Allie Clark

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Allie Clark
Runs batted in
149
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Alfred Aloysius "Allie" Clark (June 16, 1923 – April 2, 2012) was an American

runs batted in
(RBIs).

Clark was born in South Amboy, New Jersey, where he attended St. Mary's High School, and joined the New York Yankees organization after graduating. He spent the next six seasons playing minor league baseball and serving in the U.S. Army during World War II. He made his major league debut in 1947, and after one year with the Yankees, he spent four seasons with the Cleveland Indians. He was a member of the World Champion Yankees and Indians after the two teams won the 1947 World Series and 1948 World Series, respectively. He then played with the Philadelphia Athletics and Chicago White Sox through 1953, and played minor league baseball until 1958. After retiring, he returned to South Amboy and resided there until his death in 2012.

Early life and minor leagues

Clark was born in South Amboy, New Jersey on June 16, 1923. His parents were Alfred and Helen Clark, and he had four brothers and two sisters.[1] He attended St. Mary's High School in South Amboy, later known as Cardinal McCarrick High School, where he served as the baseball team's shortstop.[2] Clark led the 1939 baseball team to the county and state championships, and was named to the All-State baseball team that year; he has since been inducted into his high school's athletic Hall of Fame.[3]

After graduating from high school, Clark was signed by the New York Yankees as an amateur free agent. He was scouted while in high school, and was invited to a tryout in

Easton Yankees of the Eastern Shore League and the Amsterdam Rugmakers of the Canadian–American League. He hit .325 for the Yankees in 70 games, and .368 in 20 games for the Rugmakers.[5] In 1942, he was promoted to the Norfolk Tars of the Piedmont League, where he spent the season as the team's second baseman and played with future major league teammate Vic Raschi. In 129 games with the team, he hit .328 with 34 doubles.[5]

The following year, Clark was promoted to the Newark Bears of the International League, having played one game for them the previous year. After playing in 24 games for the Bears, he was called to serve the United States Army in World War II. Clark served with the combat medical corps in England and France, and saw some active combat in Germany.[4] After being discharged at the conclusion of the war, Clark returned to baseball in 1946. He was unable to stay in baseball shape due to combat duties, and as a result of having slowed down, the Yankees organization converted him to an outfielder and third baseman.[4] In 97 games for Newark, Clark hit .344 with 14 home runs and 70 runs batted in.[5]

Major leagues

Clark played well enough in 1946 to earn a tryout for the

at-bats with a hit.[6] He finished the regular season with a .373 batting average in 24 games.[7] He was named to the 1947 World Series roster, and played in three games. In game seven, he served as a pinch hitter for Yogi Berra, hitting a single, which helped the Yankees win the World Series; he considered this one of his greatest moments in professional baseball.[2][7]

He wore the #3 jersey for the New York Yankees in 1947, and was one of the last players to wear it before it was retired in honor of

Cleveland Indians for pitcher Red Embree.[7] To begin the 1948 season, Clark was in a crowded outfield position battle, with Larry Doby, Thurman Tucker, and Walt Judnich fighting for playing time, but Clark was noted as the most interesting to watch by The Sporting News due to owner Bill Veeck's high regard for him.[9] The only weakness noted in his game was a sore arm from the previous season, to which Clark responded that reading the newspaper was the first time he noticed anything about a bad arm.[10]

He was primarily a starter in the outfield for the first half of the season, and during the second half he

first base, the first time he had played that position at any level.[12] Clark then played in one game in the World Series, going hitless in four plate appearances as the Indians won the series.[7] Clark became the first player in history to win back-to-back World Series with different teams.[13]

Clark started the 1949 season primarily as a pinch hitter, having lost his platoon duties alongside Edwards to Bob Kennedy.[14] He was used mainly as a pinch hitter throughout the year, and by August he was sent down to the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League to make room for Luke Easter, finishing the year with a .176 batting average in 35 games.[15] In 42 games with San Diego over the last two months of the season, Clark hit .295 with 11 home runs.[5] During spring training in 1950, Clark hit .473, leading to a battle with Kennedy and Easter for the right field spot.[16] He spent the season in Cleveland as the backup in right field for Kennedy, and had a .215 batting average with six home runs in 59 games.[7]

In 1951, Clark served as a substitute outfielder for three games with the Indians after Easter was out due to injury.

fourth outfielder after being considered for a starting outfield position alongside Elmer Valo and Gus Zernial.[19] In a game on June 12, Clark ran into the outfield fence chasing a fly ball, and missed some playing time as a result.[20]

