Earl Harry "Dutch" Clark (October 11, 1906 – August 5, 1978), sometimes also known as "the Flying Dutchman" and "the Old Master", was an American football player and coach, basketball player and coach, and university athletic director. He gained his greatest acclaim as a football player and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame with its inaugural class in 1951 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame with its inaugural class in 1963. He was also named in 1969 to the NFL 1930s All-Decade Team and was the first player to have his jersey (No. 7) retired by the Detroit Lions.
Born in Colorado, Clark attended Colorado College where he played football, basketball, and baseball, and also competed in track and field in the hammer throw. During the 1928 football season, he rushed for 1,349 yards, scored 103 points, and became the first player from Colorado to receive first-team All-American honors. After graduating in 1930, he remained at Colorado College as the head basketball coach and assistant football coach.
Clark played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) with the Portsmouth Spartans / Detroit Lions for 7 seasons from 1931 to 1938. He was selected as the first-team All-Pro quarterback six times, was named by the United Press (UP) as the best player in the NFL in both 1935 and 1936, led the Lions to the 1935 NFL championship, and led the NFL in total offense in 1934 and scoring in 1932, 1935, and 1936. In his final two seasons with the Lions, he also served as the team's head coach. In 1940, he was selected by the Associated Press (AP) as the outstanding football player of the 1930s.
Clark was the head coach at the Colorado School of Mines (1933) and with the Cleveland Rams (NFL, 1939–1942) and Seattle Bombers (American Football League, 1944), an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Dons (All-America Football Conference, 1949) and University of Detroit Titans (1950), and head coach and athletic director for the University of Detroit (1951–1953).
Early life Clark was born in the town of Fowler in Otero County, Colorado, in 1906. He was the son of Harry J. Clark (1874–1924), a Michigan native, and Mary Etta (Lackey) Clark (1876–1969), a North Carolina native. Clark had an older sister, Mabel May (1899–1990), two older brothers, Carl (1901–1927) and Fred (1903–1942), and a younger sister, Pearl (1919–2003). As of 1910, the family lived in La Junta, Otero County, where the father was a farmer. In 1917, when Dutch was 10 years old, the family moved approximately 60 miles to the west to Pueblo, where the father was employed as a locomotive fireman on a steam railroad.Census entry for Harry J. Clark and family. Son Earl, age 3. Census Place: La Junta, Otero, Colorado; Roll: T624_123; Page: 14B; Enumeration District: 0128; FHL microfilm: 1374136. Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line].Census entry for Harry J. Clark and family. Son Earl, age 13. Census Place: Pueblo, Pueblo, Colorado; Roll: T625_170; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 227; Image: 755. Source Information: Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line].
Clark attended Pueblo's Central High School. As a sophomore in the 1923–24 academic year, he was a member of the football team, captain of the basketball team, and was voted the most popular man in the school.The Wildcat 1924 (Central High School yearbook), pages 49 and 52 of 176.
As a junior during the 1924–1925 academic year, Clark was voted as the class president.The Wildcat 1925 (Central High School yearbook), page 27 of 176. He was also regarded as "the best all-around athlete in the state."The Wildcat 1925, p. 132 of 176. Playing at fullback for the football team, he helped Central win the 1924 South Central League championship and was named to the all-state team.The Wildcat 1925, p. 118 of 176. He was named captain of the basketball team for the second consecutive year, played at the center position, and was selected as an all-conference player.The Wildcat 1925, pp. 131-132 and 134 of 176.
According to an account published in 1980, Clark earned all-state honors in football and basketball and set South Central League track & field records in the discus and high hurdles. Baseball was his "weak" sport, on account of impaired vision in his left eye. He earned 16 letters at Central High and graduated in 1926.
Colorado College In the fall of 1926, Clark enrolled at the Colorado College in Colorado Springs. He played football for four years and was team captain as a senior. He also played basketball for four years and was team captain as both a junior and a senior. He also competed in track all four years and in baseball as a senior.The Pikes Peak Nugget (Colorado College yearbook) 1931, p. 42 of 230.
During the 1928 season, Clark averaged 10 yards every time he carried the ball. He rushed for 1,349 yards on 135 carries and scored 103 of the team's 203 points. At the end of the 1928 season, he was selected by the Associated Press as the first-team quarterback on the 1928 College Football All-America Team. He was the first All-American football player from any of Colorado's colleges and universities.
Clark graduated from Colorado College in June 1930 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology. After graduating, Clark remained at Colorado College during the 1930–1931 academic year as an assistant football coach and head basketball coach.
NFL playing career Portsmouth Spartans In May 1931, Clark was granted a leave of absence from his coaching responsibilities at Colorado College to allow him to play for the Portsmouth Spartans in the National Football League (NFL), with the understanding that he would return to coach the school's basketball team when the Spartans' season was over. The Spartans compiled an 11–3 record in 1931, good for second place in the NFL. Clark appeared in 11 games and was the team's leading scorer with 60 points on nine touchdowns and six extra points. He ranked third in the NFL in scoring and was selected as the first-team All-Pro quarterback. Clark was actually the leading scorer in the NFL when he secured permission to leave the team early to resume his coaching responsibilities with the Colorado College basketball team.
