Donn Clendenon
Encyclopedia
Donn Alvin Clendenon was a Major League Baseball
first baseman
. He is best remembered as the World Series MVP for the Amazin' Mets.
, his father, Claude, died from leukemia
. Claude Clendenon was a mathematics
and psychology
professor
and chairman of the mathematics department at Langston University
, an all-black school in Langston, Oklahoma
. Clendenon's mother, Helen, demanded high academic achievement from her son in deference to his father's accomplishments. When he was only six years old, Clendenon's mother married former Negro Leagues baseball
player Nish Williams. In addition to academic excellence, Clendenon's new stepfather decided he was going to make his stepson into a baseball player. Williams served as a coach on virtually every baseball team that Clendenon played on, including his college team at Atlanta's Morehouse College
, and his semi-pro career with the Atlanta Black Crackers
. Along with Williams, Clendenon also received pointers from some of the players Williams knew from the Negro Leagues, including Jackie Robinson
, Satchel Paige
, Roy Campanella
and Don Newcombe
.
, and received a host of scholarship offers. He was prepared to attend UCLA on a scholarship until some coaches from Morehouse College
in Atlanta visited his mother, and convinced her that he should attend a school closer to home.
Morehouse College was the premier academic institution for young African-American men. Just before Clendenon arrived in , the freshman class were assigned "Big Brothers" to help the students acclimate themselves to Morehouse and college life. Although the policy had ended when he arrived, a Morehouse graduate volunteered to be Clendenon's big brother. His name was Martin Luther King Jr.
Clendenon became a twelve sport letterman in football, basketball
and baseball at Morehouse, and had received contract offers from both the Cleveland Browns
and the Harlem Globetrotters
. Clendenon, however, decided he wanted to teach, and began teaching fourth grade upon graduation. Williams convinced Clendenon to attend a Pittsburgh Pirates
try-out camp in , and he signed with the team as an amateur free agent
shortly afterwards.
s and 28 runs batted in in eighty games to finish second in National League
Rookie of the Year
balloting to Chicago Cubs
second baseman
Ken Hubbs
.
Following the 1962 season, the Pirates traded first baseman Dick Stuart
to the Boston Red Sox
in order to open a position for Clendenon. He responded by batting .275 with fifteen home runs and 57 RBIs. Clendenon drove in 96 and 98 in and , respectively, and became a member of Pittsburgh's famed "Lumber Company" along with Willie Stargell
and Roberto Clemente
. He also earned a reputation as a "free swinger" as he led the league in strikeouts in and , and finished second in 1966 and third in 1965.
waiting in the wings, the Pirates left Clendenon unprotected for the 1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft
, and he was selected by the Montreal Expos
. On January 22, , the Expos traded Clendenon and Jesus Alou
to the Houston Astros
for Rusty Staub
. The Astros had recently hired Clendenon's former Pirates manager, Harry "the Hat" Walker, with whom Clendenon had a personality clash, to steer their club. Clendenon refused to report to his new team.
The Expos and Astros worked out a new deal, and Clendenon joined the Expos on April 19, 1969. He was batting .240 with four home runs and fourteen RBIs when the Expos dealt him to the New York Mets
on June 15, 1969, in exchange for Steve Renko
, Kevin Collins
and two minor leaguers.
's Chicago Cubs
in the newly-aligned National League East
, when they acquired Clendenon. Splitting time with Ed Kranepool
at first base, Clendenon's numbers with the Mets, did not improve immediately over those he put up with the Expos. Slowly, however, Clendenon's batting average began to rise; on August 30, Clendenon hit a tenth-inning home run against the San Francisco Giants
to give the Mets the 3-2 win.
The Mets were two-and-a-half games back of Chicago when the Cubs came to Shea Stadium
for a two-game set on September 8. The Mets swept the set to move within one-half game of first place, with Clendenon hitting a two-run home run in the Mets' 7-1 victory on the ninth.
