The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-01-15
INJURY MARKED
CLARKE'S FINISH
Blow on Head Decided Flu
ture Of the Pirate
Manager

Pittsburg, Jan. 15.-When lanky
Harry Sallee shot that fast one crash.
ing flush against Fred Clarke's right
temple in st. Louis July 2 last It
marked the beginning OF the n lot
Clarke as one of the greatest player
managers of all time.
It didn't mark the veteran pilots
finish so far as he personally was con
cerned. Persons nearer and dearer to
him than n fan long had begged him
to quit. Fear that some day his daring
and ag~gressiveness would meet with
serious injury had caused his family to
plead with him that ne give up play
ing-that he take his place among
other old masters as u bench manager
and hat like Jennings, Griffith. Nc
Graw, Chance, and Dahlen, he wear
his uniform for bench privileges only.
1t is said by many that when Sallee
"beaned" Clarke in that memorable
Sunday clash with the Cardinals. 1t
was the coin that tipped the future
destiny of the Pirate boss. 1t was
just such a trick of h baseball fates
that Mrs. Fred Clarke and her two
young daughters often had feared. For
tenders n winners smiled n laugh
ed away these occasional fears n
bore injury after injury with apparent
good grace.
Figures IL Time to Quit.
But the inevitable came. 1t wasn't
Salle's fault. 1t was the misfortune
Of both that Clarke, crowding the
plate as usual. was caught by the fast
"insider" n dropped senseless In the
loam. 1t troubled the Pirate manager
for two weeks. but there was no last
ing i'll effect. Probably, then. If never
before. Fred Clarke figured that in
seventeen years as a major league ball
player. he had had enough. The close
of his seventeenth e showed him to
have a grand batting average with
Louisville and Pittsburg of 1926. He
was keeping up that gait late last
season, having .324 for the year that
marked his last.
For four years Fred Clarke heard
the frequent pleadings of his wife and
his little daughter Muriel to give up
playing. The Clarke family is a charm
ing little household. and with two de-
voted little daughters joining in his
Fred to resist. ,
Vans Big Championship.
True, he had accomplished great
things. but not until 1909 did he sue
coed in fulfilling his most cherished
ambition-a worlds championship.
They looked for him to take off the
spiked shoes in the following year.
'us i1O ShOuSll Hc SOulu repeat.
Mrs. Clarke during the past year
declared that n of the happiest days
of her life would be the day that her
husband declared he would give up
the game for all time. He met with
frequent injuries early in the last
playing season-then came the dis
tressing rap from Sallee.
Independently wealthy - probably
better supplied and unincumbered
than many of the so-called magnates
in organized baseball today-nothing
stood in Fred's way this winter when
he decided to give up the game. He
brought four pennants to this city and
a worlds championship.
Recently Fred vas quoted as hav-
ing bet nineteen suits of clothes that
he will never participate in another
game of ball. Pittsburg hopes he loses
every bet he made. In this town of
smoke and money they simply can't
imagine such a thing as Clarke sitting
on the bench when a ninth-inning
pinch wallop is needed. He probably
never again will play the outfield or
any other field. but the knack of
slapping out a hit-it's in tn wood
n in the blood-it will be mighty
hard for him to resist.