One game film turned Bethune-Cookman tight end Charles "Boobie" Clark into one of the NFL's top fullbacks of the 1970s.
The Jacksonville Stanton product was a stalwart on Cy McClairen's offensive line in his Bethune-Cookman days. The one exception was a 48-0 victory over Albany State in 1971 when McClairen placed Clark at fullback because a lot of his teammates were nursing injuries.
That film was sent to Cincinnati Bengals Head Coach Paul Brown to showcase other players, but Brown saw something in Clark and rolled the dice: Clark was the Bengals' 12th round pick in the 1973 NFL draft.
Clark rushed for 983 yards and eight touchdowns to earn 1973 NFL Rookie of the Year honors. In his four years as a starter, the Bengals went 38-18 and won two division titles. His ability to become an impact player as an NFL fullback with no previous experience at the position was an achievement appreciated back in that day.
After leaving Cincinnati, Clark played sparingly in two seasons with the Houston before retiring in 1982 in the Buffalo Bills training camp. He died of a blood clot in his lung in 1988. The City of Jacksonville renamed the Sherwood Forest Playground as Charles "Boobie" Clark Park and Pool in his honor.
THURSDAY: #BCUTBT…
Throwback Thursday has taken over Twitter and Instagram throughout the last year. Now, we invite you to take a stroll down memory lane with B-CU Athletics as we flip through pictures from over 80 years of Wildcats football. We will also tweet out pictures, videos, stories and more of great Wildcats football moments from the past. While we send out some of our favorite memories, we want to hear from you and we'll share those with the B-CU online community!
Please use the hashtag #BCUTBT when submitting your throwback memories through Twitter and Instagram.
Be sure to interact with us on all social media channels. Fans are encouraged to follow @BCUathletics on Twitter, @BCUathletics on Instagram, and “Like” BCUathletics on Facebook to enter their daily submissions for participation. Fans should also follow BCUathletics on Pinterest for that special tailgating recipe yet to be discovered by the rest of the world.
In addition, Bethune-Cookman recently announced the official social media directory for the department of athletics. CLICK HERE FOR SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTORY. All 17 sports teams at Bethune-Cookman have a unique twitter handle, and fans are encouraged to follow the student-athletes and coaches of those teams as each will have special tweets, photos and information unique to that program.
Bethune-Cookman is #NeverSatisfied.
