Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame
- Induction:
- 1991
Following his graduation from Wake Forest, Clack tried to make the Steelers as a free agent in 1969, but he was cut. He spent the year playing for the Norfolk Neptunes of the Continental Football League, a low-budget NFL competitor. The Neptunes averaged 13,000 fans a game - more than twice the league average of 5,700.
The following year, he made the Steelers as a member of the "taxi squad," or practice squad. It was on his third attempt, in 1971, that he made the Pittsburgh club for real.
At 216 pounds, Clack was considered too small for the NFL, but he earned a spot and became a starting guard on teams that made six straight playoff appearances and won the first two of the franchise's six Super Bowls (IX and X). Among his teammates was another Wake Hall of Famer, Ed Bradley.
In 1978, Clack joined the New York Giants. He retired upon reporting to training camp in July 1981, but he returned at the urging of coach Ray Perkins on Nov. 10. Five days later, he started at center against Washington, and he helped the Giants to their first postseason appearance in 18 years. He retired for good in early 1982.
Clack was also inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 2004. He became a member of the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame on Feb. 16, 1991.
At Rocky Mount High, Clack played on two state championship teams in football and one in basketball. Clack tapped in the winning basket in the 1962 state basketball championship game and once returned a fumble 96 yards for a touchdown as a prep. He was a co-captain in the Shrine Bowl in Charlotte in 1964 and played in the East-West game in Greensboro.
Clack was born Oct. 26, 1947 in Rocky Mount. He died on April 7, 2006 of heart failure after battling neck and throat cancer for four years.
