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EditRobert Earle "Bobby" Clarke OC - Born August 13, 1949 in Flin Flon, Manitoba is a Canadian retired ice Hockey centre, general manager, vice-president and current Philadelphia Flyers executive.
- Turnbull Memorial Trophy (Turnbull Cup) Champion 1967 with Flin Flon Bombers.
- Scotty Munro Memorial Trophy Champion 1968, 1969 with Flin Flon Bombers.
- Ed Chynoweth Cup (President's Cup) Champion 1969 with Flin Flon Bombers
Ed Chynoweth Cup fianalist 1968.
- Bob Brownridge Memorial Trophy (Bob Brownridge Trophy / Bob Clarke Trophy) Winner 1968, 1969 with Flin Flon Bombers.
- Four Broncos Memorial Trophy Winner 1969 with Flin Flon Bombers.
- Clarence S. Campbell Bowl Champion 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1980 with Philadelphia Flyers and 1991 with Minnesota North Stars..
- Stanley Cup Champion 1974, 1975 with Philadelphia Flyers.
Stanley Cup finalist 1976, 1980, 1985, 1987, 1991,1997, 2010.
- Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy Winner 1972 with Philadelphia Flyers.
- Hart Memorial Trophy Winner 1973, 1975, 1976 with Philadelphia Flyers.
- Lester B. Pearson Award Winner 1973.
- Lionel Conacher Award Winner 1975.
- Lou Marsh Trophy (Northern Star Award) Winner 1975.
- Lester Patrick Trophy Winner 1980
- Frank J. Selke Trophy Winner 1983
NHL All-Star Games 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975 (1st Team), 1976*,1977, 1978.
*selected 1st Team but did not play.
- Summit Series Champion 1972 with Team Canada.
- Canada Cup Champion 1987, 1991 with Team Canada.
- 1998 Winter Olympics Silver Medal Winner with Team Canada.
After starring for his hometown Flin Flon Bombers, Clarke was selected in the 1969 NHL draft, second round by Philadelphia Flyers.
Clarke made his NHL debut on October 11, 1969 vs Minnesota North Stars at Metropolitan Sports Center in a 4-0 Minnesota win.
Clarke scored his 1st NHL goal vs Ed Giacomin of the New York Rangers on October 30, 1969 at 16:36 of the 3rd period at The Spectrum in a 3-3 tie. His goal tied the game.
Clarke scored his 1st NHL hat-trick vs Michel Plasse and Ken Dryden of the Montreal Canadiens on February 17, 1973 at Montreal Forum in a 7-6 Flyers win. His 3rd goal was the game winner.
Clarke had a strong rookie year with the Flyers, playing all 76 NHL games, scoring 15 goals, 31 assists and 68 penalty minutes. He was selected to his 1st NHL All-Star Game on January 20, 1970.
Clarke led the Flyers in scoring during his sophomore season, 1970–71, with 27 goals, 36 assists and helped the Flyers reach the playoffs, where they lost to Chicago 4 straight 4-0.
Clarke won his 1st major NHL trophy with the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy in 1972 after a tough early season with medical issues that he persevered through.
Clarke was selected with the final team pick to represent Canada at the 1972 Summit Series in September, where he had a strong tournament with 2 goals, 4 assists and 18 penalty minutes, playing in all 8 games. Clarke was involved in "The Slash" in game 6 in Moscow, as he and Soviet forward Valeri Kharlamov had been exchanging pleasantries during the game, including a glove hand face-wash by Clarke and the two players also exchanged a few punches. Later in the 2nd period, Clarke slashed the ankle of Kharlamov with a two-hander, picking up a 2 minute penalty and a 10 minute misconduct, but "The Slash" changed the way Kharlamov played for the remainder of the series and Canada won the final 3 games in Moscow to win the Summit Series. While there are different points of view and accusations that coach John Ferguson sent Clarke to give Kharlamov a tap on the ankle. Clarke later in a 2006 interview stated "We were going for the puck together, he pushed me with the stick, then turned around and skated away. I caught up with him and hit him on the leg, not thinking at all where and how I hit. I could hit them on the leg, but don't forget that they did the same things to me. I am all for fairness, so the players who play tough Hockey have to be prepared to get the same thing back. And I was ready for that. Soviet Hockey had no fights so the players used other methods to get the point across. Like a little bit of 'stick work' here and there, you know. And I personally don't mind this. I am a tough player and I respect toughness in others. But if I am poked with a stick I will do the same. We just had to adapt to the new ways of doing things, that's all"
Clarke returned back to Canada after the Summit Series a hero and was then named Philadelphia Flyers captain to start the 1972-73 NHL season, which at age 23, the youngest to ever assume that role in NHL history at the time. He had another strong season, scoring a career high 37 goals (4 GWG), 67 assists, becoming the first player on a expansion team to have over a 100 point season. Clarke was later awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's MVP and the Lester B. Pearson Award as the league's most outstanding player as voted by the league's players.
