When I heard that my friend, and Redskins Ring of Fame legend Wide Receiver Gary Clark, was once again on the Pro Football Hall of Fame (HOF) ballot class of 2020, I was excited, and again reminded that the HOF induction process is not always a perfect one.
I want to lay out my case for why I think Gary Clark should absolutely be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Prior to his NFL debut with the Redskins in 1985, he was actually drafted by the Jacksonville Bulls of the former USFL in 1984 and had a very productive season. In fact, he told me he gives a lot of credit from those early days to Jax Head Coach Lindy Infante for teaching him the touch and go strategy against man coverage that he thought was brilliant, and would no doubt help set up future success. Fortunately for Redskins fans, the USFL would fold in 1985, bringing Gary Clark to the NFL and the start of his illustrious career with the Burgundy and Gold.
Right out of the gate, Clark dazzled in his rookie campaign, compiling a whopping 72 receptions, 5 TD’s, and just under 1,000 yards. In fact, he still holds the Redskins WR record for most yards in his rookie season. Then in 1986, in spite of missing one game, Clark still had 74 catches, and 7 TD’s and nearly 1,300 yards, which were 2nd highest totals in the NFC behind Jerry Rice. And consider the era he played in, when 70+ catches per season was a really big deal, as compared to the modern era where receivers numbers are vastly elevated due to various factors, such as nuances of illegal contact, personal fouls, and other rules.
All told with the Redskins, Clark was a four time pro bowler, three time All-Pro, and two time Super Bowl champion. He was an integral part of “The Posse”, arguably the greatest WR trio ever assembled. Apart from an ‘87 strike game when Anthony Allen had 255 yards, Clark still holds the Redskins record for most receiving yards (241- and 11 catches!) in a game, which also happened to be vs the elite, all-time dominant Giants defense, during their 1986 Super Bowl Championship season.
Another interesting stat to point out is that while Gary played for the Redskins, he had more receptions (549), TD’s (58), yards (8,742), and yards per reception (16) than his HOF teammate Art Monk during the same time.
For his amazing 11 year NFL career, Clark racked up a total of 699 receptions, 65 TD’s, 10,856 yards, and 15.5 yards per reception. Of these, he had five 1,000+ yard seasons, which were also considered a more significant benchmark during that era. He also averaged 65 yards per game, and an eye-popping 15.5 yards per reception average, both of which are also in the same range as several current HOF’ers. As a Cardinal in 1994, he became the first NFL receiver to catch 50 or more passes in the first 10 seasons of his career. Then at the time of his retirement, he actually ranked in the top five in career receptions and receiving yards.
Among his many career highlights, Gary told me that his favorite regular season moment was his OT game-winning TD vs the Vikings in 1986.
There were several huge regular season games over his career, when the lights were brightest and stakes were highest, that Clark delivered in the clutch. One game that immediately stands out to me was during the historic 1991 championship run. The Redskins raced out of the gate to an impressive, virtually unstoppable start. And it wasn’t just the wins. They were lopsided, complete domination wins. And yes, right in the middle of this domination was Gary Clark, on his way to his third All-Pro season. The 7-0 Redskins rolled into the Meadowlands for a Sunday night primetime showdown vs the defending Super Bowl Champion Giants, who had been a painful nemesis, having won 6 straight vs the Burgundy & Gold. In this pivotal game, once again Gary Clark seized the spotlight and delivered when his team needed him the most. The win not only snapped the Giants win streak and propelled the Redskins to 8-0, it probably also served to really fuel the ensuing confidence and continued domination for the rest of the ‘91 juggernaut run.
Then just 2 weeks after the big Giants win- Clark accumulated an astounding 203 yards (on 4 catches!), and 3 TD’s in a lopsided onslaught vs the Falcons, propelling the surging Redskins to an eye-popping 10-0.
But what also takes Gary Clark to the next level is that he had some really good postseason success with 58 receptions, 826 yards, and 6 TD’s. Among these were very big, clutch moments. One was the game-winning TD in the ‘87 NFC Championship game vs the Vikings. Now a fascinating story that Gary told me from this game, leading up to the game winning TD: He said that he told Doug [Williams] earlier in the game that the next time they (coaching staff) called a “7 route” (corner route in their offense), that he was going to run a hook route instead because he thought they (Vikings D) were anticipating the 7 route. So on what would be the Redskins last offensive drive of the game, when the play called for the 7 route, Clark ran and Doug threw the hook route instead, and Clark scored the game-winning TD!
Then 2 weeks later in Super Bowl XXII, he would score what also turned out to be the game-winning TD vs. the Broncos during the greatest quarter in the history of football. Then during the 1991 championship run, Clark had huge post-season TD’s, that proved to be game-sealing, leave-no-doubt moments. First, vs. the Lions in the Championship game, and then vs the Bills in Super Bowl XXVI.
And in what turned out to be his last TD as a Redskin, it was also in a big, game sealing moment vs. the Vikings in the ‘92 NFC Wild Card game.
