George Clark
Clark from 1946 Cornhusker
Biographical details
Born(1894-03-20)March 20, 1894
Carthage, Illinois, U.S.
DiedNovember 8, 1972(1972-11-08) (aged 78)
La Jolla, California, U.S.
Playing career
Football
1914–1915Illinois
Baseball
1915–1916Illinois
Position(s)Quarterback (football)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1916Kansas (assistant)
1919Illinois (assistant)
1920Michigan Agricultural
1921–1925Kansas
1926Minnesota (associate HC)
1927–1929Butler
1931–1936Portsmouth Spartans / Detroit Lions
1937–1938Brooklyn Dodgers
1940Detroit Lions
1945Nebraska
1948Nebraska
Baseball
1920Illinois
1921Michigan Agricultural
1922–1925Kansas
1927Minnesota
1928Butler
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1927–1930Butler
1948–1953Nebraska
Head coaching record
Overall40–45–7 (college football)
64–42–12 (NFL)
71–55–3 (college baseball)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Football
1 NVC (1923)

George M. "Potsy" Clark (March 20, 1894 – November 8, 1972) was an American football and baseball player, coach, and athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Michigan Agricultural College, now Michigan State University, (1920), the University of Kansas (1921–1925), Butler University (1927–1929), and the University of Nebraska–Lincoln (1945, 1948), compiling a career college football record of 40–45–7. Clark was also the head coach of the National Football League's Portsmouth Spartans/Detroit Lions (1931–1936, 1940) and Brooklyn Dodgers (1937–1938), amassing a career NFL mark of 64–42–12.[1] Clark's 1935 Detroit Lions team won the NFL Championship. From 1945 to 1953, Clark served as the athletic director at Nebraska.[2]

As a member of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF) during World War 1, Clark was a member of the U.S. Army's 89th Division's football team that won the AEF championship.[3]

Head coaching record

College football

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
Michigan Agricultural Aggies (Independent) (1920)
1920 Michigan Agricultural 4–6
Michigan Agricultural: 4–6
Kansas Jayhawks (Missouri Valley Conference) (1921–1925)
1921 Kansas 4–3 3–3 5th
1922 Kansas 3–4–1 1–3–1 6th
1923 Kansas 5–0–3 3–0–3 T–1st
1924 Kansas 2–5–1 2–4–1 7th
1925 Kansas 2–5–1 2–5–1 8th
Kansas: 16–17–6 11–15–6
Butler Bulldogs (Independent) (1927–1929)
1927 Butler 4–3–1
1928 Butler 6–2
1929 Butler 4–4
Butler: 14–9–1
Nebraska Cornhuskers (Big Six Conference) (1945)
1945 Nebraska 4–5 2–3 4th
Nebraska Cornhuskers (Big Seven Conference) (1948)
1948 Nebraska 2–8 2–4 T–5th
Nebraska: 6–13 4–7
Total: 40–45–7
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

NFL

Team Year Regular season Postseason
Won Lost Ties Win % Finish Won Lost Win % Result
PRT 1931 11 3 0 .786 2nd in NFL - - - -
PRT 1932 6 2 2 .750 3rd in NFL 0 1 .000 Lost Playoff Game to Chicago Bears
PRT 1933 6 5 0 .545 2nd in NFL Western - - - -
DET 1934 10 3 0 .769 2nd in NFL Western - - - -
DET 1935 7 3 2 .769 1st in NFL Western 1 0 1.000 Won NFL Championship over New York Giants
DET 1936 8 4 0 .667 3rd in NFL Western - - - -
BKK 1937 3 7 1 .300 4th in NFL Eastern - - - -
BKK 1937 4 4 3 .500 3rd in NFL Eastern - - - -
BKK 1939 4 6 1 .400 3rd in NFL Eastern - - - -
BKK Total 11 17 5 .393 - - -
DET 1940 5 5 1 .500 3rd in NFL Western - - - -
PRT/DET Total 53 25 7 .679 1 0 1.000
Total 64 42 12 .604 1 0 1.000

See also

References

  1. ^ "Potsy Clark Record, Statistics, and Category Ranks – Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  2. ^ "Potsy Clark Dead, Lions' First Coach". The New York Times. Associated Press. November 10, 1972. Retrieved July 7, 2010.
  3. ^ Withington, Henry Restarick (1989). The Withington Story. Phoenix, AZ: Self-published. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
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