The Flyers had been putting together a tough team, with Dave Schultz finally making the team after 3 years in the minors, Bernie Parent was back after 3 seasons away and Clarke was really shining as a player and captain. He was the central engine in what would be known as "The Broadstreet Bullies" a tough in your face team.
The Flyers won the 1974 Clarence S. Campbell Bowl Championship as NHL West Division champions for 1973-74 with a record of 50 wins, 16 losses and 12 ties.....they allowed the fewest goals scored against them during the regular season with 164. They then defeated Atlanta and New York Rangers in the playoffs to reach the finals vs Boston. Clarke had 3 goals, 3 assists vs the Bruins, including the OT winner in game 2 which tied the series 1-1. He had assists in each of the next 2 games, putting the Flyers up 3-1, and the would win the 1974 Stanley Cup championship in 6 games on home ice at The Spectrum.
The next season, Clarke set a NHL record at the time, for most assists by a centreman with 89 (27 goals). He was selected to the 1st Team NHL All-Star game at the Montreal Forum. The Flyers won the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl again and defended their NHL championship by winning the 1975 Stanley Cup. Clarke was awarded the 1975 Hart Memorial Trophy.
One of the Most Famous Stanley Cup Happy Face Photos, is Clarke, smiling a toothless grin while he winks over the bowl of the Stanley Cup in 1975.
The LCB Line (Leach, Clarke, Barber) in Philadelphia was really motoring along during the 1975-76 season, Clarke had 30 goals, Bill Barber had 50, Reggie Leach had 61 setting a NHL record for most goals by a forward line. Clarke and the Flyers played the Moscow Central Red Army team on January 11, 1976, defeating them 4-1 at The Spectrum. Clarke had 1 assist and the Flyers were the only NHL team to defeat the Russian team on their 4 game tour. Clarke was selected to 1st Team NHL All-Star again for the January 20 game, but did not play and Leach took his place. The Flyers won the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl again and made it to the 1976 Stanley Cup finals, losing to Montreal which was just starting a dynasty team. Clarke set a team record at the time with 119 points and was awarded his 3rd and final Hart Memorial Trophy. Clarke was captain for Team Canada at the 1976 Canada Cup in September, and was presented the 1st Canada Cup trophy by Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau after defeating Czechoslovakia in the final at the Montreal Forum.
Clarke and the Flyers remained very competitive over the next few seasons, despite his diabetes and hard-nosed play, Clarke proved to be remarkably durable. He had to give up his captaincy in 1979 while he became a Flyers assistant coach and helped the team to set a North American professional sports and NHL record by going undefeated in 35 straight games, also making it to the 1980 Stanley Cup finals, losing to another dynasty team, the New York Islanders.
Clarke, team owner Ed Snyder and coach Fred Shero all shared the 1980 Lester Patrick Trophy.
A broken foot suffered during the 1981–82 season limited him to 62 games, the only time in his career he played fewer than 70 games in a season. No longer an assistant coach, Clarke reassumed the captaincy from Bill Barber during 1982–83 season. He played in his 1,000th career game on October 23, 1982, vs Pittsburgh Penguins in a 4-2 Pittsburgh win. He had 23 goals and 85 points that season and was the 1983 Frank J. Selke Trophy winner.
Clarke played 1 more season for the Flyers, finishing his playing career with 1,144 regular season NHL games, scoring 358 goals (38 GWG / 1 OTG), 852 assists with 1,453 penalty minutes and played in 136 NHL playoff games, scoring 42 goals (7 GWG / 3 OTG), 77 assists with 154 penalty minutes.
Clarke holds many Philadelphia Flyers records, including most games (1144), most assists (852), shorthanded goals (32), most points (1210) and in the playoffs, most games (136), most assists (77) and most points (119).
Clarke's NHL career plus-minus of +507 is 5th all-time.
“He never gave up on plays,” Larry Robinson has said. “He was a mucker, a digger. And he was the heart and soul of that Flyers team. I wouldn’t say he was the most gifted skater in the world. Didn’t have the greatest hands. But all of those things he made up for in heart and determination. (He was) a pain in the ass. If you weren’t ready, then God knows what would happen.”
After retiring as a player, Clarke became the Flyers general manager in May, 1984 to 1990, then he became the Minnesota North Stars general manager for 2 seasons (1990-92), back to the Flyers for 1 season as Sr. VP of Hockey Operations, then to the Florida Panthers as their general manager for 1993-94 before returning to Philadelphia for good, as their general manager 1994 to 2007, Sr. VP of Hockey Operations 2007 to 2019 and currently a senior advisor.
Clarke also worked with Hockey Canada, as a co-general manager for 1987 and 1991 Canada Cups and the lone general manager at 1998 Winter Olympics.
Clarke was rated number 24 on The Hockey News' list of The Top 100 NHL Players of All-Time in 1998.
Bobby Clarke was inducted into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame in 1985.
Bobby Clarke was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1987.
Bobby Clarke was inducted into the Flyer Hall of Fame in 1988.
Bobby Clarke was inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2003 (charter member).
Bobby Clarke was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.
Bobby Clarke received The Order of Canada in 1981.
In 2017 Clarke was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.