The Mets won their next six in a row (ten total) to move three-and-one-half games over the Cubs. On September 24, Clendenon single handedly beat the St. Louis Cardinals
with a three run home run and a solo shot to clinch the NL East. Overall, they won 39 of their last 50 games, and finished with 100 wins against 62 losses, eight games over the second-place Cubs.
three-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves
to reach the World Series
. In the World Series, however, Clendenon appeared in four of the five games, missing only game three. He went 2 for 4 in game one, scoring the Mets' only run in their 4-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles
. He hit a fourth-inning home run in game two and a second-inning home run in game four to give the Mets early 1-0 leads in both games.
The Orioles were ahead 3-0 in game five when Cleon Jones
led off the sixth inning. Dave McNally
struck Jones in the foot with a pitch; however, home plate
umpire
Lou DiMuro
ruled that the ball had missed Jones. Mets manager Gil Hodges
emerged from the dugout to argue, and showed DiMuro a shoe-polish smudge on the ball. DiMuro reversed his call, and awarded Jones first base. Clendenon, the following batter, hit a two-run home run to pull the Mets within one run. The Mets eventually won the game, 5-3, to complete their improbable World Series victory over the heavily-favored Orioles.
For the series, Clendenon batted .357 with three home runs and four RBIs, and was named World Series MVP. His three home runs remain tied for most home runs in a five-game Series, with Ryan Howard
equaling it in the 2008 World Series
.
. The Mets were in second place, one game back of the Pirates at the end of play that day. However, they sputtered from there, ending the season in third place, six games back of the division winning Pirates. Clendenon batted .288 with 22 home runs for the season, and set the Met's single season RBI record with 97.
After having been demoted to the Tidewater Tides in 1970, Ed Kranepool enjoyed a career year with the Mets in . With first base prospects Mike Jorgensen
and John Milner
also both waiting in the wings, Clendenon became the odd man out, and was released by the Mets at the end of the 1971 season.
Clendenon caught on with the St. Louis Cardinals for the season, but saw very limited playing time behind Matty Alou
. He was released on August 2 with a .191 batting average, four home runs and just nine RBIs. Interestly enough, the Cards dealt Alou to the Oakland Athletics
three weeks later, and spent the rest of the season with something of a revolving door at first base.
degree from Duquesne University
in , then practiced law in Dayton, Ohio
. He recounted the 1969 New York Mets season
in his book, Miracle In New York, in which he also talked about growing up in Atlanta, earning his law degree and battling drug addiction as he neared his 50th birthday.
He eventually entered a drug rehabilitation facility in Ogden, Utah
, and during a physical examination in connection with his treatment, learned he had leukemia. That prompted his move to Sioux Falls, South Dakota
, in , where he became general counsel to the Interstate Audit Corporation and also worked as a chemical dependency counselor. Clendenon died in Sioux Falls at age 70 after a long bout with leukemia.
He is survived by his wife, Anne; his sons, Donn Jr. and Val, his daughter, Donna Clendenon, and six grandsons. Shortly before his death, he was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of fame.
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
first baseman
First baseman
First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team...
. He is best remembered as the World Series MVP for the Amazin' Mets.
Early life
Six months after Clendenon was born in Neosho, MissouriNeosho, Missouri
Neosho is the most populous city in and the county seat of Newton County, Missouri, United States. Neosho is an integral part of the Joplin, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area....
, his father, Claude, died from leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
. Claude Clendenon was a mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
and psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
and chairman of the mathematics department at Langston University
Langston University
Langston University is an institution of higher learning located in Langston, Oklahoma, USA. It is the only historically black college in the state, and the westernmost historically black college in the United States...
, an all-black school in Langston, Oklahoma
Langston, Oklahoma
Langston is a town in Logan County, Oklahoma, United States, and is part of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,670 at the 2000 census...
