Johnny Knoxville of Jackass fame was a pretty good baseball player before he landed in Hollywood. They reportedly named him to the all-senior all-star team as a pitcher in 1989, while he played for South Young High School (now South-Doyle) in Tennessee. (Of course, he was known by his real name, P.J. Clapp, back then.)
In 2022, when he was just 12-years-old, Johnny Knoxville’s son Rocko Clapp appeared with him on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Rocko was there to see if he could strike out the show’s host.
During the interview, Knoxville told Kimmel, “It was either go to college and play, or come out to LA and try something. I pitched and played first base. I loved it. … I knew I couldn’t be a professional. I could have played college, but that’s about where I would have petered out.”
He now hopes that his son Rocko, a sophomore for Oakwood in California, can do what he didn’t: play college baseball, preferably for the University of Tennessee.
“I’m trying to sing him the praises on the Tennessee Vols,” Johnny Knoxville told Knox News earlier this year. “What a wonderful program.”
Johnny Knoxville’s son Rocko Clapp has been almost unhittable
So far in his high school baseball career, Rocko Clapp, now 16, has a career ERA of just 0.69. In his sophomore year, according to MaxPreps, Clapp compiled a 0.80 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 26.1 innings pitched. His team is 19-1, with the one loss coming in extra innings, and is headed for the postseason.
Earlier this month, Clapp played in the Halo Classic at Angel Stadium. He needed just 10 pitches to record a 1-2-3 fifth inning.
“I’m very proud of him and the season he is having,” Knoxville said. “Most of all, how he conducts himself on and off the field.”