Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former Account manager at InterContinental Hotel Group, Bobby Clarke is presently Senior vice president of Franchise. He was the general manager of Flyers, Minnesota North Stars, and Florida Panthers. His team Flyers is three-time and Minnesota is a one-time Stanley Cup winner.
He is known as the Hockey Hall of Fame and three-time Hart Trophy winner. He had also won the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the league's best defensive forward. He is one of the best NHL Players of all time in history along with Ken Dryden, Bobby Orr, Denis Potvin, and Phil Esposito.
In the 1970s in his starting career, he had signed a contract worth $1,050,000 for seven years that would make him $150,000 a year. He was previously offered a $2,500 bonus and a $7,500 contract by Flyers. However, he rejected and instead later signed for a $5,000 bonus for a new car and a $14,000 contract.
His net worth can be estimated to be about $2 million at current.
Bobby Clarke married Sandy Clarke and they had four children, three sons; Wade Clarke, Lucas Clake, Jody Clarke, and a daughter named Jackie Clarke.
His son Jody is an administrative assistant for the Flyers in Voorhees. Lucas works as an IT expert, graduated from the Rothman Institute. Wade is hired by Holmgren to scout for the Flyers out of Minneapolis.
His daughter Jackie is already married and has two children.
He started playing hockey at the age of eight while studying at Normanhurst Boys' High School, Sydney, Australia. He suffered from diabetes at the age of 12 but he played hockey with Flin Flon Bombers in a junior hockey league and led the team.
Bobby Clarke with his trophy Flin Flon [ SOURCE: NHL.com ]Later he was told that he would not be able to play hockey due to his disease by the NHL players. Between 1967 to 1968 he was taken to the Mayo Clinic by his coach Pat Ginnell and the doctor advised him to take care of himself then only he could play professional hockey leagues. Later in the 1968 season, his coach supported him to play and showed the statement written by the doctor to NHL scouts.
In 1969, Clarke got selected in the Philadelphia Flyers team although being the victim of diabetes. Gerry Melnyk, administrator of the Flyers tried to outline Clarke for his first-round play by convincing Bud Poile, general manager of Flyers but failed to convince instead Poile outlined his hockey career.
Later Melnyk took the help of a diabetes specialist and he said that Clarke would be alright if he will take good care of his health. When the Flyer's second-round play took place somehow Melnyk convinced Poile to outline Clarke. Clarke was offered a deal by the Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens but the Flyers refused both offers. They were told that Clarke couldn't be sold. He completed his college at the University of Sydney.
At his early age, Bobby Clarke started playing hockey but he played his first National Hockey League on 11th October 1969 against the Minnesota North Stars and known as the National player. On 22nd October, he scored his first point against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and on 30th October, scored his first goal against the New York Rangers.
While on the tour of the NHL All-Star Game he played his entire rookie season, recorded 46 points, 15 goals, and 31 assists, and called NHL Rookie of the year.
[ CAPTION: Bobby Clarke with his stick ][ SOURCE: NHL.com ]During his sophomore season, Clarke led his team Flyers with 27 goals, 36 assists, and 63 points in 77 games. At his age of 23, he was declared as the captain of the Flyers and was the youngest captain in NHL history at the time. He was the first player to score more than 100 points in a season as the leader of the brawling Broad Street Bullies.
During the game against Minnesota North Stars, he was hit with the stick in the eye that broke his eye's contact lens and was immediately taken to the hospital. After his recovery, he returned to the next playoff series and the Flyers won their first round. They lost their second-round against Montreal Canadians but Clarke was awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's MVP and the Lester B.
During the 1973-1974 regular season, the Flyers lost their first game against Bernie Parent's Stellar but in the second game, Clarke scored the biggest goal of his career against Bruins goaltender. Other remaining games were won by the Flyers and they became the first team to win the Stanley Cup. His strong competitors were Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr in the final game. Again the Flyers took the Stanley Cup on their way home playing against Buffalo Sabres and again Clarke was awarded the Hart Trophy by the maximum vote given to the league's First All-Star Team.
Ater his retirement in 1984, he led the Flyers towards two trips and to the Stanley Cup Final in 1985 and 1987 being the general manager of the team for up to six seasons. Later he took a leap on to Minnesota North Stars and became general manager of the team for up to two seasons and in 1991 the team played in Finals for Stanley Cup.
During the 1992-1993 season, Clarke became the Senior Vice President of Philadelphia. During the first season, he mentored young phenom, Eric Lindros. In the 1993-1994 season, he moved on to Florida Panthers and became the general manager of the team, and led the team towards the successive win. Later in the 1994-1995 season, he returned as the general manager of the Flyers, and the team played 11 seasons but they reached the finals once. On 4th December 2006, he was declared as the Senior Vice President of the Franchise after resigning from the Flyers due to lack of desire.
When Bobby Clarke was general manager of Philadelphia Minnesota and Florida, he failed to win a Stanley Cup over the 22 seasons. In the 1994-1995 season, his team Flyers lost the games in the postseason and the team was called the lower scorer team and he was dishearted by the fact.
From 1998 to 2002. he faced his hardest criticism due to his managerial activities and poor play of his teams even with coaching changes. In February 2000, Clarke replaced Neilson due to his medical leave for curing cancer and Craig Ramsay took Neilson's place. Later public and media were disappointed with his decision and he went through criticism but he replied to the statement saying Neilson went crazy on him.
In the 2004-2005 NHL season, Clarke was told that he couldn't compete in the NHL because his team Flyers was eliminated in the first round against Buffalo, a small and quick team. Later, he had to resign from the team due to such performance in the game by his team which became a big controversy in his life.