. Clendenon's mother, Helen, demanded high academic achievement from her son in deference to his father's accomplishments. When he was only six years old, Clendenon's mother married former Negro Leagues baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
player Nish Williams. In addition to academic excellence, Clendenon's new stepfather decided he was going to make his stepson into a baseball player. Williams served as a coach on virtually every baseball team that Clendenon played on, including his college team at Atlanta's Morehouse College
Morehouse College
Morehouse College is a private, all-male, liberal arts, historically black college located in Atlanta, Georgia. Along with Hampden-Sydney College and Wabash College, Morehouse is one of three remaining traditional men's colleges in the United States....
, and his semi-pro career with the Atlanta Black Crackers
Atlanta Black Crackers
The Atlanta Black Crackers were a professional Negro league baseball team which played during the early to mid 20th century.- Founding :The Crackers were founded in 1919...
. Along with Williams, Clendenon also received pointers from some of the players Williams knew from the Negro Leagues, including Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
, Satchel Paige
Satchel Paige
Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige was an American baseball player whose pitching in the Negro leagues and in Major League Baseball made him a legend in his own lifetime...
, Roy Campanella
Roy Campanella
Roy Campanella , nicknamed "Campy", was an American baseball player, primarily at the position of catcher, in the Negro leagues and Major League Baseball...
and Don Newcombe
Don Newcombe
Donald Newcombe , nicknamed "Newk", is an American former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher who played for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers , Cincinnati Reds and Cleveland Indians .Until 2011 when Detroit Tigers Pitcher Justin Verlander did it, Newcombe was the only baseball...
.
Morehouse College
Clendenon graduated as a letterman in nine sports at Booker T. Washington High School in Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
, and received a host of scholarship offers. He was prepared to attend UCLA on a scholarship until some coaches from Morehouse College
Morehouse College
Morehouse College is a private, all-male, liberal arts, historically black college located in Atlanta, Georgia. Along with Hampden-Sydney College and Wabash College, Morehouse is one of three remaining traditional men's colleges in the United States....
in Atlanta visited his mother, and convinced her that he should attend a school closer to home.
Morehouse College was the premier academic institution for young African-American men. Just before Clendenon arrived in , the freshman class were assigned "Big Brothers" to help the students acclimate themselves to Morehouse and college life. Although the policy had ended when he arrived, a Morehouse graduate volunteered to be Clendenon's big brother. His name was Martin Luther King Jr.
Clendenon became a twelve sport letterman in football, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
and baseball at Morehouse, and had received contract offers from both the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and the Harlem Globetrotters
Harlem Globetrotters
The Harlem Globetrotters are an exhibition basketball team that combines athleticism, theater and comedy. The executive offices for the team are currently in downtown Phoenix, Arizona; the team is owned by Shamrock Holdings, which oversees the various investments of the Roy E. Disney family.Over...
. Clendenon, however, decided he wanted to teach, and began teaching fourth grade upon graduation. Williams convinced Clendenon to attend a Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are a Major League Baseball club based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They play in the Central Division of the National League, and are five-time World Series Champions...
try-out camp in , and he signed with the team as an amateur free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
shortly afterwards.
Pittsburgh Pirates
After five seasons in the minor leagues, Clendenon made his major league debut with Pittsburgh in as a September call-up. In his rookie season, , Clendenon batted .302 with seven home runHome run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s and 28 runs batted in in eighty games to finish second in National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
Rookie of the Year
Rookie of the Year
The Rookie of the Year award is given by a number of sports leagues, mainly in North America, to the top first-time professional athlete of a season. -Principal sports making award:...
balloting to Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
second baseman
Second baseman
Second base, or 2B, is the second of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a base runner in order to score a run for that player's team. A second baseman is the baseball player guarding second base...
Ken Hubbs
Ken Hubbs
Kenneth Douglass Hubbs was an American second baseman who played from to for the Chicago Cubs in the National League. He was killed in a plane crash near Provo, Utah prior to the 1964 season....
.
