Leon Clark (born June 11, 1943) is an American former

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He played at

Thornton Township High School Thornton Township High School, often simply referred to as Thornton is a public high school founded in 1899, located in Harvey, one of the South Suburbs of the city of Chicago, Illinois, USA. The school is one of three administered by Thornton ...

in his hometown of

Harvey, Illinois Harvey is a city in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 20,324 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Harvey is bordered by the villages of Dixmoor, Illinois, Dixmoor and Riverdale, Illinois, R ...

, and led his team to a second-place state finish in his junior season. Clark played collegiately for the

Wyoming Cowboys The Wyoming Cowboys and Cowgirls are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Wyoming, located in Laramie, Wyoming, Laramie. Wyoming is a member of the Mountain West Conference (MW) and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding 17 ...

where he is considered one of the program's greatest players. He played as an undersized

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 eccentricity ...

for the Cowboys and led the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...

(WAC) in rebounding in 1965 and 1966. Clark earned first-team All-WAC honors in his final two seasons. Clark finished his collegiate career as the Cowboys' all-time leader in rebounds with 889. Clark was selected by the

Boston Celtics The Boston Celtics ( ) are an American professional basketball team based in Boston. The Celtics compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. Founded in 1946 as one of t ...

as the 18th overall pick of the 1966 NBA draft. He and his representative wrote a letter to Celtics general manager

Red Auerbach Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerbach (September 20, 1917 – October 28, 2006) was an American professional basketball coach and executive. He served as a head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA), most notably with the Boston Celtics. ...

asking for a two-year guaranteed deal worth $40,000. Auerbach read the letter aloud before he tore it up while negotiating the contract of fellow Celtics draft pick Jim Barnett, who received a much lower offer. Clark spent the 1966 preseason with the Celtics and was considered a strong contender to make the final roster a month before the season began after he attempted to translate his playing position to a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. He was cut by the Celtics before the start of the 1966–67 season and ultimately never played a game in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). Clark played for the

Hartford Capitols The Hartford Capitols were a professional basketball team in the Eastern Professional Basketball League (later re-named the Eastern Basketball Association) from 1966 through 1974. The Capitols played on weekends only and played at various venues ar ...

of the

Eastern Professional Basketball League The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball mi ...

during the 1966–67 season. He also played professionally in Europe. Clark was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1974 and the University of Wyoming Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Leon 1943 births Living people African-American basketball players Amateur Athletic Union men's basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball players from Illinois Boston Celtics draft picks Centers (basketball) Forwards (basketball) Hartford Capitols players People from Harvey, Illinois Wyoming Cowboys basketball players 21st-century African-American people