Jim Clack

Jim Clack
Date of birth: October 26, 1947
Place of birth: Rocky Mount, NC
Date of death: April 7, 2006 (aged 58)
Place of death: Greensboro, NC
Career information
Position(s): Center
Guard
College: Wake Forest
NFL Draft: 1971 / Round: 5 / Pick: 106
Organizations
As player:
19711977
19781981
Pittsburgh Steelers
New York Giants
Career stats
Playing stats at NFL.com

James Thomas Clack (October 26, 1947April 7, 2006) was an American football guard in the National Football League. He played for 11 seasons between 1971 and 1981. He died of heart failure in 2006 after suffering from cancer for four years.

Clack graduated from Wake Forest University. He began his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and he was part of two Super Bowl championship teams in 1974 and 1975.

In April 1978, the Steelers traded Clack (along with wide receiver Ernie Pough to the New York Giants in exchange for offensive lineman John Hicks.[1] Clack spent four seasons with the Giants.

It was his snap that Joe Pisarcik fumbled away to Herman Edwards at the end of the November 19, 1978 game between the Giants and Edwards' Philadelphia Eagles at Giants Stadium, costing the team a certain victory in a play since known as "The Miracle at the Meadowlands" to Eagles' fans and "The Fumble" to Giants' fans (Clack had snapped it earlier than Pisarcik, still trying to get his team on board a controversial play call, expected due to the imminent expiration of the play clock).

Clack was inducted into the Wake Forest's hall of fame in 1981, and into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.

References

  1. Emert, Rich (April 18, 1978). "Western Pa. very familiar to new Steelers". The Beaver County Times. pp. B–1. Retrieved 2 April 2010.