Following the 1962 season, the Pirates traded first baseman Dick Stuart
Dick Stuart
Richard Lee Stuart was a Major League Baseball first baseman from 1958 to 1966 and 1969. In 1967 and 1968, he played in Japan for the Taiyo Whales. Throughout his baseball career, Stuart was known as a fine hitter, but a subpar fielder, garnering the unique nickname of "Dr. Strangeglove" for his...
to the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
in order to open a position for Clendenon. He responded by batting .275 with fifteen home runs and 57 RBIs. Clendenon drove in 96 and 98 in and , respectively, and became a member of Pittsburgh's famed "Lumber Company" along with Willie Stargell
Willie Stargell
Wilver Dornell "Willie" Stargell , nicknamed "Pops" in the later years of his career, was a Major League Baseball left fielder and first baseman. He played his entire 21-year baseball career with the Pittsburgh Pirates...
and Roberto Clemente
Roberto Clemente
Roberto Clemente Walker was a Puerto Rican Major League Baseball right fielder. He was born in Carolina, Puerto Rico, the youngest of seven children. Clemente played his entire 18-year baseball career with the Pittsburgh Pirates . He was awarded the National League's Most Valuable Player Award in...
. He also earned a reputation as a "free swinger" as he led the league in strikeouts in and , and finished second in 1966 and third in 1965.
1968 expansion draft
With first base prospect Al OliverAl Oliver
Albert Oliver, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball player. Over the course of his 18-year career, he played for the Pittsburgh Pirates , Texas Rangers , Montreal Expos , San Francisco Giants , Philadelphia Phillies , Los Angeles Dodgers and Toronto Blue Jays...
waiting in the wings, the Pirates left Clendenon unprotected for the 1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft
1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft
The 1968 Major League Baseball expansion draft was conducted to stock up the rosters of four expansion teams in Major League Baseball which would begin play in the 1969 season....
, and he was selected by the Montreal Expos
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...
. On January 22, , the Expos traded Clendenon and Jesus Alou
Jesús Alou
Jesús María Rojas Alou is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. During a 17-year baseball career, he played for the San Francisco Giants , Houston Astros , Oakland Athletics , and New York Mets...
to the Houston Astros
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
for Rusty Staub
Rusty Staub
Daniel Joseph "Rusty" Staub is an American former Major League Baseball right fielder, designated hitter, and first baseman. He enjoyed a 23-year baseball career with 5 different teams...
. The Astros had recently hired Clendenon's former Pirates manager, Harry "the Hat" Walker, with whom Clendenon had a personality clash, to steer their club. Clendenon refused to report to his new team.
The Expos and Astros worked out a new deal, and Clendenon joined the Expos on April 19, 1969. He was batting .240 with four home runs and fourteen RBIs when the Expos dealt him to the New York Mets
New York Mets
The New York Mets are a professional baseball team based in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York. They belong to Major League Baseball's National League East Division. One of baseball's first expansion teams, the Mets were founded in 1962 to replace New York's departed National League...
on June 15, 1969, in exchange for Steve Renko
Steve Renko
Steve Renko, Jr. is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Montreal Expos , Chicago Cubs , Chicago White Sox , Oakland Athletics , Boston Red Sox , California Angels and Kansas City Royals .He helped the Angels win the 1982 American League Western...
, Kevin Collins
Kevin Collins (baseball)
Kevin Michael Collins , is a former Major League Baseball infielder with the New York Mets, Montreal Expos and Detroit Tigers. He played primarily as a third baseman and sometimes as a second baseman...
and two minor leaguers.
Amazin' Mets
The Mets were in second place, nine games back of Leo DurocherLeo Durocher
Leo Ernest Durocher , nicknamed Leo the Lip, was an American infielder and manager in Major League Baseball. Upon his retirement, he ranked fifth all-time among managers with 2,009 career victories, second only to John McGraw in National League history. Durocher still ranks tenth in career wins by...
's Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
in the newly-aligned National League East
National League East
The National League East Division is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions. The Atlanta Braves and the Philadelphia Phillies are tied for the most National League East Division titles . All of Atlanta's NL East titles came during a record stretch of 14 consecutive division titles...
, when they acquired Clendenon. Splitting time with Ed Kranepool
Ed Kranepool
Edward Emil Kranepool is a former first baseman who spent his entire Major League Baseball career with the New York Mets....
at first base, Clendenon's numbers with the Mets, did not improve immediately over those he put up with the Expos. Slowly, however, Clendenon's batting average began to rise; on August 30, Clendenon hit a tenth-inning home run against the San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
to give the Mets the 3-2 win.
The Mets were two-and-a-half games back of Chicago when the Cubs came to Shea Stadium
Shea Stadium
William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008...
for a two-game set on September 8. The Mets swept the set to move within one-half game of first place, with Clendenon hitting a two-run home run in the Mets' 7-1 victory on the ninth.
The Mets won their next six in a row (ten total) to move three-and-one-half games over the Cubs. On September 24, Clendenon single handedly beat the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
with a three run home run and a solo shot to clinch the NL East. Overall, they won 39 of their last 50 games, and finished with 100 wins against 62 losses, eight games over the second-place Cubs.
1969 World Series
Clendenon did not appear in the Mets' 1969 National League Championship Series1969 National League Championship Series
-Game 1:Saturday, October 4, 1969 at Atlanta Stadium in Atlanta, GeorgiaThe Mets struck first in the second off Phil Niekro when Jerry Grote singled in a run and Ken Boswell scored on a passed ball by Braves catcher Bob Didier...
three-game sweep of the Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
to reach the World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
. In the World Series, however, Clendenon appeared in four of the five games, missing only game three. He went 2 for 4 in game one, scoring the Mets' only run in their 4-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
. He hit a fourth-inning home run in game two and a second-inning home run in game four to give the Mets early 1-0 leads in both games.
The Orioles were ahead 3-0 in game five when Cleon Jones
Cleon Jones
Cleon Joseph Jones is a former Major League Baseball left fielder who is best remembered as the man who caught the final out of the "Miracle Mets" improbable World Series Championship over the Baltimore Orioles....
led off the sixth inning. Dave McNally
Dave McNally
David Arthur "Dave" McNally was a Major League Baseball left-handed starting pitcher from until . He was signed by the Baltimore Orioles and played with them every season except for his final season with the Montreal Expos.McNally has the unique distinction as the only pitcher in Major League...
struck Jones in the foot with a pitch; however, home plate
Home Plate
Home Plate is the fifth album by Bonnie Raitt, released in 1975 .-Track listing:#"What Do You Want the Boy to Do?" – 3:19#"Good Enough" – 2:56#"Run Like a Thief" – 3:02...
umpire
Umpire (baseball)
In baseball, the umpire is the person charged with officiating the game, including beginning and ending the game, enforcing the rules of the game and the grounds, making judgment calls on plays, and handling the disciplinary actions. The term is often shortened to the colloquial form ump...
Lou DiMuro
Lou DiMuro
Louis John DiMuro was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the American League from 1963 until his death.-Career:...
ruled that the ball had missed Jones. Mets manager Gil Hodges
Gil Hodges
Gilbert Ray Hodges was an American Major League Baseball first baseman and manager. During an 18-year baseball career, he played in 1943 and from 1947–63, spending most of his career with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers...
emerged from the dugout to argue, and showed DiMuro a shoe-polish smudge on the ball. DiMuro reversed his call, and awarded Jones first base. Clendenon, the following batter, hit a two-run home run to pull the Mets within one run. The Mets eventually won the game, 5-3, to complete their improbable World Series victory over the heavily-favored Orioles.
