# Lyal Clark

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American football player and coach (1904–1971)

Lyal Clark Clark, c. 1958 Biographical details Born (1904-07-04)July 4, 1904 Died January 30, 1971(1971-01-30) (aged 66) Playing career 1925–1928 Western Maryland Position End Coaching career (HC unless noted) 1935–1937 Delaware Head coaching record Overall 5–18–1

**Lyal W. Clark** (July 4, 1904 – January 30, 1971) was an American [college football](/source/College_football) head coach who was [Delaware football](/source/Delaware_Fightin'_Blue_Hens_football) program's eighteenth head coach. He led them to a 5–18–1 overall record in three seasons.

Born in Nebraska, Clark was a multi-sport star athlete for the [Western Maryland College Green Terror](/source/McDaniel_College#Football), playing as an [end](/source/End_(American_football)) in football and coached by [Dick Harlow](/source/Dick_Harlow). In 1927 he was invited to play in the [East-West Shrine Game](/source/East-West_Shrine_Game). Clark graduated in 1929 with a bachelor of arts degree and took his first coaching job that same year as football line coach at the [University of Baltimore](/source/University_of_Baltimore). By 1935, when he became head coach at Delaware, he had been an assistant football coach at [Virginia Polytechnic Institute](/source/Virginia_Tech), Western Maryland, and Delaware.[1]

Following his term as Blue Hen head coach, Clark returned to assistant coaching in 1938, joining the staff of *[The Harvard Crimson](/source/The_Harvard_Crimson)*, coached by Harlow. Clark coached at Harvard until 1946, and was a factor in three Harvard victories over [Yale University](/source/Yale_University). From March 1943 to November 1945, when Harvard suspended its football program during World War II, Clark served as a lieutenant commander in the [United States Navy](/source/United_States_Navy), as an athletic instructor at the Naval Pre-Flight Training Center in [Chapel Hill, North Carolina](/source/Chapel_Hill%2C_North_Carolina); at [Lakehurst, New Jersey](/source/Lakehurst%2C_New_Jersey), and at [Corpus Christi, Texas](/source/Corpus_Christi%2C_Texas). He returned to Harvard at the end of the 1945 season as Harlow's general assistant.[2]

In March 1946 Clark left Harvard to take a position on the staff of a former Harvard assistant, [Wes Fesler](/source/Wes_Fesler), the new head football coach of the [University of Pittsburgh](/source/University_of_Pittsburgh).[3] Clark followed Fesler to the [Ohio State University](/source/Ohio_State_University) when Fesler became the [Buckeyes head coach](/source/Ohio_State_Buckeyes_football) the next year. Fesler resigned after the 1950 season, and Clark again accompanied him to another program, this time to the [University of Minnesota](/source/University_of_Minnesota) in 1951.[1]

When Fesler's successor, [Woody Hayes](/source/Woody_Hayes), came under fire for not meeting program expectations in his first three years as Ohio State's head coach, OSU Athletic Director Dick Larkins hired Clark away from Minnesota and back to Columbus to coach the Buckeye defense. Hayes delegated Clark complete control of the defense, an uncharacteristic move at the time, and Clark's defense responded in 1954 by not allowing more than 14 points during any game in the season (and that only twice), surrendering only 75 points overall.[4] This included a goal line stand inside the Buckeye one-yard line in the 4th quarter against [Michigan](/source/University_of_Michigan) on November 20 to preserve the victory and a perfect season.[5] Ohio State went on to win the [National Championship](/source/College_football_national_championships_in_NCAA_Division_I_FBS) that season.[1]

Clark served as defensive line coach at OSU for 16 years under Fesler and Hayes, the fourth longest tenure for an Ohio State assistant coach, which included championship teams in 1955, 1957, and 1961. He developed [emphysema](/source/Emphysema) during this period and retired from Ohio State and coaching before the 1966 season. He died in 1971 after an extended two-year struggle with the disease.[1] Clark was inducted in 1982 into the McDaniel College Sports Hall of Fame.[6]

## Head coaching record

### Football

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens (Independent) (1935–1937) 1935 Delaware 2–5–1 1936 Delaware 2–6 1937 Delaware 1–7 Delaware: 5–18–1 Total: 5–18–1

