Boobie Clark
No. 35, 42 | |||||||||||
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Position: | Running back | ||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||
Born: | Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. | November 8, 1949||||||||||
Died: | October 25, 1988 | (aged 38)||||||||||
Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||
Weight: | 245 lb (111 kg) | ||||||||||
Career information | |||||||||||
High school: | Jacksonville (FL) Stanton College Prep | ||||||||||
College: | Bethune–Cookman | ||||||||||
NFL draft: | 1973 / Round: 12 / Pick: 302 | ||||||||||
Career history | |||||||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||
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Player stats at PFR |
Charles Lee "Boobie" Clark (November 8, 1949 – October 25, 1988) was a professional
Early years
Clark was born in
He was an offensive line stalwart at Bethune-Cookman, with one exception. During a 48–0 victory over Albany State University in 1971, head coach Cy McClairen placed Clark at fullback because a lot of his teammates were nursing injuries.
That game film was sent to Cincinnati Bengals head coach Paul Brown to showcase other players, but Brown saw something in Clark and decided he would draft him if the opportunity came.[2]
Pro football
He was drafted in the 12th round of the
That same year, Clark was involved in an on-field incident in which he struck Dale Hackbart of the Denver Broncos with a right forearm to the back of Hackbart's head and neck after a play was finished. Hackbart filed a lawsuit and the case eventually went to trial as an intentional tort, specifically battery (tort). Clark testified that his team was losing and that he intentionally hit Hackbart due to his frustration. The case went as far as the United States Court of Appeals (10th Circuit) in 1979.[4]
In 1974, Clark was limited to eight games, with 312 yards in 99 attempts (a 3.2 average) with five touchdowns and 23 receptions for 194 yards (an 8.4 average).
A year later, 1975, he bounced back played all 14 games with 594 yards on 167 attempts (a 3.6 average) and four touchdowns plus 42 receptions for 334 yards (an 8.0 average).
In 1976, Clark gained 671 yards on 151 attempts (a 4.4 average) and seven touchdowns with 23 receptions for 158 yards (a 6.9 average) and one touchdown.
In 1977, he was limited to 10 games with 226 yards on 68 attempts (a 3.3 average) and one touchdown with seven receptions for 33 yards (a 4.7 average).
Clark's sixth and final season with the Bengals was 1978. He played in 14 games and rushed for 187 yards on 40 attempts (a career-high 4.7 average) and caught 11 passes for 43 yards (a 6.6 average).[3]
For his six seasons with the Bengals, Clark rushed for 2,978 yards and 25 touchdowns. He also caught 151 passes for 1,139 yards and two touchdowns.
Clark was traded to the Houston Oilers prior to the 1979 season, the first of two with the Oilers. In 1979, he rushed for 51 yards on 22 carries (a 2.3 average) and had six receptions for 58 yards. The 1980 season would be his last, when he had just one carry for three yards. He retired prior to the 1981 season.
NFL career statistics
Legend | |
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Bold | Career high |
Regular season
Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||
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GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
1973 | CIN | 14 | 14 | 254 | 988 | 3.9 | 26 | 8 | 45 | 347 | 7.7 | 39 | 0 |
1974 | CIN | 8 | 8 | 99 | 312 | 3.2 | 22 | 5 | 23 | 194 | 8.4 | 23 | 1 |
1975 | CIN | 14 | 13 | 167 | 594 | 3.6 | 17 | 4 | 42 | 334 | 8.0 | 27 | 0 |
1976 | CIN | 13 | 9 | 151 | 671 | 4.4 | 24 | 7 | 23 | 158 | 6.9 | 19 | 1 |
1977 | CIN | 10 | 4 | 68 | 226 | 3.3 | 10 | 1 | 7 | 33 | 4.7 | 11 | 0 |
1978 | CIN | 14 | 6 | 40 | 187 | 4.7 | 20 | 0 | 11 | 73 | 6.6 | 26 | 0 |
1979 | HOU | 15 | 0 | 22 | 51 | 2.3 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 58 | 9.7 | 38 | 0 |
1980 | HOU | 6 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
94 | 54 | 802 | 3,032 | 3.8 | 26 | 25 | 157 | 1,197 | 7.6 | 39 | 2 |
Playoffs
Year | Team | Games | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | GS | Att | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | ||
1973 | CIN | 1 | 1 | 7 | 40 | 5.7 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 9.0 | 12 | 0 |
1975 | CIN | 1 | 1 | 8 | 46 | 5.8 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 38 | 9.5 | 26 | 0 |
1979 | HOU | 3 | 0 | 9 | 30 | 3.3 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
1980 | HOU | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
6 | 2 | 24 | 116 | 4.8 | 15 | 1 | 6 | 56 | 9.3 | 26 | 0 |
After football
Clark died of a blood clot in his lung at the age of 38 on October 25, 1988, at Memorial Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida.[5]
The City of Jacksonville renamed Sherwood Forest Playground as Charles "Boobie" Clark Park and Pool in his honor.
In 2001, he was posthumously inducted into the Bethune-Cookman University Athletic Hall of Fame.[7]
References
- ^ a b c "#37 Charles "Boobie" Clark/Football" Florida Times-Union, 2000AD Top 100 Athletes
- ^ "#BCUTBT: "Boobie" Clark". Bcuathletics.com. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
- ^ a b "Boobie Clark Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
- ^ Appeals, United States Court of; Circuit, Tenth (November 20, 1979). "601 F2d 516 Hackbart v. Cincinnati Bengals Inc". Openjurist.org. F2d (601): 516. Retrieved November 20, 2021.
- ^ Booby Clark, Football Player, 37, The New York Times, October 26, 1988
- ^ "Charles Boobie Clark Park and Pool" Archived 2012-02-14 at the Wayback Machine City of Jacksonville website, Parks & Recreation
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
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