Readers of his blog and its predecessor, the Baseball-Reference.com blog, will be very saddened to read the following note posted recently on another thread:
Frank Clingenpeel, Junior says:I am using this blog to present some other news — at least, for the folks here. Forgive me if this is inappropriate for this, but if you remember Frank Clingenpeel, Senior, I am his son. Dad also died last week from heart failure at the age of 84.
Again, forgive me if this is inappropriate, but I thought you would like to know.
Frank contributed so many wonderful stories on these pages–I wouldn’t even know where to begin. One that always sticks in my mind, though, is the fact that Frank’s father attended Johnny Vander Meer’s second no-hitter.
I’m sure I echo everyone’s sentiments in expressing my appreciation for what Frank brought to all of us and my condolences to all of his family.
What sad news. I will miss his insight, his perspective and his humor.
How sad. I always looked forward to Frank’s humor and recollections. We only remotely knew him, yet we will surely miss him.
Condolences to Frank’s family. He was a great, great part of this community, and he will be greatly missed. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.
Frank All-Star Team
C: Frankie Hayes
1B: Frank McCormick (gets the nod over the big hurt in honor of the 30s Reds)
2B: Frankie Frisch
3B: Home Run Baker
SS: Frankie Crosetti
OF: Frank Robinson
OF: Frank Howard
OF: Wildfire Schulte
DH: Frank Thomas
RHP: Frank Lary
LHP: Frank Tanana
MGR: Frank Chance
There’s one position you left out.
FAN: Frank Clingenpeel
So true, Richard.
Very sad to hear and my condolences to Frank’s family. I enjoyed his stories and he will indeed be missed.
Wow. Mr. Frank Clingenpeel Jr., your note here could not be more appropriate. Frank had an endless supply of great stories & personal anecdotes, & not only seemed sharp as a tack, but kept an open mind about new arguments & developments in considering the sport.
We miss him. I am so sorry for your loss. Please feel very free to contribute here is any way you choose-certainly on this thread should you want to share any reminiscences about your father, & in general, especially if you are baseball minded.
As a reader here, I will miss Frank Sr.’s posts and perspective. His writing here showed that you can mix e-communication, stats and old fashioned eyewitness storytelling and get some great baseball, and history. … the kind of thing that really makes the former B-Ref blog and High Heat Stats.
Sorry to hear the sad news; it is most thoughtful of Frank Jr. for sharing it.
Frank Jr. I’m going to mIss your dad. For all of our back and forth about numbers and sim scores and steroids etc it was your father who reminded us over and over that baseball was a game to be savored. Rest in peace, frank, and thanks for giving us so much pleasure.
What sad news. Frank was not only a prolific and clever poster, but he served as a fantastic reminder that the myth and beauty of sport, and baseball in particular, is enhanced by anecdotes and storytelling. The timelessness of different generations connecting through a common experience of sport… it was amazing to me to read his boyhood memories of his idols; we’ve all had that same experience, and in some way, watching the sport and getting caught up in it still makes me feel young, like there’s this timeless quality to it. But he was a connection to a time that virtually none of us experienced, and was able to call up specific memories about relatively little-known players that were fascinating.
I obviously knew him in a very narrow context through baseball blogs, but he was a valued and respected man through his actions here.
My heartfelt sympathy to the son and family of Mr. Clingenpeel.
Your post hit home for me, as my own dad gone since 1991 and uncle in 2010. Both had that same style of story telling of players from the 30’s, 40’s, and we all shared the 50’s onward as I got old enough. The blend of each generation as told by young and old from their own youth. The greats to the cup of coffee players.
I am sure that many of us are thinking back to the first games at the ball park with our own dads, uncles, grandpas, brothers when we first fell in love with this great game, or those games of catch with them.
Frank Jr., your father is going to be greatly missed at this community. He had that particular zeal for the game and the genuine enthusiasm of someone who grew up close to the golden years of the game, plus the wisdom that only comes from decades of baseball fandom, but also was open-minded about new discoveries, stats, and ways to interpret baseball’s past.
It is rare enough that a gentleman of such senior status as Frank would be active in the blogosphere, and then to be such a vital participant here in particular, where much of the goal is to approach baseball from fresh perspectives — Mr. Clingenpeel was truly a remarkable presence. Although we interacted with him only in this narrow context, I can only imagine, given his lively role here, that he must have been a spirited and engaging man. I’m so glad I had a chance to read his words.
Frank was truly a remarkable man. As someone who sporadically checked the b-r blog, I grew to recognize his writing style and was always fascinated with his take on things. I appreciate you letting us know of his passing, and know that the thoughts and prayers of everyone on this blog are with you and your family. I feel that all of us here are a little better for knowing your father.
I’ve been following this blog for a little while now but I haven’t been very active in the comment section. In fact this is my first contribution. I always noticed and read Frank’s comments. It was great hearing his stories of the baseball eras long past and his knowledge of the game today was superb. I loved reading his banter. He seemed like a very kind man and he brought a special character to these sites that I will surely miss.
Seems like I remember Frank and I sharing thoughts on Wahoo Sam? God bless you Frank.
Many have already eloquently summarized the great credit Frank was to our community, and the pleasure his posts always were to read.
Not yet mentioned but distinguishing was Frank’s marvelous ability to add any wry observation or ancient anecdote without ever derailing a thread. No matter how personal or drawn from the dim mists of his personal Wayback Machine, they always added color, depth, perspective to a discussion, singularly tinged with humanity.