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-mr.ed_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-mr.ed_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-mr.ed_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-mr.ed_1-3) Porentas, John (2012). ["Learning the Score"](http://www.the-ozone.net/misc/2012/clark/TheScore.html). the-ozone.net. Retrieved November 23, 2012.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Clark, Line Coach of 1941's 'Seven Blocks of Granite,' to Assist Harlow"](http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1945/11/9/clark-line-coach-of-1941s-seven/). *The Harvard Crimson*. November 9, 1946. Retrieved November 23, 2012.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["LYAL CLARK TAKES PITTSBURGH OFFER, Recently Returned Veteran Becomes Fesler's End Coach"](http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1946/3/15/lyal-clark-takes-pittsburgh-offer-precently/). *The Harvard Crimson*. March 15, 1946. Retrieved November 23, 2012.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Park, Jack (2002). *The Official Ohio State Football Encyclopedia*. Sports Publishing LLC. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1-58261-006-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-58261-006-1)., p. 290

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Park (2002), p. 295

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** [McDaniel College Sports Hall of Fame Inductees](http://www.mcdaniel.edu/alumni/recognition/sports-hall-of-fame/sports-hall-of-fame-inductees/)

## External links

- [Lyal Clark](https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/49582104) at [Find a Grave](/source/Find_a_Grave)

v t e Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens head football coaches No coach (1889–1895) Ira Pierce (1896) Herbert Rice (1897–1901) Clarence A. Short (1902) Nathan Mannakee (1903–1905) Clarence A. Short (1906) E. Pratt King (1907) William McAvoy (1908–1916) Stan Baumgartner (1917) Milton Aronowitz (1918) Burton Shipley (1919–1920) Sylvester Derby (1921) William McAvoy (1922–1924) Frank M. Forstburg (1925–1926) Joseph J. Rothrock (1927–1928) Gus Ziegler (1929–1930) Charles Rogers (1931–1933) Skip Stahley (1934) Lyal Clark (1935–1937) Stephen Grenda (1938–1939) William D. Murray (1940–1942) No team (1943–1945) William D. Murray (1946–1950) David M. Nelson (1951–1965) Tubby Raymond (1966–2001) K. C. Keeler (2002–2012) Dave Brock (2013–2016) Dennis Dottin-Carter # (2016) Danny Rocco (2017–2021) Ryan Carty (2022– ) # denotes interim head coach

v t e Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens men's basketball head coaches Samuel Saunders (1905–1906) No coach (1906–1909) William McAvoy (1909–1918) Burton Shipley (1918–1922) William McAvoy (1922–1925) Frank M. Forstburg (1925–1927) Joseph J. Rothrock (1927–1930) Gerald P. Doherty (1930–1937) Lyal Clark (1937–1938) Stephen Grenda (1938–1940) Flucie Stewart (1940–1941) Emery Adkins (1941–1943) Edmund Prince (1943–1944) William D. Murray (1944–1945) Kenneth Steers (1945–1946) Joseph Brunansky (1946–1949) Fred Emmerson (1949–1954) Irv Wisniewski (1954–1966) Dan Peterson (1966–1971) Donald Harnum (1971–1976) Ronald Rainey (1976–1985) Steve Steinwedel (1985–1995) Mike Brey (1995–2000) David Henderson (2000–2006) Monté Ross (2006–2016) Martin Ingelsby (2016– )

v t e 1954 Ohio State Buckeyes football—AP national champions Hubert Bobo John Borton Dick Brubaker Howard Cassady Dean Dugger Frank Ellwood Dave Leggett Bill Michael Jim Parker Don Vicic Bobby Watkins Tad Weed Head coach Woody Hayes Assistant coaches Lyal Clark Gene Fekete George Steinbrenner Ernie Godfrey Bill Hess Doyt Perry Esco Sarkkinen

v t e 1957 Ohio State Buckeyes football—FWAA & UPI national champions Joe Cannavino Galen Cisco Don Clark Jerry Fields Len Fontes Jim Houston Dan James Bill Jobko Dick LeBeau Jim Marshall Rich Michael Dick Schafrath Don Sutherin Aurealius Thomas Bob White Head coach Woody Hayes Assistant coaches Lyal Clark Gene Fekete Ernie Godfrey Bill Hess Clive Rush Esco Sarkkinen

v t e 1961 Ohio State Buckeyes football—FWAA national champions Bob Ferguson John Havlicek Bob Middleton Gary Moeller Daryl Sanders Matt Snell Joe Sparma Bob Vogel Dick Van Raaphorst Paul Warfield Head coach Woody Hayes Assistant coaches Lyal Clark Alan Fiers Ernie Godfrey Esco Sarkkinen Bo Schembechler

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Lyal Clark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyal_Clark) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyal_Clark?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.