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 under the leadership of his young protégé, Albert Spalding. Among the more nefarious policies enacted was the reserve clause, which prevented the inflation of players' salaries by binding them to a single team. Prior to this, player contracts were basically for a single season, renewed at the discretion of the owner each year. There was nothing to stop a player from jumping his contract to go to a rival club willing to pay more for his services — a true open market system for players. The reserve clause prevented this practice, giving owners control and making players little more than chattel to be bought and sold. But by the 1880s, players were beginning to fight back. It was during this time that the first professional union — the Brotherhood of Base Ball Players — was formed. Led by Monte (John) Ward, the union would eventually lead to the Players League Rebellion in 1890: In the year following Clarkson's perfect inning, he and his colleagues would make a bold move and start their own rival league. The league itself was short-lived and in the end, the owners and the reserve clause outlived the player revolt.

After leaving baseball, Clarkson had a second career as a cigar shop owner. Unfortunately, he struggled with mental health problems, suffering at least one nervous breakdown in 1906, which resulted in three years as a patient in various mental institutions. He died in 1909 at the age of 47. The official cause of death was listed as pneumonia.

Rube Waddell

July 1st, 1902

It would be thirteen years before the occurrence of the next immaculate inning. On July 1st, 1902, George Edward "Rube" Waddell, in his first home game for the Philadelphia Athletics, accomplished the feat becoming both the first American League pitcher and the first southpaw (lefty) to pitch a perfect inning.

It seems fitting that this most rare of events was accomplished by a truly unique figure in the history of baseball. By all accounts, Rube Waddell was one of a kind. As with many such interesting historical figures, it is difficult to separate fact from fiction. For example, it was claimed that Rube so loved fires, he would drop everything, including a game he was pitching in, to chase fire engines to the scene of the blaze. There is little evidence to support that this ever happened though. His biography is equally shrouded in controversy. For example, he missed pitching in the 1905 World Series. It is unclear if this is due to an injury (one that ensued over an incident involving a team mate and a straw hat) or whether he had been paid off by gamblers not to show up. According to at many historians, neither account can be fully supported.

There are less contentious, but otherwise quite compelling story lines concerning his professional career. Adding to the mythology of Rube, for example, is the interesting timing of both his birth and death — born on a Friday the 13th in 1876, his life came to a tragic, if not heroic end, on April Fool's Day in 1914 at the very young age of 37. His personal demons are also well known. His drinking is certainly well documented. It also seems possible, as Bill James has suggested, that Rube may have been autistic or suffering from attention deficit disorder. With the disorder unknown at the time, diagnosis would have been impossible. There are certainly stories of his "distractibility": fans were able to hold his attention by flashing shiny objects. His impulsivity and aggressiveness were displayed through numerous stories of fights with teammates. A neurodevelopmental disorder (attention deficit disorder; autism spectrum disorder) would certainly explain some of these behaviours. He also had the reputation of being childlike: Rube once missed a game he was scheduled to pitch in to play a game of marbles with a group of children. I could not find any reference to the outcome of the game, or his prowess as a marble player, but I suspect he was formidable (and hopefully, not ill-tempered with his young fans).

Despite all this, Rube had a remarkable career as a ball player and there are numerous accolades and records to prove it. He was talented enough for Athletics manager and baseball great Connie Mack not only to put up with his strange antics (at least for a while), but also to say he had more "stuff" than anyone he had ever seen. He would many times lead either the American or National League in strikeouts, ERA and wins throughout his career. Notably, he led the American League in strikeouts from 1902 to 1907. In 1905, he won the Triple Crown for pitching (leading the league in wins, strikes and ERA). He holds three all time records: ranked 11th on the MLB all-time ERA list (2.16), 20th on all time WHIP list (1.102) and 19th for all time shutouts (50 career). His career win-loss record was 193-143, with 2,316 strikeouts to his credit in 407 games played. A result of all this and more, Rube was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1946. About his pitching, it was said he possessed both a great fastball and curve, and that his accuracy was laser-like. Together, this was enough to ensure his place in the record books, and in this collection.

On the matter of the inning itself, it was the 2nd of July in 1902 that Rube faced the Baltimore Orioles. Connie Mack's recent acquisition did not disappoint on that day. Although we have limited information about the specifics of the game, here is what we do know for sure. In the 3rd inning, he faced: Billy Gilbert, Harry Howell and Jack Cronin. In order, they went down, striking out the side on just nine pitches. In addition to an immaculate 3rd, Rube struck out a total of 13 Orioles that day, allowing only 2 hits. The following tribute to Rube and his performance in that game was published in the Philadelphia Inquiry a short time later:

Up to the bat the Orioles rose, his face was filled with glee
There're various brands of glee you've never seen before.
"Strike one," the umpire cried, "strike two" —
the umpire said "strike three."
But you've seldom seen those kinds of strikes before.
For when Reuben twirls the sphere
The Planets shrink in fear.
And the sinuous sea serpent
Its sorrow tries to drown.
Then the cyclone hides its head,
And the birds go right to bed
For there's doings on the Diamond
when Reuben comes to town.

An immaculate inning in any era is an impressive accomplishment, but we should not forget what the game was like in Rube's time. Today, foul balls can be called strikes when the batter has two strikes against him. In 1902 though, no such rule existed. In other words, there was no contact with any of Rube's nine pitches — perhaps the epitome of a perfect inning?