Long will he be missed.
RIP Frank. As many have already said I’ll miss your stories, your insights, your civility and most of your sense of humor.
Thank you Frank Jr. for letting us all know.
Sorry, that SHOULD read “most of ALL your sense of humor.
But maybe Frank would have got a chuckle out of what I wrote the first time…
I’m sure he would have.
I was always amazed that an 84-year-old guy could get on the computer and share his thoughts in a way that so many other readers young & old alike found interesting and amusing. It suggests to me that he must have been quite a compelling guy in his “real” life away from this blog.
Especially that, when one considers his eyesight problems and the amount of time his wife put in helping him type (he mentioned that a couple years ago), his contributions mean all the more. It’s obviously a very special family, and Frank a most special person. It’s too bad we’ll never get to read the book we were all hoping he’d write. He’ll be missed here, but I can only imagine how much he’ll be missed elsewhere. Bye, Frank. I’m glad we got to know you at all, even if only a little.
And, Andy, to do it in a respectful, thoughtful and friendly manner. It spoke volumes about him.
I’m so sorry to see this. My thoughts go to his family, and I’m thankful to his son for sharing the news. It’s touching to know that his family knew this site was important enough to him that the writers and readers would want to know.
Yes, that’s truly amazing. Frank mentioned several times that this blog (and previously its predecessor) was the only one he read, so it must have had at least a bit of importance to him. I considered it an honor to have someone like him among our regular contributors.
I’m a long-time “lurker” on this board and its predecessor, but I also wanted to thank Frank Jr. for letting us know. His posts were one of the things that make this a special and interesting place to go on the Internet. My condolences on your loss.
It seems appropriate for him to go at the beginning of spring training. The sun is getting warmer, the days are getting longer, and it’s time to grab a glove and greet the day. Play ball, sir, wherever you are.
As a part-time, casual reader of this blog (and the two that came before it), I was well aware of the name Frank Clingenpeel as one of the frequent commenters. I don’t pay enough attention to the bevy of comments to get a read on most of the people here, but I did seem to recall picking up that he was an older gentleman (Though I’m surprised to see he was 84). I am much better at remembering things with the visual part of my brain, and my first thought when I saw this sad announcement was “Oh no, that was the guy with the little dog named Killer for an avatar!”
RIP Frank. My condolences to his family, and to everyone here who will miss his presence and insight….
I will truly miss his stories of baseball. RIP
Frank was certainly very productive at the end. On the interim blog at http://highheatstats.blogspot.com/ he posted the most comments of anybody outside of John Autin and myself.
Many condolences to Frank’s family. We often find the opportunity to talk about life beyond the numbers on this blog, and I always felt fortunate to hear the insights and stories from an elder statesman. He will be missed.
Frank will be greatly missed. His stories are something that couldn’t even remotely be replaced by SABR stats. Prayers to his family and friends.
Without a doubt, this is a great loss. He will be greatly missed here; like everyone else, I loved his comments, wit and insight. Our baseball lives were greatly enriched by his contributions, both in terms of quantity and quality.
There’s no doubt he will be greatly missed by his family and all of us here. My condolences to Frank’s family.
Frank’s insight and humor will be missed. Sometimes, when a thread seemed too long to read everything in one sitting, I’d skip to any of his remarks.
Frank Jr:
My condolences on your dad’s passing. His comments were both insightful and humorous. My father passed at 84 as well and it was a blessing to have him into my fifties.
I can only hope your memories of him are sweet and reminiscent of summer days at the ballpark. You can rest assured the greatest arbiter of them all said, “Well played; great job. Welcome to your new home”
That’s really sad news. My condolences go out to Frank’s family. I always enjoyed reading his posts, it was great fun to hear stories from him about baseball’s past. I remember in one post of his he said that he saw Pie Traynor play! All of Frank’s comments were filled with humor, kindness, and a true love for the game of baseball-which makes me think he must have been a pretty great guy.
My sincere condolences to Frank’s family and friends. He was a true gentlemen, always entertainig with his stories about baseball’s Golden Era.
He is now telling those stories to angels.
You will be missed, Frank, you will be missed.
You’re onto it, Luis. The Angels did alright this offseason: they picked up both Pujols and Frank.
We were most fortunate to have such an articulate and intelligent man share his wonderful stories with us. This makes all of us seem more like a family, doesn’t it? Thanks for sharing, Frank!
Frank was a great contributor here, and a fascinating link to baseball’s past: I still can’t fathom that he casually remarked how his father watched Shoeless Joe play in the 1919 Series! (And that Joe made some amazing defensive plays and didn’t look like he was dogging it.) He will certainly be missed, and my thoughts and prayers go out to his family.
It’s weird to think that although I have “known” Frank for years, I didn’t actually know him at all, and have no idea even of what he looked like. I imagined him looking like my father who is about the same age…but not much of a baseball fan these days–and not someone who reads or posts to blogs.
I had noticed that there were fewer posts from Frank lately and I had worried that something was wrong, similar to the way that I feel if my dad doesn’t call for a bit. Sadly, I guess there was something wrong. I hope that Frank’s final days were comfortable ones.
May perpetual light shine upon him. Frank Jr., please accept our condolences to you and your family. Your dad was well-liked and his comments were always welcome.
A shame. One of my favorite posters.
RIP Frank. It was great to have that voice of someone with a long-term view of baseball and life. You’ll be missed.
Catching up on reading here. I too say good-bye, Frank.