James Thomas Clack (October 26, 1947 – April 7, 2006) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

and

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. He played for 11 seasons between 1971 and 1981. He died of heart failure in 2006 after suffering from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

for four years. Clack graduated from

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

. He began his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and he was part of two Super Bowl championship teams in 1974 and 1975. In April 1978, the Steelers traded Clack (along with wide receiver Ernie Pough) to the New York Giants in exchange for offensive lineman

John Hicks Sir John Richards Hicks (8 April 1904 – 20 May 1989) was a British economist. He is considered one of the most important and influential economists of the twentieth century. The most familiar of his many contributions in the field of economi ...

. Clack spent four seasons with the Giants. Clack was the Center who snapped the ball to Quarterback

Joe Pisarcik Joseph Anthony Pisarcik (born July 2, 1952) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League for eight seasons, from 1977 through 1984 after playing high school football at West Side Central Catholic H. S. (late ...

. Pisarcik fumbled the ball attempting to hand-off to Fullback Larry Csonka. Hitting the hip of Csonka the ball bounced in to the hands of

Herman Edwards Herman Edwards Jr. (born April 27, 1954) is an American football coach and former cornerback who was most recently the head football coach at Arizona State. He played in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons, primarily with the Phi ...

who returned the fumble for a touchdown at the end of the November 19, 1978 game between the Giants and the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

at Giants Stadium, costing the team a certain victory in a play since known as "

The Miracle at the Meadowlands The Miracle at the Meadowlands was a fumble recovery by cornerback Herman Edwards of the Philadelphia Eagles that he returned for a touchdown at the end of a November 19, 1978, National Football League (NFL) game against the New York Giants in ...

" to Eagles' fans and "The Fumble" to Giants' fans. The last second win propelled the Eagles into the playoffs and prompted the NFL to adopt the "kneel down" play, otherwise known as the "victory formation" to end games. Clack was inducted into the Wake Forest's hall of fame in 1981, and into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clack, Jim 1947 births 2006 deaths New York Giants players Pittsburgh Steelers players Wake Forest Demon Deacons football players Players of American football from North Carolina Sportspeople from Rocky Mount, North Carolina Continental Football League players