Time a great perspective for Clark

COLUMBUS JUNCTION - Time has a way of putting everything into perspective.

Thirty-seven years ago, University of Iowa head football coach Hayden Fry came to Columbus Community High School to recruit Craig Clark, who would go on to be a stand-up tight end for the Hawkeyes.

Still to this day, that visit by Fry is talked about. It was one of the biggest days in Columbus Junction history.

It was a moment frozen in time, one of those days where everyone knew exactly what they were doing and where they were at the day Hayden Fry came calling.

'Times are a lot different now than they were back then,” said Clark, who is in his 30th year of teaching math at Pleasant Valley High School in Bettendorf, where he also does some coaching. 'At that time, if I had to guess, it was hard to get found. It just so happened that Columbus Junction had a good football team back then and someone was probably trying to figure out why they were so good. We had good linemen and good running backs. I got a great opportunity to be a part of some really good teams. I think that's how Coach Fry found out about me.”

Clark grew up in New London, where his father, Lyle Clark, was the head coach for several years. Lyle Clark was offered a position as defensive coordinator at Columbus under Hall of Fame coach Warren Woepking and helped the Wildcats advance to the state semifinals in 1980 and the state championship game in 1981.

Craig Clark was an all-state fullback for the Wildcats on those teams, and Coach Woepking put him in positions to succeed. Craig Clark gleaned as much knowledge as he could from a talented coaching staff and was able to put it to use on the field.

'Anybody who coached me, I got something from them,” said Craig Clark, whose older sister, Barb, helped Columbus to state in softball.

Recruiting back in those days was a little different than today. One day, as he was walking down the hallway in Columbus High School, Clark was stopped by Woepking, who was talking to one of Fry's assistant coaches at the time.

'Back then, coaches couldn't even talk to you during football season. So Coach Woepking stopped me in the hallway and some guy was standing by him. I didn't know who he was. He was just standing there. I stood there and just listened to Coach Woepking and this guy talk between themselves for a few minutes,” Craig Clark recalled. 'Back then my Dad was in charge of my mail my senior year so I could just worry about playing football. He took care of all the recruiting.”

Craig Clark's first encounter with Fry came in December 1982 at the Amana Hawkeye Classic basketball tournament during his recruiting trip.

'He offered me a scholarship and I verbally committed to go to Iowa right then and there,” Craig Clark said. 'But I couldn't sign until February.”

Then came the day that will forever live in Columbus Junction folklore. Craig Clark was playing basketball for the Wildcats and they were scheduled to play a conference game against Louisa-Muscatine. Early in the day, Fry called Lyle Clark to inform him that he would be making his way to Columbus for the game that night with his wife, Shirley. Lyle Clark called Woepking and the high school principal to let them know Fry would be in attendance.

Suddenly, a game between a 3-17 Columbus team and an 0-20 Louisa-Muscatine, which normally would have been played in front of a mostly-empty gym, became a standing-room only event. The gym, the cafeteria and the parking lot were full of people hoping to get a glimpse of the beloved Iowa football coach and maybe, just maybe, get an autograph or even a photo.

'A lot of people who never came to Columbus basketball games were there that night. I guarantee one thing - Coach Fry saw some a bad basketball game,” Craig Clark said. 'I remember running backs coach Carl Jackson decided to come down that night, too. He told me I looked like a 30-year-old man out there playing with boys because I was so tall and skinny.

'I remember it took a while to get into the gym that night because there were so many people there. The principal actually sat in the row in front of Coach Fry and his wife to keep people away, but people were still passing items through the stands for him to sign. After the game, Coach Fry came over to our house and we visited. My wife, who was a student at Louisa-Muscatine at the time, came over with her family and we took a picture with Coach Fry. Coach Mike Jay and his wife were there, too. It was a great night.”

Fry turned Craig Clark into a stand-up tight end at Iowa, something Fry became famous for.

'I was recruited as an athlete and they told me there was a chance I could end up somewhere different than fullback,” Craig Clark said. 'They had just graduated three tight ends the year before. I was like eighth on the depth chart at fullback, but they switched me to tight end and I moved up to No. 3 behind Jonathan Hayes and Mike Flagg.

'Coach Fry brought the standup tight end idea with him from North Texas State. One of his tight ends got injured and he had to move a receiver in to play tight end. Since the receiver couldn't see in the three-point stance, Coach Fry had him stand up. That worked great for me because I had never played on the line and had to get down in a stance before. He used the standup tight ends to read coverage for the quarterback a little.”

During his playing days from 1985-87, Craig Clark caught 17 passes for 190 yards and four touchdowns. He was a member of the team that played in the 1983 Gator Bowl, then played in the 1984 Freedom Bowl, 1985 Rose Bowl and twice in the Holiday Bowl.

Craig Clark had the privilege of catching passes from Hall of Fame quarterback Chuck Long. Those are days Craig Clark never will forget, especially the day Fry came to Columbus Junction, a day that will forever live on in Columbus folklore.

'I remember Coach Fry would just be wandering around in practice. He would talk to the position coaches and write down a few notes. He never coached during practice. He did that on game day,” Craig Clark said. 'Coach Fry was a one-of-a-kind guy. He was wonderful to play for. He treated every single player like they were someone special. I will never forget that.”