Harry Clarke (American football)
{{Short description|American football player (1916–2005)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Harry Clarke
| number = 4, 82, 87
| position = Running back
Defensive back
| birth_date = {{birth date|1916|12|1|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Cumberland, Maryland, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2005|12|31|1916|12|1|mf=y}}
| death_place = Morgantown, West Virginia, U.S.
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 0
| weight_lb = 186
| high_school = Uniontown (PA)
| college = West Virginia
| draftyear = 1940
| draftround = 13
| draftpick = 177
| pastteams =
- Chicago Bears ({{NFL Year|1940|1943}})
- Los Angeles Dons (1946-1948)
- Chicago Rockets (1948)
| highlights =
- 3× NFL champion (1940, 1941, 1943)
- First-team All-Pro (1943){{cite web |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/C/ClarHa21.htm |title=Harry Clarke |access-date=2008-06-17 |work=pro-football-reference.com }}
- 2× Pro Bowl (1940, 1941)
| statlabel1 = Rushing yards
| statvalue1 = 1,209
| statlabel2 = Rushing average
| statvalue2 = 4.6
| statlabel3 = Receptions
| statvalue3 = 34
| statlabel4 = Receiving yards
| statvalue4 = 807
| statlabel5 = Total touchdowns
| statvalue5 = 20
| pfr = ClarHa21
}}
Harry Charles "Flash" Clarke (December 1, 1916 – December 31, 2005){{cite web |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9907E3DF1130F930A35752C0A9609C8B63 |title=Harry Clarke; Football Player, 89 |access-date=2008-06-17 |work=The New York Times |date=2006-01-03 }} was an American professional football player. He played halfback for four seasons for the Chicago Bears in the National Football League (NFL).{{cite web |url=http://www.chicagobears.com/tradition/alltimeroster.asp#c |title=Chicago Bears All-Time Roster |access-date=2008-06-17 |work=chicagobears.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091116161152/http://www.chicagobears.com/tradition/AllTimeRoster.asp#c |archive-date=2009-11-16 |url-status=dead }} He later played three seasons in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC).{{cite web |url=http://www.nfl.com/players/harryclarke/profile?id=CLA632533 |title=Harry Clarke |access-date=2008-06-17 |work=nfl.com }} He played college football for West Virginia Mountaineers.{{cite web|url=http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=CLARKHAR01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060824020148/http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=CLARKHAR01 |url-status=usurped |archive-date=2006-08-24 |title=Harry Clarke |access-date=2008-06-17 |work=databasefootball.com }}
College career
Harry Clarke set many records while playing for West Virginia University. He still holds some to this day. While at WVU Clarke rushed for 921 yards, which was a team record at the time, in the 1938 season. He was inducted into the university's hall of fame in 1977.
Professional career
Clark was drafted in the 13th round of the 1940 NFL Draft.{{Cite web |title=1940 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1940/draft.htm |access-date=2023-03-30 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} During his rookie season with the Chicago Bears, Clarke scored two touchdowns in the 1940 NFL Championship Game to help defeat the Washington Redskins 73–0.
After his fourth season with the Bears, Clarke was drafted into the Navy in 1943. After his time in the service, Clarke played in the All-American Football Conference from 1946 to 1948 for Los Angeles Dons, then returned to Chicago to play for the Rockets. According to some statistics, Clarke played for both the Dons and the Rockets in the 1948 season: 5 games for each team.
NFL/AAFC career statistics
| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" |
| colspan="2"| Legend |
|---|
| style="background:#afe6ba; width:3em;"|
| Won the NFL Championship |
| Bold
| Career high |
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" | ||||||||||
| rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team ! colspan="2"| Games ! colspan="4"| Rushing ! colspan="4"| Receiving | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | |
| 1940 | style="background:#afe6ba; width:3em;"| CHI
| 11 || 0 || 56 || 258 || 4.6 || 2 || 3 || 80 || 26.7 || 0 | |||||||||
| 1941 | style="background:#afe6ba; width:3em;"| CHI
| 10 || 3 || 28 || 122 || 4.4 || 0 || 2 || 61 || 30.5 || 0 | |||||||||
| 1942 | CHI
| 10 || 7 || 58 || 273 || 4.7 || 4 || 6 || 131 || 21.8 || 2 | |||||||||
| 1943 | style="background:#afe6ba; width:3em;"| CHI
| 10 || 10 || 120 || 556 || 4.6 || 2 || 23 || 535 || 23.3 || 7 | |||||||||
| 1946 | LAD
| 14 || 2 || 62 || 250 || 4.0 || 0 || 10 || 123 || 12.3 || 2 | |||||||||
| 1947 | LAD
| 12 || 3 || 44 || 173 || 3.9 || 2 || 3 || 54 || 18.0 || 0 | |||||||||
| rowspan="2" | 1948 | LAD
| 2 || 2 || 6 || 22 || 3.7 || 0 || 3 || 19 || 6.3 || 0 | |||||||||
| CHR
| 5 || 2 || 16 || 57 || 3.6 || 0 || 1 || 19 || 19.0 || 0 | ||||||||||
| colspan="2"| | 74 | 29 | 390 | 1,711 | 4.4 | 10 | 51 | 1,022 | 20.0 | 11 |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Find a Grave}}
{{Bears1940DraftPicks}}
{{1940 Chicago Bears}}
{{1941 Chicago Bears}}
{{1943 Chicago Bears}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Harry}}
Category:Sportspeople from Cumberland, Maryland
Category:American football running backs
Category:West Virginia Mountaineers football players
Category:Chicago Bears players
Category:Los Angeles Dons players
Category:Chicago Rockets players