Norman Edwin William Clarke (November 25, 1932 – December 20, 2000) was a professional

Canadian football Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...

player who played both

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

and

offensive tackle Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

for the Saskatchewan Roughriders from 1951 through 1964.

Early years

Bill Clarke was born in Regina on November 25, 1932, to parents G.W.R. (Bill) and Ruth L. Clarke. He played junior football with the Regina Dales (later to become the

Regina Rams The Regina Rams represent the University of Regina, located in Regina, Saskatchewan in the sport of Canadian football in U Sports. The Rams joined U Sports in 1999 and have competed in the Canada West Conference since then. The program has won ...

) before turning professional with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 1951.

Professional career

Clarke became one of the longest-serving members of the Roughriders, playing 14 seasons as both an offensive and defensive tackle, including 8 seasons serving as the captain of the defence squad. He was awarded the Stack Tibitts Trophy as the Roughriders most valuable Canadian in 1959 and 1961 and was named to the

Western Football Conference Western Football Conference may refer to: * Canadian Football League West Division, one of the two regional divisions of the Canadian Football League * Western Football Conference (United States) The Western Football Conference was an NCAA Divisi ...

's All-Star team as a defensive tackle in 1961 and 1963. The 1963 Riders defence was notable for playing five games without yielding a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

. Clarke's longtime dedication to the club was honoured with a life membership in 1963 and he was inducted into the Roughriders' Plaza of Honour in 1988. He retired from play following the

1964 CFL season The 1964 CFL season is considered to be the 11th season in modern-day Canadian football, although it is officially the seventh Canadian Football League season. Regular season standings Final regular season standings ''Note: GP = Games Played, W ...

Post-football

After football, Clarke began a career as a public servant. In 1966, he was executive director of Sport and Recreation for Saskatchewan and from 1982 to 1987, he served as Deputy Minister of what is now the Department of Culture, Youth and Recreation. In addition, he was a member of numerous boards and committees including the Saskatchewan Games Council, the Canada Games Council, and

Hockey Canada Hockey Canada (which merged with the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association in 1994) is the national governing body of ice hockey and ice sledge hockey in Canada. It is a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation and controls the majority ...

. As an advocate for the Special Olympics and the United Way, he also organised charity

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area which is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take turns sliding ...

bonspiel A bonspiel is a curling tournament, consisting of several games, often held on a weekend. Until the 20th century most bonspiels were held outdoors, on a frozen freshwater loch. Today almost all bonspiels are held indoors on specially prepared ar ...

s and

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

tournaments to raise money for

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

research, a disease with which he was afflicted. Clarke was admitted to the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in 1979 and the

Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about t ...

in 1996. He received an honorary

Doctorate of Law A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL. ...

from the University of Regina in 1995. He died December 20, 2000, in Regina, from Parkinson's disease.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Bill 1932 births 2000 deaths Sportspeople from Regina, Saskatchewan Players of Canadian football from Saskatchewan Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees Canadian football defensive linemen Saskatchewan Roughriders players Neurological disease deaths in Saskatchewan Deaths from Parkinson's disease