Clarence Emir Allen (WRC 1877)

Western Reserve College’s baseball diamond hosted a milestone in the sport: Pitcher Clarence Emir Allen is widely credited with throwing the first curveball in college baseball. He went on to play professional baseball for the Erie Keynotes in Erie, Pennsylvania, during the summer of 1876. Allen, who was named to Phi Beta Kappa, taught Greek at Western Reserve from 1880 to 1881 and was a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Utah in 1888, 1890 and 1894.