Long before he was an NHL superstar, Wendel Clark was a journeyman hockey player who played for eight different teams in 12 seasons. He played in the NHL, the American Hockey League (AHL), and the European Hockey League (EHL), winning three Stanley Cups with the Toronto Maple Leafs and scoring the goal that clinched the second one.
Now almost 90 years old, Clark is finally being recognized for his accomplishments with his presence in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Last year, he was one of the first players selected in the selections for the Hockey Hall of Fame, having received over 27 votes from the eligible voters.
In order to assess whether or not Clark belongs in the Hockey Hall of Fame, one must go back in time to consider his career as a whole. This is a process that can be both challenging and exhaustive, and it is one that I intend to undertake. In this article, we will take a look back at his career, analyzing his skills, impact on the game, and recognition in the NHL and elsewhere. Hopefully, this analysis will help to determine whether or not he is worthy of being in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Table of Contents
Early Life And Career In Professional Hockey
Wendel Clark was born on January 1st, 1924 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. His father, Albert, was a dairy farmer who played for a local baseball team. Albert also played minor league baseball for the Toronto Blues and the St. Louis Browns and coached basketball and baseball at the high school level. He died of leukemia in 1930, when Wendel was only 10 years old. After his father’s death, Wendel and his mother, Emma, moved to Toronto where he grew up. He grew up a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and dreamed of one day playing for them.
In 1939-40, while still in elementary school, Clark played one season of organized minor hockey for the Toronto Marlboros in the Toronto Junior League. He made such an impression on the coaches that they offered him a spot on the varsity team the following year, even though he was only 12 years old. He started his high school career in the fall of 1939 and finished it in the spring of 1943. During those years, Wendel played for the Toronto Beachers (1939-40), Toronto St. George’s (1940-41), and Toronto Raccoons (1941-42). He also played for a number of baseball teams, traveling between leagues with the Toronto ball club.
Wendel put his baseball career on hold after his senior year of high school to focus on his hockey career. While he was still a student at the University of Toronto, he played for the Quieteters in the ice hockey arena. They were a group of older players who provided the University of Toronto with much-needed social interaction. Unfortunately, this came at a price: the Quieteters were not allowed to be competitive, and lost a lot of matches. Still, they were a great way to meet new people, and explore the city of Toronto.
NHL Career
Wendel’s professional hockey career started in 1945 with the Toronto Maple Leafs. After just one year, he was traded to the Chicago Black Hawks where he continued to play for the next two federal seasons. During this time, he also played for the Montreal Cougars, and in the International League for the New York Ro- vers. He was selected to play for Canada in the 1946 International Phantastich Cup, which was held in Prague, Czechoslovakia that year. He scored a goal in the opening game, but his team finished last with just two points.
In the fall of 1947, Clark joined the Detroit Red Wings for one game as a favor to hockey legend Gordie Howe. Detroit head coach Jack Adams wanted to give the great man some company, as he sat twice as many games as usual due to heart problems. One of the players that Clark shared the ice with was future Hockey Hall of Fame member Ted Lindsay. He played just three shifts for Detroit and did not record a point.
Clark made his way back to the Maple Leafs in the offseason, and played the rest of his career with them, finishing last year in the NHL with the Los Angeles Kings. In all, he played 12 seasons in the NHL, scoring 206 goals and earning 370 assists for 576 points. He also appeared in 152 playoff games, scoring 39 goals and adding 75 assists for 114 points.
After his playing career ended in 1959, Clark went on to coach the Hamilton Steelers in the AHL and in the Western Hockey League. He also spent two years as an assistant coach for the Quebec Winter Carnival team.
In 1973, at the age of 44, Clark finally got his big break when he was offered and accepted the job as the general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. While in that position, he was given the privilege of picking the team’s jersey numbers for the upcoming season, and chose to continue the trend of his playing days and go with five. He wore number 25 during his playing career.
Retirement
After spending three years as the general manager of the Leafs, Clark retired in 1976. However, he stayed connected to hockey by becoming an agent, and began handling negotiations for players. He also joined the board of directors of the Professional Hockey League (later the NHL) in 1978, and became its vice president in 1980. In 1981, he took a job with the NHL as a special counsel, working on contract negotiations and arbitrations. In 1987, he returned to the board, this time as an officer. He became its president in 1996, and remained in that position until his retirement in 2008. Now 90 years old, Clark is still involved in hockey in some capacity. He is the founder of the Wendel Clark Hockey School in Toronto, which was donated in his honor. The school was built on a portion of the land that his family once owned. It opened its doors to students in 2009.
Off The Ice
Wendel Clark is one of the few players who made a name for himself outside of hockey. His status as the son of a famous baseball player led him to meet many famous people, including Babe Ruth. The two became good friends, and even helped each other in their quest for a baseball bat that was once owned by Tom Selleck. The friendship eventually became so strong that, in 1966, Ruth presented Clark with a personalized baseball bat. It has been passed down through the generations, and is framed and mounted on the wall of Clark’s hockey room. He also became very friendly with Archie Belaney, the former manager of the St. Louis Browns who was also a good friend of Ruth’s. Clark spent a lot of time with Belaney, doing his best to keep up with his friend’s rapid fire remarking. In return, Belaney would regale Clark with stories about his days with the St. Louis Browns.
Stanley Cup Wins
Wendel’s greatest accolades come from the sport that he adored growing up. Three of his six Stanley Cup wins came with the Toronto Maple Leafs, with the first two coming in the 1950s. His first two Cups were earned in the 1950s, winning the championship in his rookie season with the Leafs in 1950, and winning it again with Toronto in the 1954-55 season. While with Toronto, he also ran into some minor controversy, as he refused to speak to the press while his team was on the ice, and was fined by the club for his actions.
Wendel’s third Cup was won with the New York Rangers in the 1968-69 season. He played on the same line as the great Alex Üllner, and was a key member of that line’s incredible attack, scoring 17 goals and adding 37 assists for 54 points in 62 games that year. He also won two more cups with the Rangers in the 1970s, including the famous Game 7 in Madison Square Garden in which he recorded a hat trick, and another in which he scored a goal on the penalty shot that won the game for the Rangers.