©DiamondsintheDusk.comMoose Clabaugh, “62 homers”John William (Moose) Clabaugh, a hard-hitting outfielder/first baseman from Missouri, gains national attention during the 1926 season when he hits 62 home runs for the Tyler Trojans of the East Texas (D) League, breaking the organized baseball record of 60 established the previous season by Tony Lazzeri of the Salt Lake City Bees.

Clabaugh’s home run total is even more impressive when you consider that his 62 round-trippers are achieved in only 123 games and Tyler’s elevation is 544 feet … Lazzeri totals his 60 home runs over 197 games and Salt Lake City’s elevation is listed at 4,226 feet.

Despite playing for a team that finishes 57-64 and 25 1/2 games behind the first-place Longview Cannibals, Clabaugh captures the East Texas “Triple Crown”, leading the circuit in home runs, runs batted in (164) and batting average (.376).

Despite playing in a low-level minor league, his performance earns him a late-season call up to the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League, where he goes 1-for-14 (.071) with one RBI in 11 games.

Such are the expectations for the 24-year-old Cla-baugh, that when he breaks his bat in his first ma-jor league plate appearance against the New York Giants on August 30, 1926, it makes headlines in newspapers across the country.

Less than two months later, on November 14, the Dodgers send Clabaugh back to the Tyler Trojans … the Albany, Missouri, native will never get another invitation to a major-league spring training camp.

Clabaugh plays in 2,100 games over 16 minor league seasons for 19 different teams from 1923 to 1940 … he ends his minor league career with a lifetime bat-ting average of .339 with 346 career home runs … has 10 seasons with 20 or more home runs and captures five batting titles, including back-to-back titles in the Southern (A) Association in 1931 and 1932 … led three different leagues - East Texas League (1926) 62; Three-I League (1930) 30; Southern Association (1931) 23 - in home runs … with the Quincy Indians in 1930, he sets a Three-I League record with 154 runs batted in.

Following a contract dispute with the Portland Bea-vers of the Pacific Coast (AA) League, Clabaugh sits out the entire 1938 and 1939 seasons, ... joining the Oregon State Police during the holdout, he returns to baseball in 1940, before retiring at midseason.

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Moose Clabaugh1933 Baltimore Orioles

Clabaugh Year by Year:

Year Team League Level HR RBI AVG1923 Topeka Kaws .........................Southwestern C 10 .254 Hutchinson Wheat Shockers .Southwestern C 10 .2541924 Bartlesville/Ardmore Bearcats ........Western C 11 .3571925 Ardmore Boomers .........................Western C 1 .4241925 Paris Bearcats ............................East Texas D 34 .3851925 Decatur Commoodores ................... Three-I B 1 .2641926 Tyler Trojans ..............................East Texas D 62 164 .3761926 Brooklyn Dodgers ......................NATIONAL ML 0 .0731927 High Point Pointers ......................Piedmont C 21 .3631927 Jacksonville Tars ...................Southeastern B 0 .2791928 Jacksonville Tars ...................Southeastern B 15 71 .3661928 Mobile Bears ................................ Southern A 2 30 .3451929 Mobile Bears ................................ Southern A 10 77 .316 Birmingham Barons ..................... Southern1930 Buffalo Bisons ......................... International AA 0 .3001930 Quincy Indians ................................ Three-I B 30 154 .3371931 Quincy Indians ................................ Three-I B 1 .3671931 Nashville Volunteers .................... Southern A 23 104 .3781932 Nashville Volunteers .................... Southern A 32 107 .3821933 Baltimore Orioles .................... International AA 16 .3361934 Atlanta Crackers ........................... Southern A 4 21 .3381934 Portland Beavers .................... Pacific Coast AA 16 73 .3051935 Portland Beavers .................... Pacific Coast AA 16 116 .3421936 Portland Beavers .................... Pacific Coast AA 20 112 .3171937 Portland Beavers .................... Pacific Coast AA 17 114 .3261938 Toledo ........................Oregon State League 1939 Trois-Rivieres .................................Quebec Ind. 2 .2621939 Grants Pass Cave Shop ...... Oregon Softball1940 Portland Beavers .................... Pacific Coast AA 1 5 .1181940 Salem Senators .........Western International B 6 .3191945 Ames Grocery ............Portland City League1946 Ames Grocery ............Portland City LeagueBold denotes led leagueLed 1926 East Texas League in runs (106)Led 1927 Piedmont League in hits (187)Led 1935 Pacific Coast League in doubles (56)