For the series, Clendenon batted .357 with three home runs and four RBIs, and was named World Series MVP. His three home runs remain tied for most home runs in a five-game Series, with Ryan Howard
Ryan Howard
Ryan James Howard is a Major League Baseball first baseman for the Philadelphia Phillies. Nicknamed "The Big Piece", Howard stands and weighs . He bats and throws left-handed....
equaling it in the 2008 World Series
2008 World Series
The 2008 World Series was the 104th World Series between the American and National Leagues for the championship of Major League Baseball. The Philadelphia Phillies as champions of the National League and the Tampa Bay Rays, as American League champions, competed to win four games out of a possible...
.
Retirement
On July 28, , Clendenon set a Mets record by driving in seven runs with a pair of three-run homers and a sacrifice flySacrifice fly
In baseball, a sacrifice fly is a batted ball that satisfies four criteria:* There are fewer than two outs when the ball is hit.* The ball is hit to the outfield....
. The Mets were in second place, one game back of the Pirates at the end of play that day. However, they sputtered from there, ending the season in third place, six games back of the division winning Pirates. Clendenon batted .288 with 22 home runs for the season, and set the Met's single season RBI record with 97.
After having been demoted to the Tidewater Tides in 1970, Ed Kranepool enjoyed a career year with the Mets in . With first base prospects Mike Jorgensen
Mike Jorgensen
Michael Jorgensen is a former Major League Baseball player drafted by the New York Mets in the fourth round of the 1966 Major League Baseball Draft...
and John Milner
John Milner
John David Milner was an American first baseman and left fielder in Major League Baseball. A native of Atlanta, Georgia, he grew up a huge Hank Aaron fan, even appropriating his idol's nickname, "The Hammer." He was a member of the "We Are Family" Pittsburgh Pirates team that won the World Series...
also both waiting in the wings, Clendenon became the odd man out, and was released by the Mets at the end of the 1971 season.
Clendenon caught on with the St. Louis Cardinals for the season, but saw very limited playing time behind Matty Alou
Matty Alou
Mateo Rojas "Matty" Alou was a Dominican outfielder who spent fifteen seasons in Major League Baseball with the San Francisco Giants , Pittsburgh Pirates , St. Louis Cardinals , Oakland Athletics , New York Yankees and San Diego Padres...
. He was released on August 2 with a .191 batting average, four home runs and just nine RBIs. Interestly enough, the Cards dealt Alou to the Oakland Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
three weeks later, and spent the rest of the season with something of a revolving door at first base.
Post-baseball
After retiring, Clendenon earned a Juris DoctorJuris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
degree from Duquesne University
Duquesne University
Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit is a private Catholic university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit, Duquesne first opened its doors as the Pittsburgh Catholic College of the Holy Ghost in October 1878 with an enrollment of...
in , then practiced law in Dayton, Ohio
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
. He recounted the 1969 New York Mets season
1969 New York Mets season
The New York Mets season was the eighth season for the Mets franchise, which played its home games at Shea Stadium. Managed by Gil Hodges, the team went 100-62, finishing first in the newly-established National League East by eight games over the Chicago Cubs...
in his book, Miracle In New York, in which he also talked about growing up in Atlanta, earning his law degree and battling drug addiction as he neared his 50th birthday.
He eventually entered a drug rehabilitation facility in Ogden, Utah
Ogden, Utah
Ogden is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States. Ogden serves as the county seat of Weber County. The population was 82,825 according to the 2010 Census. The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history, and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a...
, and during a physical examination in connection with his treatment, learned he had leukemia. That prompted his move to Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Sioux Falls is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota. Sioux Falls is the county seat of Minnehaha County, and also extends into Lincoln County to the south...
, in , where he became general counsel to the Interstate Audit Corporation and also worked as a chemical dependency counselor. Clendenon died in Sioux Falls at age 70 after a long bout with leukemia.
He is survived by his wife, Anne; his sons, Donn Jr. and Val, his daughter, Donna Clendenon, and six grandsons. Shortly before his death, he was inducted into the Georgia Sports Hall of fame.