The right-hander stood 6 feet (1.8 m) tall and weighed 183 pounds (83 kg). After attending the University of Tennessee, he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1953, spent the 1954–1955 seasons in the military, then bounced around the minor league systems of the Cardinals, New York Yankees and the original Washington franchise. He was drafted by the expansion Senators in the minor league phase of the 1960 expansion draft.\n', '

In his MLB debut as a 27-year-old rookie, McClain pitched a complete game, seven-hit victory over the Cleveland Indians at Griffith Stadium on April 14, 1961 — the second regular-season game and the first win in the team\'s history. He spent the entire 1961 season as a starting pitcher for the Senators, leading the team in games started (29), tying for the lead in innings pitched (212) and shutouts (2), and posted a creditable 3.86 earned run average. His shutouts came on May 14 against the Boston Red Sox (a five-hitter) and July 7 against the Minnesota Twins (a three-hitter against the former Senator franchise). He registered seven complete games that season.\n', '

In 1962, he lost all four decisions and pitched only 24 innings (with no complete games) before being sent to the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs. He pitched his last professional games in 1963.\n', '

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