Clark is ‘Diamond in the Rough’
People often come across something that makes them say, “If anyone ever made that story into a movie, no one would believe it.”
Well, there is such a story in our midst and it involves Cape Coral resident Dave Clark, who has played baseball and hockey, coached both sports and has been a scout for several major league baseball teams.
What’s so special about all of that? Clark was stricken with polio when he was 10 months old and has lived a life with leg braces and crutches ever since.
Clark tells his story in a grippingly candid autobiography published this summer. “Diamond in the Rough: The Dave Clark Story” is a must read for anyone who loves sports and admires people of accomplishment.
There’s only so much space here to fully cover Clark’s amazing life, but in brief, he was born 50-plus years ago in upstate New York. One of the first signs that he had something special going for him came in a grammar school gym where the class of youngsters was asked to climb a rope hanging from the ceiling.
Clark writes, “The coach didn’t see my physical limitations as a reason for me not to be part of the fun of gym class.”
In relating the story, he recalls that none of the boys were able to make it all the way to the top. “I gripped the rope tightly and began climbing, hand over hand. I couldn’t use my feet to hold on the way the other kids could, but that was okay. I didn’t need them. I made it to the top without really much effort, then came back down. When I returned to the group, I saw kids with this WOW! look on their faces. They were amazed.”
It wasn’t much longer when more than grammar school kids were wowed. From that point on it was an upward path for Clark with street hockey and little league baseball.
He graduated from Corning Community College and received a bachelor’s degree from Ithaca College in 1974. At age 18 he started playing semi-pro baseball, leading to a long career in which he started as a pitcher and later became a first baseman. You’ll have to read his book to see how skilled he was at both positions, especially as a knuckleball pitcher who pitched and fielded his position while on crutches.
One of the highlights of this talented athlete’s career was his experience with the minor league Indianapolis Clowns, the team that helped Hank Aaron break into professional baseball. Clark not only played for the Clowns, he later bought the team.
His career as a pitcher and first baseman was summed up by a former Clowns teammate who said, “Dave was short by first basemen’s standards, but he was the best at digging low throws out of the dirt. What hands he had. He performed magic over and over, night after night, with the plays he made at first base.
“My only regret is that I never got to see Dave pitch. He injured his pitching arm long before we became associated with each other. Years later, I did see a tape of Dave pitching. It remains one of the most jaw-dropping pieces of athletic footage I have ever seen.”
“Diamond in the Rough” is filled with many more “jaw-dropping” stories. Clark doesn’t leave out many details, writing about everything from carousing with teammates to womanizing — a sport not affected by leg braces or crutches. Fortunately, his womanizing days are long over. He now lives happily in Cape Coral with his wife and daughter.
One column doesn’t do justice to this colorful story. Read “Diamond in the Rough: The Dave Clark Story” to get the real flavor of a charmed life in sports. Order your copy by going to the website www.iuniverse.com and typing in the title.
Cape Coral resident Norman Marcus is a dedicated couch potato and author of “Inside Big Time Sports: Television, Money and the Fans.”