As we further evaluate Gary Clark’s HOF induction consideration, it’s important to also consider current HOF wide receivers and how Clark stacks up to them. Now of course it’s important to not just focus on player stats comparison, but nonetheless they are still very important. In particular, they are important when we compare players from around the same era. One would be John Stallworth, who had career totals of 537 receptions, 8,723 yards, 63 TD’s, 4 pro bowls. He also played 14 seasons to accumulate these totals, as compared to Clark’s 11. And like Gary Clark had in HOF teammate Art Monk, Stallworth had another HOF teammate in Lynn Swan. But as we look at Lynn Swann’s 9 year career totals, he only had 336 receptions, 5,462 yards, 51 TD’s, 3 pro bowls- all less than Clark’s totals. And yes, we all know that Lynn Swan is probably most famously known for his acrobatic catch in Super Bowl X. But Gary Clark also had exceptional catches including, ironically, this catch vs. the Steelers!
Another great HOF wide receiver of note is Fred Biletnikoff, who played for 13 seasons and had 589 receptions, 8,974 yards, 76 TD’s, and made 6 pro bowls. And his Raiders teams won 1 Super Bowl. And another relatively similar comp would be Michael Irvin, who played 12 seasons, with 750 receptions, nearly 12,000 yards, 65 TD‘s, and 15.9 yards per reception.
Yes, the regular and post-season cumulative stats are impressive. And no doubt arguably sufficient in themselves to justify HOF induction. But beyond the mere stats, I think it’s important to emphasize Gary Clark’s many intangibles, and several essential traits that are needed in a star to have well-rounded success. One of these was his incredible durability. Amazingly, he only missed 9 games his entire career! Now this doesn’t mean he stayed completely injury and pain free. He told me there were several games that he took pain killers, in spite of the many nagging hamstring and groin issues. And of course he still played at his consistently high level. Also consider that during this era, the NFL didn’t have the current standards of concussion protocols and knowledge that is more known today. In fact, he believes he probably had 3 to 4 concussions during his career. He said his mindset was that he just got his “bell rung”, and had to “shake off the cobwebs”, to get back into the game and keep giving his all. He was such a fierce competitor who wanted to do all he could in his power to help his team win. In fact, Doug Williams, who I met during an exclusive premier of his NFL “A Football Life”, when it was aired last year had some great things to say publicly about Gary that night: “Pound for pound, he [Gary Clark] was the toughest football player I ever played with in my life.”
Based on what Gary has often told me, I also think that he had an appropriate “IT” factor trait, and the kind of competitive mindset that every athlete needs: that he didn’t think too highly of himself as he would never be too comfortable and assume he had his WR position made, but would continue to play and work so hard so that he wouldn’t “lose his job” to someone else. To this day, he sings the praises of his WR Posse, other teammates, and the coaching staff, giving them lots of credit and pushing him to excel. Another fascinating aspect of his competitive mindset that he has often shared in what fueled him- and what he thinks is an important factor among teammates and in a good, winning football culture- is how much he hated to lose, perhaps even more than he wanted to win. Yes, he still loved to win, and celebrated with the best of them. Though I’m sure many have worked as hard, I am convinced no one worked harder. Gary Clark was the ideal team player, a fierce competitor, and one of the key outspoken leaders who laid it all on the line, both on game days and in preparation.
Then there is Hall of Fame NFL coach and football broadcaster, John Madden. For many years on game days, whenever a prime, often times the most important game of the weekend was scheduled, you knew we would hear the broadcaster voices of the best tandem in the NFL: John Madden, along with his play-by-play partner, Pat Summerall. I can recall several instances over the years, when Madden gushed with praise on how much he loved so many things about Gary Clark. Here is one of those examples that I found.
Yes, Madden recognized the tangible, and intangible elements of Gary Clark’s game that I think absolutely make him a legit HOF’er.
Then there is the perspective of one of Gary’s former teammates, John Booty. Here is what he told me:
“I used to hear about and see Gary prior to competing against him and he was very impressive and tough. I saw he had no fear and made big plays. When I started playing against him I experienced his competitiveness. I saw first hand how fiery he was on the sideline, his reputation meaning he wanted to win! Then when we became teammates I saw that fire first hand and I was like ‘I see why he’s a great wide receiver’! His toughness was shown by John Madden and his numbers, all pros, pro bowls, and Super Bowl Championships shows that he wanted his team to win Championships while proved he was the best at his position. He should be in the Hall of Fame!”
I also wanted the perspective of another great Redskins wide receiver, Santana Moss, who told me the following:
“I believe Gary was one of the best to do it. In his time where there were two wideouts to lead a passing attack Gary was a leader amongst a leader being Art Monk’s ‘1b’. Although people would think Monk was the guy- which he was- but Gary made his opportunities greater just because you had to check or be aware of Clark’s attack at any moment in any game! I believe 8 out of 9 seasons Gary led his receiving core with catches and yards but was still considered the ‘Robin to Batman’ (Art Monk). After all, in those days 10,000 yards would’ve given you a shoe in at the ‘yellow jacket’ and I believe he left the game as one!”
No doubt very high praises from just two of the many who I’m sure share similar perspectives.
Yes, Gary Clark was a relentless, hard-working, top-achiever during his football playing days. And he continues to be one today, and shows no signs of slowing down as he is constantly trying to find ways to make himself, and others better. His obvious and consistent personal-growth mindset that I see countless evidences of today, is no doubt something that set him apart and helped elevate his game during his playing days.
Similar to how it was when Art Monk finally got his well-deserved and egregiously long overdue HOF induction, it’s also time for the HOF selection committee to once again do the right thing and please end another long overdue induction. Yes, it’s time for Gary Clark to join this special group and put on his yellow jacket in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.