This Day in Hockey History – August 13, 1949 – Clarke Never Defined by Diabetes

When you are the first at something, that sometimes becomes a tag that overshadows what you really want people to remember about you. Such was the case with Philadelphia Flyers Bobby Clarke when he was a rookie.

Clarke was born on August 13, 1949 in Flin Flon, Manitoba, a small mining town that when he was young boasted just a single indoor rink. Most of his minor hockey days were spent playing on outdoor rinks.

By the time he was thirteen he had been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.

“I never had anything to compare it to. [Taking my injection shots] was what I had to do to live,” he told Kevin Shea in 2003. “As far as playing hockey, I don’t know if it hurt me, but I never worried about it. I wanted to be a hockey player. There were some uneducated judgements made by teams that thought that if you had diabetes, you weren’t going to be strong enough to play in the National Hockey League. My understanding is that the Flyers spoke to a diabetic specialist who assured them that if I took the proper care of myself, I’d be fine.”

Indeed, despite having amassed a record of 177-318-495 in 166 games with the Flin Flon Bombers during his junior career, he was not taken in the 1969 draft until the second round, at number 14. Now to be fair, there were only 12 teams in the NHL at the time, but even the Flyers elected not to take him during their first round pick—instead going with Bob Currier, who retired after five years and never actually made it to the NHL.

“Bobby Clarke, the one-time darling of Flin Flon Bombers is part of a Sports Illustrated feature this week on hockey. Clarke, a rookie straight out of junior ranks, has caught the imagination of Philadelphia Flyer fans because of his daily battle with diabetes. The article lists Clarke as the “rookie with a heart,” reported the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix on 19 November 1969.

Clarke simply wanted to be known as a hockey player. And somehow it seemed that every time he was mentioned, the diabetes was mentioned as well.

“How the hell we were lucky enough to grab Clarke in the second round of the junior draft amazes me. I admire his dedication, guts and drive. Nothing is too tough for him to tackle. There’s no goofing off or taking short-cuts in practice. He reminds me of Norm Ullman the way he works corners and forechecks. And he’s as smart as he is rugged. There was no way we could keep Clarke off this team after his pre-season games,” Flyers head coach Vic Stasiuk told media in October of 1969.

Even in the article in which Stasiuk’s quotes were included ended with “Getting back to Clarke, you wonder if coach Stasiuk isn’t getting a bit flowery with his praise. After all, it won’t be the first time a training camp sensation was something of a bust in the actual league… Mind you, Clarke has always had that dedication bit going for him. He’s a diabetic and it’s been an uphill battle most of his life.”

He finally had enough of the reports that couldn’t leave his diabetes out of their coverage of him.

“Please do me a big favor,’ pleaded Bob Clarke, his voice fluttering with every word. ‘Please tell the other writers how I hate the way they keep rehashing about me being a diabetic. It really has me upset,” reported Ed Conrad of the Philadelphia Daily News, November 20, 1969.

Conrad’s article went on to point out that while Clarke’s diabetic condition was as much a part of him as his ability to score, that Clarke was worried that the constant reminders of his disease might hurt his chances in his career.

“Having diabetes is no problem but all the talk surrounding it could be,” Clarke told Conrad. “I expect that, if I ever hit a slump, everything will come back to the diabetes. That’s what really worries me.”

In the end Clarke continued to excel, helping the Broad Street Bullies to consecutive Stanley Cups in 1974 and 1975. And throughout his 15-year career with the Flyers he earned just about every trophy and award that was possible.

Today, when his name is mentioned, most people conjure up his toothless grin. But for current Montreal Canadien Max Domi, Clarke’s success in the NHL was something that helped him see that an NHL career was possible with diabetes.

“That was the first time that my jaw kind of hit the floor and I was like: ‘Holy s—! That’s Bobby Clarke!” Domi recalled to Stu Cowman last summer, about meeting him. “That was pretty cool. I’ve done lots of cool things in my life and that’s by far the coolest thing. The reason being is that the guy was like a statue to me… he was iconic in my life. I was like: ‘All right, well if he can do it. I can do it.’ And I told myself that pretty much every single day. I don’t know if I even really said much to him and I don’t even know what he said exactly to me. I was just kind of jaw-dropped and staring at him.”

Today you can see a statue of Clarke along with goaltender Bernie Parent holding the Stanley Cup between them in South Philadelphia. And if you Google his name the most common search terms that follow are hockey and teeth. He never let his diabetes define him. He is a Stanley Cup-winning hockey player.

Additional Sources:

• Jack Cook, “Bobby Clarke a Favorite,” Star-Phoenix (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan), Wednesday, November 19, 1969, p. 31.
• Jack Cook, “Clarke gets royal treatment,” Star-Phoenix (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan), Wednesday, October 31, 1969, p. 16.
• Ed Conrad, “When Enough Is Enough,” Philadelphia Daily News (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), Thursday, November 20, 1969, p. 63.
• Kevin Shea, “One on One With Bobbly Clarke,” Legends of Hockey, 2 May 2003, as found on the WayBackMachine.