first with the Worcester Ruby Legs in 1882, then played several seasons with the Chicago White Stockings (1884-1887), Boston Beaneaters (1888-1892) and Cleveland Spiders (1892-1894). He is widely regarded as one of the premiere pitchers of the 19th century, posting several notable achievements. In twelve seasons, his record of 328 wins and 178 loses is truly impressive. In six of these seasons, Clarkson had 30 or more wins, including two seasons where he won more than 40 games: this achievement puts him in two of the top four all-time spots for most wins in a season (53 in 1885 and 49 in 1889). He won the National League pitching Triple Crown (leading the league in wins, strikes and ERA) in 1889. In 1885 and 1889 he pitched over 600 innings, and in back to back seasons (1885 and 1886), he recorded over 300 strikeouts each year. All in all, Clarkson had an impressive career. At least one source ranks Clarkson as the number four pitcher of all time, behind Cy Young, Christy Mathewson, and Lefty Grove. More conservatively, we can at least say he is in the top 100, if not top 50 list of all time pitching greats. He retired from baseball at the age of 33 and was posthumoously inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1963.

With regard to his pitching style, Clarkson's strongest weapon seems to have been his curve ball. His ability to read batters, find weaknesses and adjust accordingly is also noted. He may have also been quite savvy with equipment, exploiting all possible advantages against his opponents. Shiny belt buckles were a particular favorite of his, and on sunny days, when the sun was behind the batter, he took full advantage of the glare.

Clarkson's immaculate inning came in a game against the Philadelphia Quakers in June of 1889. As already noted, 1889 was a good year for the Beantown pitcher. He led the National League that year in wins, ERA, innings pitched, strikeouts, and complete games. But on June 4th in the 3rd inning, Carlson added pitching an immaculate inning to those other accomplishments. The three batters he faced were Jim Fogarty, Sam Thompson, and Sid Farrar. By one account, he would get them all again in the 6th inning. Beyond this information, unfortunately, we have little else on record.

While 1889 was a personal best for Clarkson, in a career of many achievements on the field, it was a turbulent time in professional baseball. As Warren Goldstein has commented, the history of baseball is more than a record of achievements on the field, it can also be viewed through a political economy lens, where the struggle between labour (ball players) and capital (owners) becomes the dominant theme. By the end of the '89 season, that struggle would reach a boiling point. Since the replacement of the National Association with the National League a decade before, curtailing the rights of players had been the policy of ownership, first under William Hulbert, continuing...