Daniel J. McClellan (July 1, 1878 - March 10, 1962) was an American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

and

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 ...

who starred for top-tier independent black teams before the Negro National League was founded. His career began about 1903, and he continued as a playing manager and organizer of lesser teams well into the 1920s. 1904XGiants

With the Cuban X-Giants in 1903 he pitched the earliest known

perfect game Perfect game may refer to: Sports * Perfect game (baseball), a complete-game win by a pitcher allowing no baserunners * Perfect game (bowling), a 300 game, 12 consecutive strikes in the same game * Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, New York ...

in black baseball against a semi-pro team. He switched to the

Philadelphia Giants The Philadelphia Giants were a Negro league baseball team that played from 1902 to 1911. From 1904 to 1909 they were one of the strongest teams in black baseball, winning five eastern championships in six years. The team was organized by Sol Whi ...

during the 1904 season and pitched for them through 1906. The X-Giants were arguably the best black team in 1903, and the Philadelphia Giants were also arguably the best black team in those three years while McClellan and

Rube Foster Andrew "Rube" Foster (September 17, 1879 – December 9, 1930) was an American baseball player, manager, and executive in the Negro leagues. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981. Foster, considered by historians to have been per ...

were regular pitchers. McClellan was described as a "smart pitcher ... to offset his lack of a substantial fastball" by blackball historian Jame Riley. Sportswriters Harry Daniels and Jimmy Smith both named McClellan to their 1909 "All American Team.""The Base Ball Spirit In The East." Indianapolis Freeman, Indianapolis, Indiana, Saturday, December 25, 1909, Page 7, Columns 1 and 2
/ref> McClellan was named as "Dream Team" coach in the 1952 Pittsburgh ''Courier'' poll of outstanding black baseball players.
/ref>

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Philadelphia Giants players 1962 deaths 1878 births Baseball players from Norfolk, Virginia 20th-century African-American people Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Philadelphia {{Negro-league-baseball-pitcher-stub