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Within a week of retiring from the Salem Senators, Clabaugh is appointed to the umpiring staff of the Western (B) International League ... one of the first um-pires in pro ball to wear glasses, he also continues to manage, and play, semi-pro baseball in the Portland area.

Later, Clabaugh takes a job as a security officer at the Bonneville Dam in Or-egon.

Clabaugh Chronology

July 24, 1925Despite leading the East Texas (D) League in home runs (34) and being second in hitting (.385), Clabaugh is sold to the Decater Commodores of the Three-I (B) League ... to replace Clabaugh, Paris buys the contract of outfielder Travis Lowrance from Longview.

August 20, 1926Back in the East Texas League with the Tyler Trojans, Clabaugh hits home run No. 60, tying Tony Lazzeri’s organized baseball record for home runs in one season ... his eighth-inning home run off of Paris’ Frank-lin Stone, clears the centerfield wall “by some 40 feet and sailed over the tops of several houses across the street,” and keys a 13-10 Tyler victory.

August 21, 1926Clabaugh becomes baseball’s all-time lead-

ing home run hitter when he hits home run No. 61 off of Paris’ James Emmons in a 3-2 Trojan win in the second-to-last game of the year.

August 22, 1926In the final game of the season, Clabaugh clouts home run No. 62, a three-run shot in the bottom of the third inning, in a 7-6 10-inning loss to the cellar dwelling Paris Bearcats ... Clabaugh wins the league’s “Triple Crown” hitting .376 with 62 home runs and 164 RBIs.

It is announced on the same day that the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League have purchased Clabaugh and that he is to report to the team im-mediately.

Dispute about a Moose - Following the announcement that Clabaugh has been sold to the Brooklyn Dodgers, a dispute quickly erupts as three minor league teams - Mission Bells (AA Pacific Coast League), Denver Bears (A Western League) and the Waco Cubs (A Texas League) – each announce that they have filed claims for the rights to the slugging outfielder … Base-ball Commissioner Landis makes a “unique” ruling that invalidates all four teams’ claims, returns Clabaugh back to the Tyler Trojans ... Landis’ ruling essentially makes Clabaugh a free agent and available to the highest bid-der, which turns out to be Brooklyn.

Minor League Home Run Leaders

Joe Bauman, Roswell .................1954 72Joe Hauser, Minneapolis ..........1933 69Bob Crues, Amarillo ...................1948 69Dick Stuart, Lincoln ....................1956 66Bob Lennon, Nashville ..............1954 64Joe Hauser, Baltimore ...............1930 63Moose Clabaugh, Tyler .......1930 62Ken Guettler, Shreveport .........1956 62Tony Lazzeri, Salt Lake City .....1925 60Frosty Kennedy, Plainview ......1956 60

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August 30, 1926Playing with Brooklyn, Clabaugh makes his major league debut against the New York Giants ... pinch hittng for pitcher Jesse Barnes in the bottom of the ninth inning, Clabuagh breaks his bat and lines into a double play.

November 15, 1926The Brooklyn Dodgers return Clabaugh back to the Tyler Trojans ... it is reported that both Denver and Waco are intertested in having Clabaugh on their roster in 1927.

March 24, 1927Tyler sells Clabaugh to the High Point Pointers of the Piedmont (C) League ... Tyler President D.M. Maynor says that Clabaugh’s salary demands are “fabulous” ... Frank Kitchens, manager of the Pointers agrees to purchase Clabaugh ... terms of the deal are not disclosed.

July 17, 1928Playing for the Jacksonville Tars, Clabaugh is hitting .386 and leads the Southeastern (B) League in home runs with 17, when he sent to the Mobile Bears of the Southern (A) League for a 30-day trial ... the Tars also an-nounce the release of 3B Walter Sandquist who is batting .265 in 31 games.

