Duke Athletics Hall of Fame Member George Clark Passes Away

DURHAM, N.C. – Duke Athletics Hall of Fame member George Clark passed away on Thursday at the age of 94.

A native of Wilson, N.C., Clark was a two-sport student-athlete at Duke, lettering in both baseball (1945-46-47) and football (1944-45-46-47). He was inducted into the Duke Athletics Hall of Fame in 1987 and enshrined into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.

As an outfielder on the diamond, Clark helped Duke to a three-year record of 42-25 with a pair of Big Four championships in 1946 and 1947. In 1945, he posted a team-high .458 batting average.

On the gridiron, Clark was a three-time All-Southern Conference selection while helping the Blue Devils to a four-year ledger of 20-14-2 with a pair of league championships (1944-45). During the 1944 season, he set school records for longest punt return (95 yards vs. Wake Forest) and punt return average in a single season (19.7). In Duke's 29-26 victory over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl on January 1, 1945, Clark rushed for a game-high 122 yards and two touchdowns.

Clark garnered third team All-America honors in 1945 after rushing for 530 yards. On October 13, 1945, he established the Duke single-game record for rushing yardage by gaining 214 yards on 17 carries during a 26-19 win at Wake Forest. The record stood for 44 seasons until October 28, 1989 when Randy Cuthbert picked up 234 yards as the Blue Devils defeated Georgia Tech, 30-19.

Playing under head coaches Eddie Cameron and Wallace Wade during his Duke career, Clark rushed 305 times for 1,279 yards and 19 touchdowns while completing 47-of-94 (.500) passes for 753 yards. He led the Blue Devils in rushing yardage in both 1944 and 1945 and in passing yards in 1945 and 1946.

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Duke Athletics Hall of Fame Member George Clark Passes Away

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