At one point in time, the most famous clown in the country was Frank "Slivers" Oakley, and his most famous bit was a pantomime of a baseball game. This incredibly influential entertainer died in 1916 and was buried in an unmarked grave. After more than a century, SABR has given him a proper marker.
On Wednesday, March 8, 1916, the most famous clown of his era, a man who had entertained millions, locked himself in his boarding house room, turned on the gas from the room's heater and chandelier, and asphyxiated. He was around 45 years old. Days later, he was laid to rest beside his wife in an unmarked plot in a New York City cemetery, and his fame soon faded. After more than a century, that has changed. The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) and its 19th Century Unmarked Grave Project has placed a grave marker for Frank "Slivers" Oakley and his wife Nellie, and one of the great entertainers of the 19th Century is no longer forgotten.
