1971-72 O-Pee-Chee 114 Bobby Clarke Hockey Card (Front)
1971-72 O-Pee-Chee 114 Bobby Clarke Hockey Card (Back)
1971-72 O-Pee-Chee NHL Checklist
Card Notes
Versatile Bobby Clarke has become Philadelphia’s most popular player in two short years. He led the Flyers in scoring with 27 goals and 36 assists this past season. A center, he’s also used on power plays and to kill penalties. Second round draft choice in 1969.
En Français
Le versatile Bobby Clarke est devenu le joueur le plus populaire de Philadelphie en deux courtes années. L’an passé, meilleur compteur des Flyers avec 27 buts et 36 assistances. Ce Centre est aussi employé pour les jeux de puissance et pour tuer le temps durant les punitions. Choix de deuxième ronde au repêchage de 1969.
Details
Bobby Clarke indeed had a great sophomore year with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1970-71. His 63 points led the team with a 12 point edge over Serge Bernier. That performance came after putting up 46 points in his rookie 1969-70 NHL season. As a rookie, Clarke finished fourth in voting for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year behind Tony Esposito, Bill Fairbairn and Keith Magnuson.
Clarke would lead Philadelphia again in 1971-72 with an improved 35 goals and 81 points. Typical of the early days in Philly history, the Flyers were short on offense and the next player was Gary Dornhoefer with just 49 points.
Bobby would lead an offensive revolution with the Broad Street Bullies starting in 1972-73. Clarke topped 100 points for the first of three times during his NHL career and the team added nearly 100 goals to their overall total. The increased offense led to a 19 point improvement in the standings with eleven more wins than the year before.
The fact that Clarke wasn’t drafted until the second round of the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft is a real head-shaker. Philadelphia’s first round pick was Bob Currier, a player from the Cornwall Royals that never played a single game in the NHL. Clarke led the way for the whole 1969 draft class with a career total of 1,144 regular season NHL games played. Ivan Boldirev and Butch Goring were the only other two to surpass the 1,000 game plateau.
Between 1969-70 and 1983-84, Bobby won the Hart Trophy three times and helped the Flyers to two Stanley Cup championships. In 1987, Clarke was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.