Fred Clarke Pitts

Fred Clifford Clarke (1872–1960) appears here in the E90-1 American Caramel issue with the correct Pittsburgh attribution, the companion to the misattributed "Phila. NL" version that some collectors hunt as a pair. Born October 3, 1872 in Winterset, Iowa, the left-handed-hitting outfielder who threw right broke in with the Louisville Colonels in 1894 and was named player-manager there at age 24 in 1897. When the National League contracted in 1900 the franchise's best players, Clarke included, were transferred to Pittsburgh, and he served as Pirates player-manager from 1900 through 1915. He won four NL pennants — 1901, 1902, 1903, and 1909 — and the 1909 World Series over Detroit in seven games, batting over .300 in eleven seasons and finishing with 2,672 career hits. The E90-1 set, distributed in Philadelphia from 1909 through 1911 with American Caramel candy, captured him in the middle of his managerial peak. He retired to a working ranch in Kansas. He died August 14, 1960 in Winfield, Kansas at 87 and is buried at Greenlawn Cemetery there. The Hall of Fame elected him in 1945.