William Jones "Boileryard" Clarke (October 18, 1868 – July 29, 1959), was an American

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player from New York City who played

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

from 1893 to 1905. Clarke also served as the long-time head baseball coach for

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

, where Bill Clarke Field is named in his honor. Clarke played for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

(1893–1898),

Boston Beaneaters Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most po ...

(1899–1900), Washington Senators (1901–1904), and

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

(1905).

Biography

Clarke was born on October 18, 1868, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He moved to the then

New Mexico Territory The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of ''Santa Fe de Nuevo México ...

in his early childhood, was raised in

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

territory, and studied

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...

in Santa Fe at Brothers College. He began his professional career with the Pueblo Ponies of the

Colorado State League The Colorado State League was an unaffiliated minor league baseball league that played between 1885 and 1898 involving teams from Colorado. Cities represented * Aspen, CO: Aspen Silver Kings 1889; Aspen Miners 1896, 1898-1899 * Colorado Spring ...

in 1889, and played for the Ottumwa Coal Palaces in the 1890 Illinois-Iowa League. After playing for the San Francisco Friscos and San Jose Dukes of the

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...

in 1891 and 1892, Clarke made his debut for the

of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

on May 1, 1893. Clarke would play in 13 major league seasons. He said that his nickname, "Boileryard", was given to him because of his voice, explaining, "I had a terrible voice which you could hear all over the diamond." During his major league career, he also assisted the

baseball team as a

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

from 1897 to 1901. He returned to Princeton in 1909, approximately four years after his retirement from baseball, and stayed until 1927. He came out of retirement again to be an assistant coach for Princeton in 1934, and in 1936 was named

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

of the team, and stayed in the position until 1944, when retired again, this time at the age of 75. His managerial record at Princeton was 564–322–10 and his tenure in athletics there was longer than anybody else's. He also managed

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

teams in

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. The city has a population of 125,845 as of the 2020 United ...

;

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

; and the

Albany Senators The Albany Senators was a name used by multiple minor league baseball teams representing Albany, New York, that existed between 1885 and 1959. The mid-20th century club played at Hawkins Stadium (Albany), Hawkins Stadium. The various editions of t ...

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

. Bill Clarke Field, the home of Princeton baseball since 1961, is named in his honor. Clarke died in

Princeton, New Jersey Princeton is a municipality with a borough form of government in Mercer County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton and Princeton Township, both of whi ...

, at the age of 90, of complications suffered from a broken hip resulting from a fall. He was survived by his wife of 64 years and a granddaughter. He is interred at Druid Ridge Cemetery in

Pikesville, Maryland Pikesville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. Pikesville is just northwest of the Baltimore city limits. It is the northwestern suburb closest to Baltimore. The population was 30,764 at the 2010 cens ...

, in the Evergreen Section.

References

External links

*Boileryard Clarke'
obit
at thedeadballera.com * : {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Boileryard 1868 births 1959 deaths 19th-century baseball players Major League Baseball catchers Baltimore Orioles (NL) players Boston Beaneaters players Navy Midshipmen baseball coaches New York Giants (NL) players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Princeton Tigers baseball coaches Albany Senators players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Pueblo Ponies players San Francisco Friscos players San Francisco Metropolitans players San Jose Dukes players Toledo Mud Hens players Sportspeople from New York City Baseball players from New Mexico Accidental deaths in New Jersey Accidental deaths from falls Burials at Druid Ridge Cemetery Aspen (minor league baseball) players