Norman Childers "Hackenschmidt" Clark (12 November 1878 – 26 December 1943) was an Australian rules footballer who played for the

Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's top professional competition. Founded in 1864 in Carlton, an inner suburb of Me ...

in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

(VFL) between 1905 and 1912.

Family

The son of Edward John Clark, and Margaret Clark, née Cooper, Norman Childers Clark was born on 12 November 1878. He married Eileen Florence Fleming (1888–1983) on 11 June 1918. They had two children: Norman Adrian Clark (1919–1998), and Bryan Childers Clark (1923–2003).

Football

Prior to joining Carlton, he had played in two premiership teams at

North Adelaide North Adelaide is a predominantly residential precinct and suburb of the City of Adelaide in South Australia, situated north of the River Torrens and within the Adelaide Park Lands. History Surveyor-General Colonel William Light of the colo ...

. A talented sprinter, in 1899 he won the 130-yard Stawell Gift in eleven and four-fifths seconds, off a handicap of 14 and a half yards. His prize of 50 gold sovereigns was used to buy a handmade gold pocket watch, in which he had his initials 'N.C.C' inscribed. He moved to Stawell, hoping to win another Gift, and he played two seasons with Stawell Football Club. Upon his arrival at Carlton in 1905, his team-mates noticed his exceptional physique and nicknamed him "Hackenschmidt" after the famous

strongman In the 19th century, the term strongman referred to an exhibitor of strength or similar circus performers who performed feats of strength. More recently, strength athletics, also known as strongman competitions, have grown in popularity. Thes ...

and

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

Georg Hackenschmidt Georg Karl Julius Hackenschmidt ( – 19 February 1968) was an early 20th-century Estonian strongman, professional wrestler, author, and sports philosopher who is recognized as professional wrestling's first world heavyweight champion. Hack ...

. He played in three consecutive premiership sides for Carlton from 1906–1908 as well as coaching Carlton to back-to-back premierships in 1914–15. He was with Charlie Hammond the only 2 people involved in Carlton's first five VFL flags. After leaving Carlton at the end of the 1918 season he took up the head coaching role at Richmond. In his first season, he took the Tigers to the Grand Final. This attained him the rare feat of coaching two separate clubs in VFL Grand Finals. Clark was also the coach of VFL sides St Kilda in 1925–26 and

North Melbourne North Melbourne is an inner-city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, north-west of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Melbourne local government area. North Melbourne recorded a population of 14,953 at ...

in 1931. He was captain-coach of

Victorian Football Association The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

(VFA) side Brighton in 1913. He coached junior and senior football for seventeen seasons in the VFA, the VFL and the Ringwood Districts Football Association, with four more premierships to his credit by the time he retired after the 1931 season.

Death

Clark died on Boxing Day in 1943.Deaths: Clark, ''The Age'', (Monday, 27 December 1943), p.3Obituary: Mr Norman Clark, ''The Argus'', (Monday, 27 December 1943), p.8.
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Footnotes

References

* Hogan P: ''The Tigers Of Old'', Richmond FC, Melbourne 1996
De Bolto, Anthony, "Carlton Legend Certificate Surfaces", ''blueseum,com'', 2 January 2007.

External links

* *
Blueseum Biography: Norman Clark

Blueseum Article: Norman Clark 20/01/2006

MCC Article Excerpt Carlton vs. Richmond 14/08/2010

Boyles Football Photos: Norman Clark.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Norm 1878 births 1943 deaths Australian rules footballers from South Australia Stawell Gift winners North Adelaide Football Club players Carlton Football Club players Carlton Football Club Premiership players Carlton Football Club coaches Carlton Football Club Premiership coaches Richmond Football Club coaches St Kilda Football Club coaches North Melbourne Football Club coaches Prahran Football Club coaches Brighton Football Club coaches Stawell Football Club players Brighton Football Club players Three-time VFL/AFL Premiership players Two-time VFL/AFL Premiership coaches