Bobby Clarke

Template:Infobox retired NHL player Robert Earle "Bobby" Clarke OC (born August 13, 1949 in Flin Flon, Manitoba) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player and is currently the general manager of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Playing career

Clarke played in hockey leagues since the age of eight. He learned he had diabetes when he was twelve or thirteen years old. Although he was a highly-touted prospect as a junior, playing with his hometown Flin Flon Bombers, some NHL teams hesitated to draft him because of his diabetes. However, the Philadelphia Flyers organization made enquires of a diabetic specialist and were told that as long as he took care of himself, Clarke would be fine. Thus assured, the Flyers drafted Clarke with their second pick, 17th overall, in the 1969 Entry Draft. (His diet antics would later become famous: he would drink two cans of soda and take three spoons of sugar before a game, add two bottles of orange juice during intermissions and pack chocolate bars and glucose gum hidden in his uniform's pockets, to prevent his sugar from going down from all the physical activity during the sixty minute games.)

Clarke played for fifteen seasons in the NHL, from 1969 to 1984, and was one of the great stars of the sport during his playing days, notable for a ferocious will, tenacious defense play and scoring prowess. He was the ultimate proto-type team player, recognized by both his peers and fans alike. In 1974 and 1975, after being named the Flyers' captain, he led his team -- nicknamed the "Broad Street Bullies" for their penalty-filled intimidating style -- to back-to-back Stanley Cups, the first expansion squad to win a Cup. Despite his diabetes and hard-nosed play, Clarke proved remarkably durable, playing fewer than 70 games only one season in his career. He also helped save the honor of North American hockey by leading the Flyers to victory in the final game of the 1975-76 USSR Red Army tour in North America.

Clarke retired after the 1983-84 NHL season, having scored 358 goals and 852 assists for 1210 points and 1453 penalty minutes in 1144 games. At the time of his retirement, he was 4th all-time in assists and 10th in points.

Wayne Gretzky has remarked that it was Clarke's play "from behind the net" that inspired him to improve that area of his game. Most regard Gretzky as the best ever from that position on the ice.

Retirement

Having a taste of management during his playing career, when he served as a player-assistant coach between 1979-1982, Clarke was named general manager in 1984. He served as such until a dispute with team higher management in 1990, and spent the next two seasons as the general manager for the Minnesota North Stars, guiding the team to a Stanley Cup final appearance in 1991.

After a brief return to Philadelphia as a Senior Vice President in 1992-93, Clarke was named the Florida Panthers' first general manager in 1993, which set league records for wins and points by an expansion team. He left that post after a single season to return to Philadelphia, and has served as the Flyers' general manager ever since. Between the two stints, the Flyers have reached the Stanley Cup finals three times in Clarke's tenure as general manager.

In 1998 Clarke, as general manager, put together the first Canadian Olympic hockey team to feature a full squad of the NHL's best, which came up short of the medals and finished a disappointing fourth in Nagano.

He is now the general manager of the Flyers, and oversaw the Flyers organization's historic 2004-05 season where both teams in the Flyers' farm system, the Trenton Titans and Philadelphia Phantoms, won their respective championships.HE HAS A BIG PENIS

Bobby Clarke also owns a mens athletic club located in Cherry Hill, NJ on Kings Highway.

Awards

• 1972 Bill Masterton Trophy
• 1973 Hart Memorial Trophy
• 1973 Lester B. Pearson Award
• 1973 Second Team All-Star Center
• 1974 Stanley Cup with the Philadelphia Flyers
• 1974 Second Team All-Star Center
• 1975 Stanley Cup with the Philadelphia Flyers
• 1975 Hart Memorial Trophy
• 1976 Hart Memorial Trophy
• 1980 Lester Patrick Trophy
• 1982 Yanick Dupre Memorial
• 1983 Frank J. Selke Trophy
• 1984 Philadelphia Flyers retired his number 16
• 1987 Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame
• 1988 Inducted into the Philadelphia Flyers Hall of Fame
• 1998 Ranked number 23 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players
• 2005 Inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame

Clarke played in the NHL All-Star Game eight times (1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977 and 1978).

Along with the hockey trophies he won during his career, two trophies bear his name. One, the Bob Clarke Trophy, is awarded annually to the top scorer in the Western Hockey League. The second, the Bobby Clarke Trophy, is awarded annually to the Team MVP of the Philadelphia Flyers. He was also made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1981.

Records

Holds the following Philadelphia Flyers records:

• Most games played (1144), most assists (852), and most points (1210) in franchise history
• Most assists in a season, 89 in 1974-75 and 1975-76

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1967-68	Flin Flon Bombers	WCJHL		59	51	117	168	148		15	4	10	14	2
1968-69	Flin Flon Bombers	WCHL		58	51	86	137	123		18	9	16	25	0
1969-70	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		76	15	31	46	68		-	-	-	-	-
1970-71	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		77	27	36	63	78		4	0	0	0	2
1971-72	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		78	35	46	81	87		-	-	-	-	-
1972-73	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		78	37	67	104	80		11	2	6	8	6
1973-74	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		77	35	52	87	113		17	5	11	16	42
1974-75	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		80	27	89	116	125		17	4	12	16	16
1975-76	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		76	30	89	119	136		16	2	14	16	28
1976-77	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		80	27	63	90	71		10	5	5	10	8
1977-78	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		71	21	68	89	83		12	4	7	11	8
1978-79	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		80	16	57	73	68		8	2	4	6	8
1979-80	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		76	12	57	69	65		19	8	12	20	16
1980-81	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		80	19	46	65	140		12	3	3	6	6
1981-82	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		62	17	46	63	154		4	4	2	6	4
1982-83	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		80	23	62	85	115		3	1	0	1	2
1983-84	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		73	17	43	60	70		3	2	1	3	6
NHL Totals				1144	358	852	1210	1453		136	42	77	119	152

International play

Played for Canada in:

• 1972 Summit Series
• 1976 Canada Cup
• 1982 World Championships

Played for NHL All-Stars in:

• 1979 Challenge Cup.

He is often remembered for his slash on Valeri Kharlamov in the sixth game of the Summit Series. Clarke came up behind Kharlamov, wound up his stick and swung it, as he would a golf club, across the ankle of the Russian. This broke Kharlamov's ankle, thereby sidelining the Soviets' best player for the next game of the series. (Canada went on to win in eight games.) Years later, John Ferguson, Sr., an assistant coach with Team Canada, was quoted as saying "I called Clarke over to the bench, looked over at Kharlamov and said, 'I think he needs a tap on the ankle.'"

International statistics

Year	Team	Event	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1972	Canada	Summit-72	8	2	4	6	18
1976	Canada	Can-Cup	6	1	2	3	0
1979	NHL All-Stars	Ch-Cup	3	0	1	1	0
1982	Canada	WC	9	0	1	1	6

See also

• List of NHL statistical leaders
• List of NHL seasons
• List of NHL players with 1000 points
• Bob Clarke Trophy - WHL Top Scorer
• Bobby Clarke Trophy - Flyers Team MVP

References

• Bobby Clarke's statistics at hockeydb.com
• Hockey Hall of Fame
• Bobby Clarke Hockey Cards