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Brian Clark (footballer, born 1943)

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For other people with the same name, see Brian Clark (disambiguation).

Brian Clark
Personal information
Full name Brian Donald Clark[1]
Date of birth (1943-01-13)13 January 1943
Place of birth Bristol, England
Date of death 10 August 2010(2010-08-10) (aged 67)
Place of death Cardiff, Wales
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[2]
Position(s) Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1960–1967 Bristol City 195 (83)
1967–1968 Huddersfield Town 32 (11)
1968–1972 Cardiff City 182 (75)
1972–1973 AFC Bournemouth 30 (12)
1973–1975 Millwall 71 (17)
1975–1976 Cardiff City 21 (1)
1976–1979 Newport County 80 (18)
Total 611 (217)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Brian Donald Clark (13 January 1943 – 10 August 2010) was an English professional footballer. He scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory for Cardiff City against Real Madrid in the first leg of the European Cup Winners Cup quarter-final in 1971.[3] Clark made sports history in England on 20 January 1974 when he became the first player ever in The Football League to score a goal on a Sunday. Clark accomplished the feat for Millwall F.C. in its 1–0 win over Fulham[4]

Career

[edit]

The son of former Bristol City player Don Clark, Clark captained Bristol Boys' before signing professional terms with Bristol City himself in March 1960,[5] making his debut for the club in 1961 during a 3–0 victory over Brentford on the final day of the season. After featuring regularly for the Robins reserve side,[5] it was during the 1962–63 season that he established himself in the side, finishing as the club's top scorer with 23 goals. He continued to score regularly for the side and helped the side gain promotion to Division Two during the 1964–65 season, forming a formidable attacking partnership with John Atyeo and Bobby Williams, again finishing as the club's top scorer with 24 goals. In October 1966 he left Bristol City to sign for Huddersfield Town in exchange for John Quigley.[5]

Clark failed to settle at the Yorkshire club and, after two years, was snapped up by Cardiff City manager Jimmy Scoular for £8,000.[5] Scoring twice on his debut during a 4–3 win over Derby County, he went on to form a lethal partnership with John Toshack, ending the season with 17 goals and his first Welsh Cup winners medal.[6] Clark finished as the club's top scorer for the next two seasons, as well as scoring 5 times in a single match against Barmouth & Dyffryn, falling short of Derek Tapscott's club record of goals in a game by just one. It was during the 1970–71 season that he achieved probably the high point of his career when he headed in the only goal of the first leg against Real Madrid in a 1–0 win during the European Cup Winners Cup quarter-final.[7] The following year he again finished as Cardiff's top scorer, the third successive year he had done so, before he and Ian Gibson were surprisingly sold to AFC Bournemouth for a combined fee of £100,000.

Clark spent one year at Bournemouth, followed by a spell at Millwall. He soon returned to Ninian Park to play for Cardiff again. His second spell at the club lasted just a single season but he still managed to help the club win promotion to Division Two. He left the club to sign for Newport County before finishing his career with a number of player-manager roles at several Welsh Football League sides.[6]

Death

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Clark died on 10 August 2010 at the age of 67 from Lewy body dementia at Whitchurch Hospital in Cardiff.[8][9]

Honours

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Cardiff City[6]
1968–69, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1975–76
1971–72
1975–76

References

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  1. ^ "Brian Clark". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  2. ^ Maurice Golesworth (1965). Soccer Who's Who. The Sportsmans Book Club.
  3. ^ "The Scoular Years". Cardiff City FC. 21 March 2013. Archived from the original on 30 October 2013. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  4. ^ ""Historic Goal by Clark", by Robert Oxby, The Daily Telegraph (London), 21 January 1974, p.20 ("Brian Clark, the Millwall striker, brought himself a kind of immortality when he drove the ball into the Fulham net at 11:34 a.m. yesterday. This became the first goal to be socred in the Football League on a Sunday.")
  5. ^ a b c d "Brian Clark: Footballer best known for scoring the winning goal when Cardiff City beat Real Madrid". The Independent. London. 20 August 2010. Retrieved 13 September 2016.
  6. ^ a b c Hayes, Dean (2006). The Who's Who of Cardiff City. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 38. ISBN 1-85983-462-0.
  7. ^ "Top ten Ninian Park memories". BBC Sport. 22 April 2009. Retrieved 22 April 2009.
  8. ^ "Former teammates say farewell to Cardiff City legend Brian Clark". South Wales Echo. 25 August 2010. Retrieved 25 August 2010.
  9. ^ "Brian Clark: Deepest Respect". Cardiff City FC. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
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