Clark returned to the Spartans in the fall of 1932 and led the team to a 6–2–4 record and third place in the NFL. Clark led the NFL with 581 rushing yards; he also led the league with 55 points scored, 10 extra points, and three field goals. For the second consecutive year, he was selected as the first-team All-Pro quarterback. In December 1932, United Press sportswriter George Kirksey rated Clark as the greatest football player of the past 10 years.
Despite his success during the 1931 and 1932 NFL seasons, Clark returned to Colorado College as the school's head basketball coach at the end of the 1932 season. Then, in March 1933, he surprised followers of the professional game by announcing that he would not return to the NFL in 1933, having elected instead to serve as the head football coach for the Colorado School of Mines.
Detroit Lions Clark signed with the Detroit Lions in May 1934 and joined the team for training camp at the end of August. (The Portsmouth Spartans moved to Detroit and became the Lions in 1934.)
Clark was the quarterback for the 1934 Detroit Lions team that compiled a 10–3 record and finished in second place in the NFL West behind the undefeated Chicago Bears. Clark led the NFL in 1934 with 1,146 yards of total offense and eight rushing touchdowns and ranked among the leaders with 73 points scored (second), 763 rushing yards (third), and 383 passing yards (fourth). At the end of the 1934 season, Clark was selected as the first-team All-Pro quarterback for the third time in three years playing in the NFL.
In August 1935, Clark was selected by his Detroit teammates as the team captain without a dissenting vote. As quarterback and captain, Clark led the 1935 Detroit Lions to the NFL championship. Clark led the NFL with 55 points scored and 16 extra points. Clark later cited the Lions' 13–0 victory over the Bears on Thanksgiving Day as his most memorable game. In that game, Clark scored both Detroit touchdowns, the first on a pass from Bill Shepherd and the second when he rolled out on a flanker play and took a lateral pass 21 yards into the end zone. In the 1935 NFL Championship Game, Clark had "a sensational 42-yard dash" for a touchdown in the second quarter, as the Lions defeated the New York Giants, 26–7.
On January 1, 1936, Clark led the Lions to a 33–0 victory over an all-star team in the first professional football game played in Denver. Clark scored two touchdowns in the game, including a 52-yard touchdown run.
After the 1935 season, Clark was again selected as the first-team All Pro quarterback; the United Press also selected him as the best player in the NFL, calling him the "keenest football strategist", the "most dangerous one-man threat", "a fine drop-kicker and a deadly tackler." The Los Angeles Times noted that Clark "has been acclaimed as the greatest back in the history of the game." Another writer said he had "the nimblest legs in football" and called him the modern back who comes "nearest to perfection"." Red Grange called Clark "the hardest man in football to tackle" and noted: "His change of pace fools the best tacklers." Lions' head coach Potsy Clark cited intelligence and leadership as the factors that separated Clark from others:For one thing he knows what plays to call. He is one of the most intelligent men who ever played football. He knows the game thoroughly. He rarely makes a mistake. But his main asset is ability to gain the confidence of players. He makes them absolutely believe in him. They never question any play he calls, they regard him as infallible. This confidence is not misplaced. I have never known 'Dutch' to criticize any player. Any time a play goes wrong he takes the entire blame, regardless of who is responsible."
In February 1936, Clark announced that, despite the successful 1935 season, he might quit professional football. He noted that time had slowed him, and he preferred pursuing a business career in his hometown of Pueblo, Colorado. He took a job as the general manager of the Colorado State Fair, but wrote to the Lions in June advising that he had been granted a leave of absence to rejoin the club in August, with time to prepare for the Chicago College All-Star Game set for September 1.
During the 1936 NFL season, Clark led the Lions to an 8–4 record, third-best in the NFL. For the third time in his career, Clark led the NFL in scoring with 73 points, Clark's tally coming on seven touchdowns, 19 extra points, and four field goals. He ranked second in the league with 1,095 yards of total offense. He also ranked among the NFL's leaders with 628 rushing yards (third) and 467 passing yards (sixth). For the fifth time in five years of NFL play, he was selected as the first-team All-Pro quarterback. The United Press also selected Clark as the most valuable player in the NFL, citing his talents as "the smartest quarterback in football" and his multiple talents as ball carrier, passer, drop-kicker, and defensive player.
At the end of the 1936 season, Clark announced that he intended to pursue a coaching position for the 1937 season. Three weeks after Clark's announcement, the Lions' head coach Potsy Clark resigned to accept the head coaching job with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Dutch Clark was signed the next day as the Lions' head coach, adding coaching duties to his pre-existing duties as player and team captain.