On this day in 1954, former Sunderland and Newcastle player Jeff Clarke was born...
Jeff arrived from Man City in the summer of ’75 along with £200,000 in exchange for Dave Watson. Filling Dave’s boots was a formidable task, but Jeff set about that task with relish alongside Bobby Moncur, and stayed with us for seven seasons.
Born in Hemsworth, near Barnsley, he’d joined City as an apprentice in 1971 - apparently to the disgust of his brothers who reckoned professionals were soft - and made his first-team debut in 1974. After thirteen appearances, in which he managed a couple of own goals, he moved to Roker and quickly became a favourite with the fans. The lads liked his tough-tackling game, and the lasses liked his rugged good looks and blond curls – there was a poem in the programme outlining one lady’s affection – “he’s big and blond and strong” – but there was more to his game that tackling and smiling. He played 31 league games in his debut season as we stormed to the top of the table, dropping only two points at home. The following season he managed 33 games before the first of several Knee injuries that plagued his career, meaning that he was absent for the crucial run-in that ended in controversial relegation – although he was outside Goodison on crutches that fateful evening, happily signing autographs. When he recovered, he played 24 league games in 77-78.
Perhaps his best season was alongside Shaun Elliott in 79-80, with another promotion being achieved, but another knee injury kept him side-lined for the whole of the following campaign. After another 25 league games in 81-82, he was (inexplicably, in my view) allowed to join the mags. He was still only 28, and therefore had a good few years left, which made him one of the best free transfers of all time. Although he was a mag player for five seasons, that spell was interrupted by a loan to Brighton before short stints at Ankaragucu in Turkey and Darlo. He coached at Sid James for several years before spells as physio at Nissan after graduating from Salford University, returning to Roker in that capacity before moving to Leeds. He’s been at Dundee United since 2003, in various coaching and physio roles, and the last I heard he was head physio at their academy. His son Jamie was on our books as a youngster, and played against us for Mansfield in October 2003 in a League Cup game that saw Kevin Kyle score at both ends in a 2-1 win.
Jeff Clarke, 218 games, six goals, one own goal.
