Bobby Clarke
Robert Earle Clarke is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played his entire 15-year National Hockey League career with the Philadelphia Flyers and is currently an executive with the team. Popularly known as Bobby Clarke during his playing career and as Bob Clarke since retiring as a player, Clarke is acknowledged by some as being one of the greatest hockey players and captains of all time. He was captain of the Flyers from 1973 to 1979, winning the Stanley Cup with them in both 1974 and 1975. He was again captain of the Flyers from 1982 to 1984 before retiring. A three-time Hart Trophy winner and 1987 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee, Clarke was rated number 24 on The Hockey News' list of The Top 100 NHL Players of All-Time in 1998. In 2017 Clarke was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.
Clarke had three 100-point seasons, twice leading the league in assists, and was selected to play in nine NHL All-Star Games. He also won the Frank J. Selke Trophy in 1983, as the league's best defensive forward.
Upon retiring at the end of the 1983–84 season with 358 goals and 852 assists for a total of 1,210 points in 1,144 career games, he immediately became general manager of the Flyers. He spent 19 of the following 23 seasons as a general manager of the Flyers, also briefly serving as general manager of the Minnesota North Stars and Florida Panthers, and reached the Stanley Cup Finals three times with the Flyers and once with Minnesota. His time as an NHL general manager had its share of controversy, perhaps none greater than the rift between him and star player Eric Lindros during the late 1990s and early 2000s. He resigned from the general manager position less than a month into the 2006–07 season and is currently the Flyers' senior vice president.
The image of Clarke, with a toothless grin, embracing the Stanley Cup and winking following the Flyers' victory in the 1975 Stanley Cup Finals is considered one of the most iconic and famous photos in the history of the sport of hockey.
Early life
Born in the small northern Manitoban mining town of Flin Flon, Clarke began playing organized hockey when he was eight years old. Around the time he was 12 or 13 years old, he learned he had type 1 diabetes. Even though he progressed into a highly touted prospect playing for the Flin Flon Bombers, leading the league in which the Bombers played in scoring in each of his last three years of junior hockey, NHL teams feared Clarke would never be able to play in the NHL because of his diabetes. Bombers coach Pat Ginnell took Clarke to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota following the 1967–68 season and the doctors concluded that as long as he took care of himself he could play professionally. Ginnell asked the doctors to write that statement down and when NHL scouts came to watch the Bombers play during the 1968–69 season, Ginnell showed them the doctor's verdict.Even with such assurances Clarke fell to the second round of the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft and was finally selected by the Philadelphia Flyers 17th overall. After Gerry Melnyk, a scout and administrative assistant with the Flyers, tried to convince general manager Bud Poile to draft Clarke with their first-round pick and failed — Poile drafted Bob Currier instead, a player who retired five years later and, ironically, never played a game in the NHL — Melnyk called a diabetes specialist in Philadelphia who said Clarke would be fine if he looked after his health. Melnyk then successfully convinced Poile to draft Clarke when the Flyers second-round pick came around. The Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens immediately offered the Flyers a deal for Clarke, Detroit offering two veteran players and Montreal offering a deal "Flyers management could hardly refuse." The Flyers refused both offers and made it clear Clarke was not for sale.
NHL career
Wearing #16, Clarke made his NHL debut on October 11, 1969, against the Minnesota North Stars. He recorded his first point on October 22 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, an assist on Lew Morrison's 3rd period goal, and he scored his first goal on October 30 against the New York Rangers, beating Rangers goaltender Ed Giacomin 16:36 into the 3rd period. Clarke played the entire 76-game schedule his rookie season and recorded 46 points while earning a trip to the NHL All-Star Game. He was also named NHL Rookie of the Year by The Sporting News, and finished fourth in voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy. Clarke led the Flyers in scoring during his sophomore season, 1970–71, with 27 goals and 36 assists for a total of 63 points in 77 games. His efforts helped the Flyers make the playoffs, but Clarke was held scoreless in his first playoff action and the Flyers lost in four games to the Chicago Black Hawks.A tooth abscess was the cause of a slow start to the 1971–72 season; 20 pounds underweight, Clarke only managed 5 goals and 11 assists 31 games into the season. He rebounded over the final 47 games, scoring 30 goals and 35 assists and bringing his totals to 35 goals and 46 assists. His dedication was rewarded when he became the first Flyer to win a major NHL award, the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, and the Flyers re-signed him to a five-year contract worth $100,000 per season, a raise of $75,000 per season.
