**If cool to ask without "sidetracking" or "hijacking" the thread**
I've seen the thread being a lot pro Bobby Clarke with references to his defensive acumen/play. As he was before my time, and I'm thinking of "defensive acumen" skills etc, Was Clarke excellent on faceoffs? (the guy Philly wanted out there to take a key defensive zone faceoff late in the game)? Did he have good instincts? (good at poke-checking, playing the body, intercepting passes etc)? What do you guys love that Clarke had in his toolbox?
Apologize if this sidetracks thread too much and understandable if my post is deleted. Thank you!
Others alluded to the elements of Clarke's game that made him such a well-rounded player, but there was another side to Clarke that was immeasurable by stats--he was the greatest "team player" in professional sports IMO. This guy was an owner, manager, and coach's dream. He literally would do
anything to help his team win and sometimes it crossed lines (re: Kharlamov in 72). The win-at-all-costs ferociousness that Clarke displayed on the ice is often talked about but the incredible stuff he did off the ice was not.
In the 70's, Clarke was, generally speaking, the only Flyers player who would be paid to endorse products off the ice--this is how he made a lot of extra money. Clarke was known to take the endorsement money he received and round up the rest of the players and treat them all to dinner and cocktails. He loved his team being together. He would also secretly make sure some of that endorsement money went to his teammates who needed it, as salaries back then were--on average--feeble to what they are today. When negotiating contracts, there were times that Clarke told management to take his bonus money and divide it among his teammates--at the time, the players had no idea he was doing this--they just thought they were getting a "team bonus". It wasn't until many years later they realized it was Clarke's doing.
Clarke was absolutely beloved by his teammates, the coaches, managers, and most of all, the owner of the Flyers, Ed Snider--who loved him like a son. He was the first player on the ice, the hardest worker in practice, and the last player off the ice. He was not only the "Captain" by trade, he was the legit leader of the team. On Clarke's team, the players were thick as thieves--they played for each other, fought for each other, spent most of their free time together, had meals together, and drank together. They were a pack of wolves, and Bobby Clarke was the ringleader. If another team's player even looked crooked at Clarke, they paid a hefty price.
My dad told me a story about a Flyers game he was at in the mid-70's at the Spectrum--Clarke was backchecking on a player and hooking away at him. The player, not knowing it was Clarke, spun around and whacked Clarke in the face with his stick out of anger. Within seconds, three Flyers attacked this player and beat him horribly. Eventually, everyone on the ice was fighting, and the player who hit Clarke was being guided to the locker room for repairs--he was a bloody mess. My dad said the trainers put two white towels over his entire face and by the time he made it to the tunnel area, the towels were bright red. Bottom line--you didn't take liberties with Clarke.
Clarke was so beloved, the owner Ed Snider gave him a lifetime contract. And, another testament to just how beloved Clarke was in Philadelphia, was apparent during the unfortunate "Lindros saga." Lindros was the "savior" in Philly--and without question the biggest fan-favorite since Clarke. At that point, Clarke was on his 2nd stint as GM with the Flyers, and Lindros was right in his prime--packing seats on a nightly basis. When the war between Clarke and the Lindros family ensued--the large majority of fans backed Clarke, even though they loved Lindros. To Flyers fans, Clarke was a demigod and rightfully so--because no matter what, everything he did, he did it to try to help the Flyers win, and he pulled no punches. This man bled orange.
Ex-Flyers Mark Howe and Brian Propp told me a story about Clarke and Keenan in the mid-80's. The Flyers were losing in Detroit to a sucky Wings team at the time. After the 2nd period--Keenan comes into the room and says to the players, "I spoke with Clarkie. If you come back and win this game, when we get to LA you can have 2 days off with no practice." The Flyers ended up destroying the Wings in the 3rd period to win the game. After the game, Keenan came in and said, "Alright, you have your vacation, but everyone needs to throw $100 on the table first. If you're on vacation, so are the trainers and equipment guys." Keenan took all the money and gave it to the Flyers trainers and helpers and told them to enjoy themselves in LA.
I asked them who's idea it was to throw up the $100 and they both emphatically said, "Clarkie's." They followed up by sharing stories of the things Clarke would do for players on the team that were unheard of--in terms of helping them, helping their families, etc. Howe and Propp talked about Clarke and Mr. Snider like they walked on water. You could see it in their eyes--both of them would have taken a bullet for either man.
Clarke was a special, special, player and teammate. He was the ultimate leader (in the true sense of the word). If I were building a team from scratch,
Bobby Clarke would be my captain over anyone--including Messier, Gretzky, Orr, Howe, Chelios, Toews, Beliveau, Mikita, etc.
Here's some videos of Clarke that will help paint the picture. In the
second one, the 2:20 mark sums up everything Clarke was about in one play--where he takes a rocket slap shot off the head from Reggie Leach. They didn't call Reggie "The Riffle" for nothing--the man could fire the biscuit as well as anyone in his era. Clarke takes the shot off the head, shrugs it off, taps Leach on the bottom with his stick (to say, "it's okay") and heads back, unphased, with blood dripping down his face. This was Bobby Clarke. Ironically, that was the same game where he later scored his 1,000th point and you could almost see the agony on his face while he teammates were patting him on the head (where he took the slap shot earlier).
