Flea Clifton

Who was Flea Clifton?

Herman Earl "Flea" Clifton, was a Major League Baseball infielder who played four seasons with the Detroit Tigers from 1934 to 1937.

Clifton was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. His father died in World War I when he was eight years old, and his mother was killed when he was 15 after a family friend strangled her with one of Clifton's ties. His stepfather then kicked him out, and Clifton lived for the next year behind a garage in Ludlow, Kentucky.

Clifton played semi-pro baseball in Cincinnati before signing with the Detroit Tigers in 1929. Clifton spent the 1929 season playing in Raleigh, North Carolina. Clifton met future Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg when they played together in Raleigh. The two remained friends and teammates through the remainder of Clifton's career. Clifton appeared in the 1998 documentary about Greenberg, "The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg."

In his autobiography, Greenberg recalled Clifton as a "tough little guy" who used a gray bat made of Cuban wood that he soaked in water every night, supposedly "to keep it from cracking or chipping." Greenberg also joked about Clifton's unusual diet: "On the road, he used to eat nothing but dougnuts and bananas. He said they were cheap and filling and stretched his meal money. Flea was the only ballplayer who could show a profit on $1-a-day meal money."