Clyde Luther Scott (August 29, 1924 – January 30, 2018) was an American athlete who competed professionally 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 majo ...

and earned an Olympic medal in the 110 meter hurdles. He was born in Dixie, Louisiana.

Biography

Scott grew up in

Smackover, Arkansas Smackover is a small city in northern Union County, Arkansas, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population was at 1,865. It had a large oil boom in the 1920s, with production continuing for some time. History In 1686, the French s ...

, and participated in both

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

at the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkans ...

and the US Naval Academy. He was inducted into the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vo ...

and the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame. He competed for the United States in the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ...

held in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It ...

in the 110 meter hurdles where he won the silver medal. While at the University of Arkansas, he was initiated into the Xi Chapter of the

Kappa Sigma Fraternity Kappa Sigma (), commonly known as Kappa Sig, is an American collegiate social fraternity founded at the University of Virginia in 1869. Kappa Sigma is one of the five largest international fraternities with currently 318 active chapters and colo ...

. Scott's nickname while at the University of Arkansas was "Smackover", after his hometown. Scott was a three-time All-SWC player at RB and DB, and an All-American in 1948. He helped Arkansas win the 1946

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma ...

championship, as well as leading the Razorbacks to their first-ever bowl victory, beating William & Mary 21-19 in the 1948 Dixie Bowl on January 1, 1948. Scott was also a track star at the UA, competing in the 100-yard dash and 110-meter hurdles. Scott was the eighth player overall chosen in the

1948 NFL Draft The 1948 National Football League Draft was held on December 19, 1947, at the Fort Pitt Hotel in Pittsburgh. This was the second year that the first overall pick was a bonus pick determined by lottery, with the previous year's winner Chicago Bea ...

. Scott played five seasons in the

for 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 ...

and the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...

, appearing on two NFL championship teams. Scott had a career game on October 6, 1951 against the 49ers when he caught two touchdown passes (3 catches for 85 yards), and had a 40 yard run in the Eagles 21-14 upset win. The Eagles finished 4-8-0. The 49ers, at 7-4-1, finished game behind the Conference Champion Rams. Scott was forced to retire in 1953 after suffering a knee injury. In 2014 Scott was inducted into the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame. The University of Arkansas retired Scott's football jersey number 12, one of only two numbers the school has ever retired (the other is number 77, retired in honor of

Brandon Burlsworth Brandon Vaughn Burlsworth (September 20, 1976 – April 28, 1999) was an offensive lineman for the Arkansas Razorbacks football team from 1995 to 1998. He joined the team as a walk-on and eventually became an All-American. Football career Bur ...

). Scott died on January 30, 2018, at the age of 93.

References

1924 births 2018 deaths All-American college football players American male hurdlers Arkansas Razorbacks football players Arkansas Razorbacks men's track and field athletes Athletes (track and field) at the 1948 Summer Olympics Detroit Lions players Olympic silver medalists for the United States in track and field People from Smackover, Arkansas Philadelphia Eagles players Players of American football from Arkansas Medalists at the 1948 Summer Olympics Track and field athletes in the National Football League {{collegefootball-player-stub