Sports' Forgotten Heroes

On August 5, 2020, just a short time ago, Horace Clarke passed away. During the peak of his playing days (1965-1974) one could argue that Clarke was one of the faces of the New York Yankees. Sure, whenever you’re on a team with the legend – Mickey Mantle – you’d be hard-pressed to say anyone but The Mick was the face of the franchise. But, there was much fanfare around Clarke. While he wasn’t the greatest, he personified what the Yankees were during this down time in their illustrious history. In fact, in 1966, the Yankees finished last for the first time since 1912 when they were known as the New York Highlanders. Clarke first learned to play the game in Frederiksted, U.S. Virgin Islands; and it’s there, Frederiksted, where Horace Clarke is best known as a hero. After all, so few Major League baseball players hail from the tiny island. Clarke caught the eye of scouts in his early 20s and worked his way through the Yankees minor-league system in short fashion and in order moving from Class D, to Class C, and