Clyde Spearman

Clyde Spearman
(Big Splo)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 175 lb.

• Debut 1935
• Final Game 1946
• Born July 23, 1912 in Arkadelphia, AR USA
• Died February 13, 1955 in New York, NY USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Outfielder Clyde Spearman played for over a decade in the Negro Leagues. He was the older brother of Henry Spearman.

Clyde debuted with the 1932 Pittsburgh Crawfords then moved to the New York Black Yankees in 1935. He became a starter for the New York Cubans in 1935, hitting .270. In the postseason, he went 10 for 29 in a series against Pittsburgh, to lead the New York club. That fall, he went 2 for 10 in exhibitions against white major leaguers with a staff of Dizzy Dean, Paul Dean, Mike Ryba, Jim Winford and Bill Swift. In 1936, he hit .367, third in the Negro National League between Shifty Jim West and Lazaro Salazar.

Spearman starred for Marianao in the 1936-1937 Cuban Winter League. He hit .332 and slugged .410. He was the league leader in hits (84) and RBI (48) in leading Marianao to a title, while he was seven points behind batting champ Harry Williams. Big Splo hit .352 in the 1937 Dominican League, putting him second behind only Josh Gibson and just ahead of Martin Dihigo. Clyde fell to .286/?/.323 in a repeat engagement with Marianao in 1937-1938.

In 1938, Spearman hit only .236 for the Philadelphia Stars. His woes continued as he hit .191/?/.204 for Almendares in 1938-1939, just two years after dominating Cuba, and .200 for Philadelphia in 1939. Moving to Cienfuegos for 1939-1940, he hit .254 and slugged .302. For the first time, he was teammates with his brother.

Clyde was a backup for the Chicago American Giants in 1941-1942. He batted .268 for the Birmingham Black Barons when they won the 1943 Negro American League pennant. In the 1943 Negro World Series, he went 6 for 23 as Birmingham fell to the Homestead Grays. He went 6 for 30 with a double in the 1943-1944 California Winter League.

Returning to Philadelphia for 1944, Spearman backed upo Gene Benson, Ed Stone and Goose Curry. He remained a sub for the Stars in 1945 then ended up back as a backup with the Black Yankees in 1946.

Notable Achievements

• NNL At-Bats Leader (1938)
• NNL Hits Leader (1938)
• NNL Singles Leader (1938)
• 2-time NNL Triples Leader (1936 & 1938)
• NNL Bases on Balls Leader (1938)
• NAL Stolen Bases Leader (1943)

Sources

• The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues by John Holway
• The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues by James Riley
• The California Winter League by William McNeil
• Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History by Jorge Figueredo