Beryl Leon Clark (October 13, 1917 – January 15, 2000) was an American football player.
Clark was born in Cherokee, Oklahoma, in 1917, an attended Cherokee High School.[1]
He played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners football team from 1936 to 1939.[2][3][4] As a senior in 1939, he completed 40 of 66 passes for a 60.6% completion rate. His completion percentage was the highest in the county. He also led the Sooners with 680 yards from scrimmage.[5] He also led the Big Six Conference with 50 points scored (eight touchdowns and two extra points).[6] He was selected by both the conference coaches and the Associated Press as a first-team back on their respective 1939 All-Big Six Conference football teams.[7][8] He was also selected by the International News Service as a second-team halfback on the 1939 College Football All-America Team.[9]
He was drafted by the Chicago Cardinals with the 141st pick in the 1940 NFL Draft and played for the Cardinals during the 1940 NFL season.[10][11] He appeared in 10 games for the Cardinals, completed 25 passes for 316 yards and two touchdowns and kicked three extra points.[1]
During World War II, Clark served as a pilot in the Air Transport Command, "flying the hump" between Burma and China.[12][13]
Clark died in 2000 at age 82 in Cherokee, Oklahoma.[1]
References
- ^ a b c "Beryl Clark". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved June 22, 2022.
- ^ Harold KKeith (April 1, 1939). "Little Beryl Clark May Be Hero Of 1939 Grid Team". The Oklahoma Daily. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Austin Bealmar (November 10, 1939). "Beryl Clark Hits in Two Sooner 'Cleanup' Spots: He Bats Cool .650 in the Air; But He's Better Than That on Ground". The Daily Oklahoman. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Beryl Clark May Go Places In Senior Year As Cog in Sooner Grid Machine". The Cherokee Republican. September 1, 1939. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Sooners Will Miss Seymour, Beryl Clark Graduation Will Take Two Ranking Ball Carriers on O. U. Squad". The Norman Transcript. December 5, 1939. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Oklahoma's Clark Wins Scoring Race". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. November 27, 1939. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Coaches Name Four Tigers on All-Big Six Eleven". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. November 28, 1939. p. 1B – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Only Two Tigers Land On Big Six All-Stars". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. November 29, 1939. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Lawton Carver (November 24, 1939). "2 From Tennessee on INS All-America". The Kane Republican. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "1940 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
- ^ "Beryl Clark". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 2, 2015.
- ^ "Lt. Beryl Clark Writes That "Flying The Hump" Gets To Be A Real Grind". The Cherokee Republican. July 13, 1945. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Lt. Beryl Clark Returned To States To Play Football For ATC This Fall". The Cherokee Messenger. September 4, 1945. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.