1967 Profile: Horace Clarke

"The departure of Bobby Richardson may have left an empty feeling in Yankee hearts, but his replacement, Horace Clarke, could more than amply fill the vacancy. Horace looks as though he were cut from the same mold as Bobby. At 5-9, 170 pounds, he's built the same. Like Bobby, he's a slap-type hitter who strikes out infrequently, and from the way he flashed his glove in the waning days of the 1966 season, he appears to be another Richardson at second base.
The 26-year-old Virgin Islander worked his way up through the Yankee chain for seven seasons, finally making the big club after a .301 year at Toledo in 1965. He cracked the lineup at short last season, played in 96 games and batted .266 with six homers and 28 RBIs."

-Jack Zanger, Major League Baseball 1967

"This was a happy spring for Horace Clarke. It was the first time the switch-hitter from the Virgin Islands had come to camp confident he had a job.
The 26-year-old Clarke played 96 games for the Yankees last year and hit a fine .266. But in 63 of those games, he played out of position - at shortstop. Normally a second baseman, the job is his this year by reason of the retirement of Bobby Richardson.
Following All-Star Bobby is not an enviable task, but Horace is sure he can satisfy Stadium fans. So is Ralph Houk. Teammate Mel Stottlemyre over the winter, 'I played with Horace at Richmond in 1963 and '64 and I'll predict right now that he will develop into the American League's best second baseman.'
An oddity of Clarke's Yankee career to date is the fact that his first two home runs as a Yankee were grand slams. That's hard to top! In 1965, he led the Yanks in pinch-hitting with a .346 mark. He hit .301 in each of his last two minor league campaigns and would like to do that now for the Yankees."

-The New York Yankees Official 1967 Yearbook

MY GREATEST THRILL
"At the end of the 1965 season, our Toledo club was playing at Buffalo and as we were leaving the field at the end of the game, our manager, Frank Verdi, came out and congratulated our winning pitcher. Then he shook my hand on the way to the dugout. I thought he also was congratulating me on our winning game, but he said, 'You're going to the Yankees, tomorrow, Horace.' I couldn't believe him - and I didn't sleep all night."

-Horace Clarke, The New York Yankees Official 1967 Yearbook

Signed by Yankee organization, January 14, 1958.
Brought up from Toledo, May 11, 1965, optioned to Toledo, June 30, 1965, recalled from Toledo, September 1, 1965.
His first two major league home runs were grand slams- one in 1965 and one in 1966.
Normally a second baseman, he played 63 games at shortstop last year.
Yankees' top pinch hitter in 1965 (.346, 9-for-26).

-1967 New York Yankees Press-TV-Radio Guide