September 25, 1929The Birmingham Barons, behind Clabaugh’s steal of home in the bottom of the seventh inning, edge the visit-ing Dallas Steers 1-0 to take the opening game of the 1929 Dixie World Series ... in the top of the seventh inning, Clabaugh makes a running catch and falls into the temporary stands robbing Dallas’ Rip Radcliff of a home run.

March 15, 1932Following a 1931 season where he hits Southern Association-leading .378 with 23 home runs and 104 RBIs, despite missing 40 games with an injury, a 30-year-old Clabaugh decides to hold out for more money ... when asked if he was adamant in his holdout, Clabaugh replies “Certainly not, I’m just not going to give in. That’s all.”

August 14, 1932 uuClabaugh, the Southern League’s leading hitter, is benched by Nashville manager Charlie Dressen for talking back during a double-header with Little Rock ... Dressen says that Clabaugh is through as a Volunteer and that he is negotiating a trade for his slugger.

February 2, 1933Nashville sells Clabaugh to the Baltimore Orioles in a “straight cash” deal.

April, 1934Baltimore deals Clabaugh to the Galveston Buccaneers of the Texas (A) League where he holds out for more money.

May, 1934Galveston, unable to come to terms with the reluctant Clabaugh, sells the 32-year-old slugger to the Atlanta Crackers of the Southern Associa-tion for $1,750.

Great Hitting, Poor Fielding

On June 1, 1940, Mose Clabaugh claims a spot on John Ehinger’s mythical great fielding, poor fielding team ... Ehinger says of the below listed players that “they brought woe and misery to team-mates, managers and fans.”

1B .................................................. Buzz Arlett2B ..................................... Whitey Alperman3B ............................................... Goldie RappSS ............................................Bill HunnefieldLF ..................................................... Ike BooneCF ...................................... Moose ClabaughRF ...........................................Mose SolomonC .................................................Smead JolleyP ............................................. Allan Sothoron

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May 16, 1934After hitting four home runs in 22 games with the Crackers, Clabaugh is traded to the Portland Beavers, along with $8,000, for Prince Henry Oana.

May 14, 1938Clabaugh announces that will play for Toledo in the Oregon State Semi-Pro League.

May 22, 1938The Silverton Red Sox beat Toledo 8-7 in 10 innings, despite a home run by newly-acquired Moose Clabaugh.

July 30, 1939Clabaugh is branded an “outlaw” from organized baseball by minor league head Judge Bramham ... Bramham bans Clabaugh after he plays for the Three Rivers team in the outlaw Provincal League earlier in the year.

July 31, 1939Now an “outlaw,” Clabaugh arrives in Grants Pass, Ore., and says he will play in a local softball tournament instead of playing baseball ... he is assigned to a team that has lost 13 straight games.

August 21, 1939On the same day that Germany announces that it has signed a non-aggression pact with soviet Russia, thus freeing its army to invade luckless Poland without Russian interference, Clabaugh, plays for the Grants Pass Pave Shop and goes 1-for-1 as a pinch-hitter in a 3-1 loss to Square Deal Radio of Salem in the opening game of the seventh annual Oregon state softball tournament.

October 28, 1939Clabaugh is reinstated to the “good graces” of organized baseball.

April 28, 1940Reducing its roster to 18, the Portland Beavers release Clabaugh and 32-year-old left-handed pitcher Ralph Birkofer, who is 0-2 in three appearances.

May 5, 1940Calbaugh signs with the Salem Senators of the Western International (B) League.

July 5, 1940Salem Senators manager Biddy Bishop announces that Clabaugh is being given his release at his own request ... Clabaugh is hitting .319 with six home runs in 60 games with the Senators ... Bishop gives no reason for the release, but is thought that Clabaugh may have a managing or umpiring position available ... pitcher Joe Kralovich, recently released by the Vancouver Capilanos of the Western International (B) League

July 12, 1940Clabaugh is appointed to the umpiring staff of the Western International League.

July 11, 1984Clabaugh dies in Tuscon, Arizona, at the age of 82.