On June 27, 1973, 18-year-old David Clyde made his major league debut for the Texas Rangers at Arlington Stadium before the largest crowd in Rangers' history.
As a Houston area kid and Astros fan, I found and still find this story to be one of the most incredible in sports history (I’ve since lived in College Station, Dallas, Austin and Plano).
David Eugene Clyde (born April 22, 1955) is a former left-handed Major League Baseball pitcher who played for five seasons with the Texas Rangers (1973–1975) and Cleveland Indians (1978–1979). He is noted for his once promising baseball career, which ended at age 26 because of arm and shoulder injuries.
After living for a time in New Jersey, his family moved to Houston, Texas in 1969.[1] He played football and baseball at Westchester High School in Houston where he became known as a perfectionist and was an excellent student.[2] During his senior year at Westchester, Clyde had a stellar record of 18–0, giving up only three earned runs in 148 innings pitched, while pitching five no-hitters and setting 14 national high school records.[2] His dominance at the high school level attracted the attention of many MLB team scouts, many of whom billed Clyde as the "next Sandy Koufax" and others called him the "best pitching prospect they had ever seen".[2]
Clyde's career made him the "poster-boy" for bringing up young players prematurely and dealing with arm injuries. He was named by journalist Randy Gallowayas among the worst cases of "mishandling" a young player in baseball history. He is considered by many as a savior of the Texas Rangers franchise because of the significant attendance boost that Clyde's hype brought to the team, preventing it from a possible bankruptcy or American League takeover.
In 1973, an average of 18,000 fans paid to see the Rangers when Clyde pitched. When he didn't, the Rangers averaged 7,500 in paid attendance. The Rangers finally sent Clyde to the minors in 1975 and 1976. He hurt his arm and had shoulder surgery, and was traded to the Indians early in 1978.
As a Houston area kid and Astros fan, I found and still find this story to be one of the most incredible in sports history (I’ve since lived in College Station, Dallas, Austin and Plano).
David Eugene Clyde (born April 22, 1955) is a former left-handed Major League Baseball pitcher who played for five seasons with the Texas Rangers (1973–1975) and Cleveland Indians (1978–1979). He is noted for his once promising baseball career, which ended at age 26 because of arm and shoulder injuries.
After living for a time in New Jersey, his family moved to Houston, Texas in 1969.[1] He played football and baseball at Westchester High School in Houston where he became known as a perfectionist and was an excellent student.[2] During his senior year at Westchester, Clyde had a stellar record of 18–0, giving up only three earned runs in 148 innings pitched, while pitching five no-hitters and setting 14 national high school records.[2] His dominance at the high school level attracted the attention of many MLB team scouts, many of whom billed Clyde as the "next Sandy Koufax" and others called him the "best pitching prospect they had ever seen".[2]
Clyde's career made him the "poster-boy" for bringing up young players prematurely and dealing with arm injuries. He was named by journalist Randy Gallowayas among the worst cases of "mishandling" a young player in baseball history. He is considered by many as a savior of the Texas Rangers franchise because of the significant attendance boost that Clyde's hype brought to the team, preventing it from a possible bankruptcy or American League takeover.
In 1973, an average of 18,000 fans paid to see the Rangers when Clyde pitched. When he didn't, the Rangers averaged 7,500 in paid attendance. The Rangers finally sent Clyde to the minors in 1975 and 1976. He hurt his arm and had shoulder surgery, and was traded to the Indians early in 1978.
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