John Clapp Notable

b. July 15, 1851 · Middletown Mansfields 1872, Philadelphia Athletics 1873–1875, St. Louis Brown Stockings 1876–1877, Indianapolis Blues 1878, Buffalo Bisons 1879, Cincinnati Reds 1880, Cleveland Blues 1881, New York Gothams 1883

John Clapp played for eight clubs across 12 seasons as a catcher, opening with the Middletown Mansfields in 1872 and closing with the New York Gothams in 1883.

Across 588 games he batted .283, with 713 hits and 459 runs. He finished with 7 home runs, 92 doubles and 17 stolen bases.

He led the league in walks once, in 1881, with 35. He played 472 games behind the plate, with 2,307 putouts and 364 errors. He turned 35 double plays. He also played 118 games in the outfield.

He was born in Ithaca, NY, USA on July 15, 1851, and died on December 18, 1904. He batted right-handed and threw right-handed.

Batting, season by season

Year	Team	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	AVG
1872*	MAN	19	97	30	27	7	1	1	16	1	0	2	.278
1873*	ATH	45	204	36	62	10	2	1	27	2	2	4	.304
1874*	ATH	39	165	46	48	7	4	3	19	1	1	2	.291
1875*	ATH	60	292	65	77	8	7	0	39	7	1	9	.264
1876	STL	64	298	60	91	4	2	0	29	8	2	0	.305
1877	STL	60	255	47	81	6	6	0	34	8	6	0	.318
1878	IND	63	263	42	80	10	2	0	29	13	8	0	.304
1879	BUF	70	292	47	77	12	5	1	36	11	11	0	.264
1880	CIN	80	323	33	91	16	4	1	20	21	10	0	.282
1881	CLV	68	261	47	66	12	2	0	25	35	6	0	.253
1883	NYG	20	73	6	13	0	0	0	5	5	4	0	.178
Major leagues	—	425	1765	282	499	60	21	2	178	101	47	0	.283
All seasons	—	588	2523	459	713	92	35	7	279	112	51	17	.283

Seasons outside MLB's recognized major leagues appear in All seasons, but not in Major leagues or the leaderboards. For John Clapp, that is 1872–1875. Why totals can differ.

On this day & linked events

1851

Born July 15, 1851

Ithaca, NY, USA

1904

Died December 18, 1904

1872

Major-league debut: John Clapp

John Clapp made a major-league debut on April 26, 1872.

1883

Final major-league game: John Clapp

John Clapp played a final major-league game on September 28, 1883.

Image: Public domain