Mike Clark (defensive end) explained

Mike Clark
Number:75, 90, 79
Position:Defensive end
Birth Date:March 30, 1959
Birth Place:Dothan, Alabama, U.S.
Height Ft:6
Height In:4
Weight Lb:253
High School:Graceville
(Graceville, Florida)
College:Florida
Draftyear:1981
Draftround:7
Draftpick:190
(by the Los Angeles Rams)[1]
Pastteams:
Statleague:USFL
Statlabel1:Sacks
Statvalue1:12.5
Pfr:ClarMi21
Afl:299

Michael Hugh Clark (born March 30, 1959) is an American former college and professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) and United States Football League (USFL) for five seasons during the 1980s. Clark played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played professionally for the Washington Redskins, the San Francisco 49ers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL, and the Tampa Bay Bandits of the USFL.

Early life

Clark was born in Dothan, Alabama in 1959.[2] He attended Graceville High School in Graceville, Florida,[3] where he played high school football for the Graceville Tigers.

College career

Clark accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, and played for coach Doug Dickey and coach Charley Pell's Florida Gators football teams from 1977 to 1980.[4] During Clark's senior season in 1980, he was a member of the Gators team that posted the biggest one-year turnaround in the history of NCAA Division I football[5] —from 0–10–1 in 1979[6] to an 8–4 bowl team in 1980.[7]

Professional career

The Los Angeles Rams selected Clark in the seventh round (190th pick overall) of the 1981 NFL draft.[8] Clark played a single season for each of the Washington Redskins in, the San Francisco 49ers in, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in .[9] Clark was also a starting defensive end for coach Steve Spurrier's Tampa Bay Bandits of the USFL in 1984 and 1985.

Life after football

Clark is retired from professional sports and lives in Tampa, Florida.He has one daughter.

See also

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 1981 Los Angeles Rams . https://web.archive.org/web/20070409175414/http://www.databasefootball.com/teams/teamyear.htm?tm=LAM&lg=nfl&yr=1981 . databaseFootball.com . unfit . April 9, 2007 . July 18, 2020.
  2. Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players, Mike Clark. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
  3. databaseFootball.com, Players, Mike Clark . Retrieved July 18, 2010.
  4. 2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide , University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, p. 180 (2011). Retrieved August 28, 2011.
  5. Norm Carlson, University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators, Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia, pp. 95–96 (2007).
  6. College Football Data Warehouse, Florida Yearly Results 1975–1979 . Retrieved July 18, 2010.
  7. College Football Data Warehouse, Florida Yearly Results 1980–1984 . Retrieved July 18, 2010.
  8. Pro Football Hall of Fame, Draft History, 1981 National Football League Draft. Retrieved July 18, 2010.
  9. National Football League, Historical Players, Mike Clark. Retrieved July 18, 2010.