Age: 25 (Oct.
11)
1st
season in pro football
College: Colorado
College
Height: 6’0” Weight: 182
Prelude:
Clark started
at quarterback for three years at Colorado College and received first-team All-American
recognition from the Associated Press in 1928, a season in which he rushed for
1349 yards, despite playing for a small college. After spending a year as an
assistant coach at the school, he joined the Spartans.
1931 Season Summary
Appeared in 11
of 14 games
[Bracketed
numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]
Scoring
Rushing TDs –
9 [1]
Receiving TDs
– 0
Other TDs – 0
Total TDs – 9
[2]
Field Goals –
0
Extra Points
– 6 [5]
Points – 60 [3]
Awards & Honors:
1st
team All-NFL: League, UPI, Collyers Eye
Spartans went
11-3 to finish second in the NFL.
Aftermath:
Clark had
another outstanding year for the Spartans in 1932, rushing for 461 yards and
leading the league in scoring with 55 points, and again receiving consensus
first-team All-NFL recognition. He became head coach at the Colorado School of
Mines in 1933 but returned to the team, which was now the Detroit Lions, in ’34
and continued from where he had left off, rushing for a career-high 763 yards,
which ranked third in the NFL, and scoring 73 points, which placed second. An
all-purpose tailback in a ground-oriented single-wing offense, Clark also
excelled on defense and was a fine drop-kicker. In seven seasons with the
Spartans/Lions, he led the league in rushing touchdowns and scoring three times,
was part of a record-setting defense that had seven straight shutouts in 1934,
and a key component in Detroit’s NFL Championship season in ’35. Overall, he
rushed for 2772 yards while averaging 4.6 yards-per-carry, caught 28 passes for
341 yards, and passed for 1507 yards and 11 TDs. Clark scored 42 touchdowns and
kicked 15 field goals and 72 PATs for a total of 369 points. He was a consensus
first team All-NFL selection in six of his seven seasons, the Lions retired his
number, and Clark was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a Charter
Member in 1963. An excellent leader, he also coached the Lions in 1937 and ’38
and, following his playing career, was head coach of the Rams for four seasons.
--
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