On April 1st, 1914, just a few months before the start of World War I, Rube died from tuberculosis while in a sanatorium. It is believed his tuberculosis was the result of successive bouts of pneumonia, the first of which resulted from prolonged exposure to icy water when Rube piled sandbags fighting to save the town of Hickman, Kentucky from a severe spring flood in 1912. The day after his death, the following poem by R.B. Pixley was published in the Milwaukee Sentinel:

They tell me Rube Waddell is dead —
Well — he was a game old scout —
The kind that fights till the last ball's pitched
And the umpire says: "You're out!"

The man on the first wire says the news
Just came in from San Antone —
Well — the game has lost a big league star,
And as good as league could own.

You see, I followed the Rube for years
And gloried in his skill
The way a fellow who just falls short
Of athletic prowess will;

I watched the box scores day by day
And looked for the bottom line —
The names of the sluggers topped each list,
But I picked the Rube's for mine,

And I counted the number of times at bat
And the number of strikeouts there
I wasn't afraid to reckon up,
For I knew that the Rube was there.

I followed the Rube in his palmy days,
When he mowed them down like wheat,
And I clung to those memories when the ways
Of the swift pace had him beat;

And when the big leagues turned him loose,
And now that he's answered the final call,
I never could think, and I can't think now
Of Rube Waddell in minor ball.

So do me a favor, you men who write
Of the stars who rule this age;
When you write the story of Rube Waddell
Let charity turn the page

Which tells of the times when the Rube went bad
And lost to John Barleycorn.
For if ever man's life was a written book
Many pages of each would be torn;

Just recall the days when he stood out there
And battled a howling mob —
Just tell of the days when the Rube was right
And you'll say he was on the job;

The Rube was a man in his build and strength,
But at heart he was only a child,
And the best of the children of men are weak
And the best may grow reckless and wild.

Well — the man on the first wire says the news
Just came that the Rube was out;
Let it go as it lays, for the game is fair ...
But ... the Rube was a game old Scout!

Pat Ragan

October 5th, 1914

The third recorded immaculate inning occurred twelve years after Rube Waddell's on October 5th, 1914. The times had indeed changed, especially in the world outside the United States and professional baseball. World War I was well into its first year, and although it would be several more before America declared war on Germany and its allies (April of 1917), stories of the war were unquestionably big news across the country. Major League Baseball had yet to feel the effects of losing so many young men to wartime efforts.

Unlike the first two pitchers in this collection, we know much less about the hurler at the centre of this event. Don Carlos Patrick Ragan was born on the 15th of November in 1885 in Blanchard, Iowa. He died at the age of 70, while living in Los Angeles. We know that he was a starting pitcher, a righty, made his Major League debut with the Cincinnati Reds on April 21st, 1909, and that he played his last game, as a Philadelphia Philly, on July 5th, 1923 at the age of 37. In between, he played for five other teams: the Chicago Cubs (1909), the Brooklyn Robins (1911-15), the Boston Braves (1915-19), the New York Giants (1919) and the Chicago White Sox (1919). His record provides some insight into why we know so little else. Overall, he had a career record of 77-104. He posted 680 strikeouts, pitched 93 complete games, 12 shutouts and had an ERA of 2.99.25 A career that, unlike the first two pitchers in this collection, pretty much ensured he would not be admitted to the Hall in Cooperstown. Ring Lardner, the sports columnist and novelist, gave his opinion of Ragan through the fictitious letters of his popular character, bush league baseball player "Jack Keefe." I paraphrase here: the White Sox demonstrated just how desperate they have become by signing Pat Ragan, a player who had made his way through every other club in the National League. High praise this was not. Ragan's only claim to fame is that he was the third pitcher in professional baseball to pitch an immaculate inning; and the second pitcher from the National League to do so.

Interestingly, the inning itself does stand out as unique in the annals of immaculate innings. Not for Ragan's pitching but for his less than sportsmanlike conduct during the feat. The contest was between the Brooklyn Robins, Ragan's team, and the first place Boston Braves. The day before, the Braves had trounced the home team handily, taking the contest 15-2 (in a game that lasted just over one hour). In game two, the Robins had managed to keep it closer, but still trailed the Braves 4-1 when Ragan took the hill in the 8th inning. It appeared that Ragan sensed he had something special that day, and decided to make a true show for the fans in attendance right from the start. After the first pitch, a strike to Possum Whitted, he "tossed" his hat (I take this to mean he tipped or removed his hat in a gesture of thanks) to the fans seated behind the Braves dugout, reacting to an imagined applauding crowd. After pitching a second strike, he repeated the act, this time to the other side of the stand. By the third time, the applause was real.

The act continued for each of the three pitches to the second batter of the inning, Butch Schimdt. Apparently, now to the bemusement of fans and players alike, the latter group described as convulsing with laughter, both Whitted and Schmidt went down without swinging. Ragan's antics seemed to stop once Red Smith took his position in the batter's box, as perhaps he finally sensed he was on the verge of achieving something very special. Unlike his teammates, Red swung on every pitch, missing all three.

We may indeed judge Ragan's performance harshly due to his antics and shameless showmanship, but in 1909, basebal, this behaviour was not at all out of the ordinary. Regardless, Ragan's team ended up losing the game: the final contest in an otherwise mediocre season. On a personal level, Ragan accomplished something remarkable. Though most of his career was largely unremarkable, Ragan's stylish immaculate inning distinguishes him from the brotherhood of pitchers who achieved the same.