Age: 27 (Dec.
1)
4th
season in pro football & with Bears
College: West
Virginia
Height: 6’0” Weight: 180
Prelude:
Clarke rushed
for a school-record 921 yards in 1938 at West Virginia and was chosen by the
Bears in the 13th round of the 1940 NFL draft. He rushed for 258
yards, intercepted four passes, one of which he returned for a touchdown, and
capped his rookie year with two TDs scored in the 73-0 NFL Championship win
over Washington. He began returning kicks in ’41 and in 1942 he rushed for 273
yards, gained 131 yards on six pass receptions, added another 138 yards on kick
returns, and scored six TDs.
1943 Season Summary
Appeared in all
10 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Rushing
Attempts – 120
[2]
Yards – 556
[3]
Yards per
attempt – 4.6 [6]
TDs – 2 [14,
tied with six others]
Pass
Receiving
Receptions – 23
[6]
Yards – 535
[3]
Yards per catch
– 23.3 [3]
TDs – 7 [2,
tied with Wilbur Moore & Joe Aguirre]
Passing
Attempts – 1
Completions –
0
Yards – 0
TD passes – 0
Interceptions
– 1
Interceptions
Interceptions
– 5 [6, tied with John Grigas, Ben Kish & Roy Zimmerman]
Return yards
– 32
TDs – 0
Kickoff
Returns
Returns – 13
[2]
Yards – 326
[2]
Average per
return – 25.1 [2]
TDs – 0
Longest
return – 50 yards
Punt Returns
Returns – 10
[6, tied with Ken Heineman & Joe Laws]
Yards – 158
[4]
Average per
return – 15.8 [2]
TDs – 0
Longest
return – 38 yards
All-Purpose
yards – 1607 [1]
Scoring
TDs – 10 [3]
Points – 60
[3]
Postseason: 1
G (NFL Championship vs. Washington)
Rushing
attempts – 9
Rushing yards
– 21
Average gain
rushing – 2.3
Rushing TDs –
0
Pass
receptions – 3
Pass
receiving yards – 47
Average yards
per reception – 15.7
Pass
receiving TDs – 2
Awards & Honors:
1st
team All-NFL: AP, UPI, Chicago Herald-American
2nd
team All-NFL: Pro Football Illustrated, NY Daily News
Bears went 8-1-1
to finish first in the NFL Western Division while leading the league in total
yards (3961), passing yards (2310), touchdowns (45), and scoring (315 points).
Won NFL Championship over Washington Redskins (41-21).
Aftermath:
Clarke left
the Bears for service in the US Navy after the 1943 season, but following
action in the South Pacific was a player/coach for the San Diego Bombers of the
minor Pacific Coast Football League in 1945 and ranked second in the circuit
with six touchdowns. He joined the Los Angeles Dons of the new AAFC in ’46 and
rushed for 250 yards and caught 10 passes. Clarke’s production dropped off in
1947 and ’48, his last season during which he was dealt to the Chicago Rockets.
Overall with the Bears, Clarke rushed for 1209 yards on 262 carries (4.6 avg.)
and 8 touchdowns, caught 34 passes for 807 yards (23.7 avg.) and 9 TDs,
intercepted 11 passes, returned 19 punts for a 15.3 average, and 23 kickoffs
for a 28.0 average. He scored a total of 20 TDs. In the AAFC, he ran for 502
yards, had 17 catches for 215 yards, intercepted two passes, and accumulated a
total of 458 yards on kick returns, scoring four touchdowns.
--
Highlighted Years features players who were consensus
first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the
following statistical categories:
Rushing:
Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Passing:
Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating
Receiving:
Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Scoring: TDs,
Points, Field Goals (min. 5)
All-Purpose:
Total Yards
Defense:
Interceptions, Sacks
Kickoff
Returns: Average
Punt Returns:
Average
Punting:
Average
*Leagues
include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL
(1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)
**NFC/AFC
since 1970
