John Clapp

Who was John Clapp?

John Edgar Clapp, nicknamed "Honest John", was a professional baseball player-manager whose career spanned 12 seasons, 11 of which were spent with the Major League Baseball Middletown Mansfields, Philadelphia Athletics, St. Louis Brown Stockings, Indianapolis Blues, Buffalo Bisons, Cincinnati Reds, Cleveland Blues, and New York Gothams. Clapp, who predominately played as a catcher, also played as an outfielder. Over his career, Clapp compiled a career batting average of .283 with 459 runs scored, 713 hits, 92 doubles, 35 triples, 7 home runs, and 834 runs batted in. Over 1,188 games played, Clapp struck out 51 times. Although the majority of his career was spent in the major leagues, Clapp also played two seasons of minor league baseball. He made his MLB debut at the age of 21 and was listed as standing 5 feet 7 inches and weighing 194 pounds. His brother, Aaron Clapp, also played one season of MLB for the Troy Trojans.