James Thomas Clack (October 26, 1947 – April 7, 2006) was an American football center and guard in the National Football League. He played for 11 seasons between 1971 and 1981. He died of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, a ...

in 2006 after suffering from cancer for four years. Clack graduated from Wake Forest University. He began his career with the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

, and he was part of two

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

championship teams in 1974 and 1975. In April 1978, the Steelers traded Clack (along with wide receiver Ernie Pough) to the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

in exchange for offensive lineman John Hicks. Clack spent four seasons with the Giants. Clack was the Center who snapped the ball to Quarterback Joe Pisarcik. 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 who returned the fumble for a touchdown at the end of the November 19, 1978 game between the Giants and the Philadelphia Eagles at

Giants Stadium Giants Stadium (sometimes referred to as Giants Stadium at the Meadowlands or The Swamp) was a stadium located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in the Meadowlands Sports Complex. The venue was open from 1976 to 2010, and it primarily hosted sp ...

, costing the team a certain victory in a play since known as " The Miracle at the Meadowlands" 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