Late in the 1952 season, Clark was ejected and fined $50 for arguing strikes in a game where Athletics Eddie Joost and manager Jimmy Dykes were also ejected; Clark's was the only fine not to be rescinded, a move that occurred on Dykes's request.[21] In 71 games, he hit .274 with seven home runs.[7] Clark started the 1953 season with the Athletics, and started off the year with a grand slam home run in spring training against the Philadelphia Phillies in the tenth inning.[22] In 20 games with the Athletics, Clark had a .203 batting average and 13 RBIs, which led the team when that he was sold to the Chicago White Sox in mid-May.[23] A month later, after playing in nine games for the White Sox, he was purchased by the Rochester Red Wings for $20,000, returning to the minors and ending his major league career.[24]

Later life

Clark spent the next five seasons with the Rochester Red Wings of the International League, part of the St. Louis Cardinals organization. In 80 games in 1953, he had a .328 batting average.[5] He came close to making the 1954 International League All-Star team, but missed the cut by four votes to Sam Jethroe.[25] He finished the year with a .323 average and 18 home runs.[5] During the offseason when he was with Rochester, Clark also played winter baseball for various teams in the Puerto Rican League.[26]

To start the 1955 season, Clark held out for a new deal because he felt that he deserved a promotion to the Cardinals' major league roster; he ended the holdout in March.

Denver Bears, but left the team due to the distance between himself and his family.[30] In his final year of professional baseball, he played a combined 70 games with the New Orleans Pelicans, San Antonio Missions, and Indianapolis Indians.[5]

After retiring from professional baseball, Clark worked for 30 years as an employee of Iron Workers Local 373, and served as a member of the South Amboy city council. He lived with his wife, Frances, and the two had six children together. He died on April 2, 2012, in South Amboy.[1]

References

  1. ^
    MyCentralJersey.com
    . April 3, 2012. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
  2. ^ a b Mallozzi, Vincent M. (October 11, 2010). "One Small Town, Six Big-League Careers". The New York Times. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
  3. ^ "Hall of Fame". Cardinal McCarrick High School. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d Daniel, Dan (August 27, 1947). "Rookie Clark Quickly Fits Into Series-Bound Yanks". The Sporting News. p. 9.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Allie Clark Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
  6. ^ "Bobo Newsom Beats Red Sox for Yanks, 1 to 0". The Pittsburgh Press. August 17, 1947. p. 27.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Allie Clark Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
  8. ^ "Yankees Will Retire Babe Ruth's Number 3". Hartford Courant. May 26, 1948. p. 18.
  9. ^ "Clark Clouting Way Into Tribe Garden Picture". The Sporting News. March 17, 1948. p. 11.
  10. ^ McAuley, Ed (March 31, 1948). "Allie Clark's Arm Bad? Good Throws Up Sleeve". The Sporting News. p. 16.
  11. ^ McAuley, Ed (July 21, 1948). "Tribe Picket Line Picked For Last Half". The Sporting News. p. 9.
  12. Boston Globe
    . p. 21.
  13. ^ Langs, Sarah (October 26, 2021). "Joc is 9th to accomplish rare WS feat". MLB.com. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
  14. ^ McAuley, Ed (May 4, 1949). "Boudreau Throws Switch on Main-Line Outfielders". The Sporting News. p. 18.
  15. The Milwaukee Journal
    . August 12, 1949. p. 10.
  16. The Rock Hill Herald
    . April 1, 1950. p. 6.
  17. St. Petersburg Times
    . May 1, 1951. p. 1.
  18. ^ Reichler, Joe (June 25, 1951). "Contenders Gain Hope As Chisox, Brooks Slip". The Miami News. p. 3.
  19. ^ "A's Appear Doomed to a Skimpy Season". The Milwaukee Journal. March 27, 1952. p. 6.
  20. ^ "Major Flashes". The Sporting News. June 25, 1952. p. 21.
  21. ^ Morrow, Art (October 1, 1952). "Hurley Calls 'Strike Two' – Dykes Starts a Bonfire". The Sporting News. p. 6.
  22. Times Daily
    . March 20, 1953. p. 9.
  23. ^ "A's Sell Allie Clark, Club's RBI Leader, To White Sox". The Sporting News. May 20, 1953. p. 11.
  24. ^ "International League". The Sporting News. June 17, 1953. p. 26.
  25. ^ Kritzer, Cy (September 22, 1954). "Clear-Cut Choices for All-Star Team". The Sporting News. p. 27.
  26. ^ Alvarez de la Vega, Pito (November 17, 1954). "U.S. Players Set Hot Pace in Puerto Rico". The Sporting News. p. 23.
  27. ^ "Allie Clark Ends Holdout". The Sporting News. March 23, 1955. p. 29.
  28. ^ "Candidates Named For Int's MV Player, Pitcher Awards". August 31, 1955. p. 27.
  29. ^ "Rochester Red Wings Hall of Fame: A-E". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
  30. ^ "Allie Clark Quits Denver". The Sporting News. April 16, 1958. p. 50.

External links

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