A few months following his strong play during the Summit Series for Team Canada, Clarke was named the Flyers' captain at age 23, the youngest to ever assume that role in NHL history at the time. As leader of the brawling Broad Street Bullies, Clarke became the first player from an expansion team to score more than 100 points in a season, 104 points total. Facing the Minnesota North Stars in the first round, the Flyers and Clarke received a scare, as he was hit in the eye with a stick which broke his contact lens and was rushed to the hospital. After removing parts of his broken contact from under the eye, Clarke returned to the lineup the next game despite having suffered a scratched cornea, and the Flyers won their first playoff series. The Flyers lost to the Montreal Canadiens during the next round, but Clarke was later awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's MVP and the Lester B. Pearson Award as the league's most outstanding player as voted by the league's players.
Clarke's production fell to 87 points in 77 games during the 1973–74 regular season, but his leadership and Bernie Parent's stellar goaltending led the Flyers to the second-best record in the league and to the Stanley Cup Finals to play the team with the best record, the Boston Bruins. After losing Game 1, Clarke scored arguably the biggest goal of his career in overtime of Game 2, putting a rebound shot in over Bruins goaltender Gilles Gilbert. The Flyers won three of the next four games and became the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup. Clarke played a key role in the Finals in countering Bruins' star players, winning 48 of the 66 face-offs against Phil Esposito, and neutralizing Bobby Orr by chasing him down. The Stanley Cup winning goal in game six was scored after a fight between Clarke and Orr that sent both players to the penalty box.
Clarke set the NHL record, at the time, for most assists by a centreman with 89 during the 1974–75 season on his way to a 116-point season. He finished second in the league in plus-minus rating with a plus 79, which illustrates his strong two-way play. The Flyers returned to the Stanley Cup Finals and defeated the Buffalo Sabres in six games, repeating as Stanley Cup champions. In addition to the second championship, Clarke was awarded the Hart Trophy for the second time, while being voted to the league's First All-Star Team.
1975–76 was a record-breaking season for Clarke. Playing on the LCB line with Reggie Leach and Bill Barber, the trio set a record for most goals by a line with 141. He also tied his mark of the previous season with 89 assists and set a personal best and franchise record for most points in a single season with 119. He also led the league in plus-minus rating with a plus 83. The Flyers, without Parent and Rick MacLeish, made their third straight Finals appearance. However, Montreal coach Scotty Bowman's strategy successfully prevented Clarke's line from scoring and the Flyers were swept in four straight games. Clarke was awarded his third Hart Trophy and named to the NHL First All-Star team. Clarke's production would drop off over the next few seasons; in fact, his point total fell six seasons in a row. But the Flyers remained contenders, reaching the semifinals and losing to Boston in 1976–77 and 1977–78.
After a quarterfinal loss to the Rangers in 1978–79, Clarke was named an assistant coach. In order to become an assistant, he had to give up the captaincy due to NHL rules, so Mel Bridgman was named the 4th captain in Flyers history. His first season as a playing assistant coach, 1979–80, saw the Flyers go on an undefeated streak of 35 games, not only the longest in NHL history, but also the longest in North American professional sports history. The Flyers made it to the Stanley Cup Finals before losing to the New York Islanders in six games. During the playoffs, Clarke scored 8 goals and assisted on 12 others in 19 games, all 8 goals coming on the power play. Following the playoffs, Clarke was awarded the Lester Patrick Trophy along with Flyers owner Ed Snider and former Flyers coach Fred Shero.
Clarke wore the number 16 throughout his entire NHL career except for two games during the season. Prior to a road game on February 27, 1981, Clarke's jersey was stolen. Clarke wore the only other jersey available, number 36, in the next two games. A month later, Clarke hit a personal milestone in memorable fashion. On March 19 during a game against the Boston Bruins, a Reggie Leach slapshot struck Clarke. After leaving the ice, he re-appeared moments later stitched up and with his jersey covered in blood. 31 seconds into the third period Clarke beat Bruins goalie Marco Baron for his 19th goal of the season and his 1000th career point.
Despite his diabetes and hard-nosed play, Clarke proved to be remarkably durable. A broken foot suffered during the 1981–82 season limited him to 62 games, the only time in his career he played fewer than 70 games in a season. No longer an assistant coach, Clarke reassumed the captaincy from Bill Barber during. He skated in his 1,000th career game on October 23, 1982, against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Clarke had his best season since 1977–78, scoring 85 points in 80 games. He also won the Frank J. Selke Trophy, given annually to the league's best defensive forward. After the Flyers were eliminated from the playoffs in the first round for the third straight season in and the general manager position opened up after Bob McCammon resigned, Clarke retired on May 15, 1984, to become the general manager of the Flyers.
On January 14, 2017, Clarke played in the Flyers' 50th anniversary alumni game against the alumni of the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he combined with his longtime linemates, Bill Barber and Reggie Leach, which ended in a 3–3 tie before a sold-out crowd of over 19,000 at the Wells Fargo Center. Prior to the game Clarke announced that it would be his last alumni game.