Clarkson was a native of Hopkins, South Carolina, where he grew up practicing baseball. In the Negro leagues, he played shortstop for the Crawfords in Pittsburgh in 1937–38, in Toledo in 1939, and in Indianapolis in early 1940, where the team folded. He also briefly played in 1940 for the Newark Eagles before signing with the Mexican League, where he played in 1940–41 and 1946–47. In 1942 he returned to the Negro leagues, playing for the Philadelphia Stars and hitting .360. He spent 1943–45 in the military service. He played part of the 1946 season with Philadelphia and returned to play with them again in 1949-50. In 1948, he played in the independent Canadian Provincial League.\n', '

In 1950 at age 35, Clarkson entered the minor leagues with the Milwaukee Brewers of the American Association. He played third base and shortstop, hitting .302 in 1950 and .343 in 1951.\n', '

In 1952, five years after Jackie Robinson became the first African American major leagues baseball player, Clarkson at age 37 had his only opportunity to play in the major leagues when he played fourteen games for the Boston Braves. He managed to connect five hits in 25 at-bats, with one RBI.\n', '

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