Clyde Goodwin

Clyde Thurston Goodwin

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 11", Weight 145 lb.
• School Purdue University
• Debut September 18, 1906
• Final Game October 2, 1906
• Born September 2, 1881 in Parke County, IN USA
• Died May 7, 1964 in Hammond, IN USA

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Biographical Information

Clyde Goodwin was a pitcher 13 years (1903-1915); two in college (1905-1906); 13 in the minors (1903-1915); and one in the majors (1906). For decades, he was misidentified in encyclopedias, as his purported birth year of 1886 would have made him 16 when he broke into Organized Baseball in 1903 with the Evansville River Rats in the Central League. Even more unusual, he was said to have played semi-pro baseball in Washington, IN for two years prior to that. He played with Evansville (1903-1904); the Vincennes Alices in the Kitty League (1904); and the Indianapolis Indians in the American Association (AA) (1905) when he was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in mid-season for Cliff Curtis. With Milwaukee and Indianapolis in 1905, he was 23-12, outhitting his opponents with a batting average of .272 in 134 at-bats.

He then attended Purdue University (1905-1906), where he starred in baseball. He pitched for Milwaukee in 1906 then he broke into the big leagues on September 18th with the Washington Senators. In his cup of coffee with Washington, he started three games, losing two, completing one and winning none, and played his final game on October 2nd.

He returned to the minors with the 1907 Brewers, where he was 21-23; the Columbus Senators (AA) (1908-1910); the Memphis Turtles in the Southern Association (1910) and continued pitching in the minors until 1915. Goodwin was the original manager of the Hopkinsville Hoppers in the 1916 KITTY League. He was replaced by Senter Reiney.

Goodwin was 91-78 in the American Association with 542 strikeouts, a SO/BB ratio of 1.114 and a WHIP of 1.293 in 1,508 innings pitched.

The actual Clyde Goodwin was born in 1881 and was living in Russellville, IN at the time of the 1900 Census. His mother died in 1902. He was married in January 1907 on the same day as his younger brother Fred in a double wedding celebrated in Indianapolis, IN. The couple was living in Columbus, OH in 1910. He registered for the draft in World War I but never served (his namesake, whose biographical details were wrongly assigned to him, was a WWI veteran) and by 1920 was in Dayton, OH but retired from baseball and divorced. He died in Hammond, IN in 1964 and was buried in Russellville, where he grew up.

Career Highlights

• Led American Association in Games (46), Innings Pitched (376), Hits Allowed (351), Walks (115) and Losses (23), 1907.

Further Reading

• "Clyde Goodwin", in Bill Carle, ed.: Biographical Research Committee Report, SABR, March/April 2017, pp. 2-3.

Related Sites

• For a full Bibliography from SABR's The Baseball Index (TBI)