The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
When Bobby Clarke was in his heyday with the Flin Flon Bombers, he maintained an otherworldly pace of more than a goal a game. More than four decades later, he returned to the ice of the storied Whitney Forum over the long weekend only to be shut out. "They must have had a defensive player on me," joked Clarke, who took part in the Roller Goodwin hockey tournament, a strictly for-fun affair. "No, no, no, I'm not very good anymore," he promptly added with an even bigger grin, false teeth concealing the many chiclets he relinquished during his rough-and-tumble pro days. Clarke has laced 'em up for past Roller Goodwin tournaments in Flin Flon. But considering his age Ð he turns 61 in a week Ð this may have been one of the last opportunities for fans to see him in action at the Whitney. A senior member of the Kanooks, 'Clarkey' still looked sharp in his team's allotted trio of games, making tape-to-tape passes and rushing end to end, albeit on abbreviated shifts. "Surprisingly to me, the ice was real soft," he observed. "I always felt like the ice in Flin Flon should be the best in the world. Because it was so warm (outside), the ice was soft, so the puck didn't slide very well. Not only am I slow, but it makes it twice as tough when the ice isn't very good. "But it was fun. I mean, we come here to have fun, not to be hockey players." Fun was certainly the mantra at the tournament, which marked its 34th year with 14 teams and some 200 players, many of them former residents. "Nobody wins the tournament," said Wayde Lowe, co-organizer along with Stew Lloyd. "It is all about going out and playing hockey just to have fun and bragging rights, to see old friends and make new ones." Participants ranged in age from 14 to their late 60s. They came in from as far as Italy, in the case of pro player Pat Iannone, and New York, in the case of Gerry Hart, another Bomber legend. Playful team monikers such as Doughboys and Chuddy's Chums mirrored the informal atmosphere both inside the rink and in the beer-stocked parking lot. Privileged Organizers may have felt privileged to have Clarke on board, but the feeling was mutual. See 'Tourn...' on pg. Continued from pg. "This tournament is special, and it's more special when it's in Flin Flon, obviously," said Clarke, still regarded as one of history's greatest hockey players. "So to come back here and play at my age is terrific." Not all that surprisingly, the return visit had Clarke wallowing in nostalgia. Asked about his favourite memories of playing in Flin Flon, he had trouble with specifics. "There's so many because I grew up here and played all my hockey until I went to Philadelphia here," he said. "Playing for Paddy Ginnell with the Bombers and Roy Jarvis with the Midget Bombers and stuff, those are special things that develop you for the rest of your life. And I was lucky to be raised in this town, lucky to have Roy Jarvis, lucky to have Paddy Ginnell, (minor hockey coach) Arnold Kitch, the guys that helped us all along the way." Clarke is instantly recognizable across wide swaths of North America, but particularly so in Flin Flon, where he has come to epitomize the grit and determination for which Northern Manitoba is known. Though Clarke put up majestic numbers in juniors, his diabetes scared off many pro scouts who doubted he could handle the rigours of the NHL. After the Philadelphia Flyers took a chance on him in the 1969 draft, he rewarded them with a Hall of Fame career that spanned 15 seasons and two Stanley Cups. For that reason, autograph hounds seek out Clarke whenever he comes back to his hometown. He obliges them but still prefers to be treated like any other Flin Flonner. "I just happened to be able to play hockey, but otherwise I'm no different than anybody else," he said. Of course Clarke's propensity for hockey goes beyond what happens on the ice. Following his 1984 retirement, he spent 20 largely successful seasons as a general manager with the Flyers, Minnesota North Stars and Florida Panthers. Even after resigning as Flyers GM in 2006, citing a lack of enthusiasm, he could not stay away from the game that has been not only his passion, but his bread and butter. He now sits as a senior vice-president with Philadelphia. "It keeps me involved, but not in a decision-making process," Clarke said. "(General manager) Paul Holmgren runs the Flyers. He's the manager and we're close friends, so I get to have an office and a secretary and stuff, but I really don't do a lot." Satisfied with where his career has led him, Clarke has no ambition to return to the grind of a GM's job. "I think it's for a younger guy and I had 20 years, that was enough," he said. "Managing is 24 hours a day, 12 months of the year. And after 40 years of playing and managing, I thought I just didn't want to do that anymore Ð not that long, anyhow. I like being involved a little bit and I am involved a little bit, but that's enough for me." Even if his involvement with the sport today is deliberately limited, Clarke hopes hockey will always be part of his life. "You know, if I'm lucky, I'll be able to stay involved till I die, but who knows, right?" he said. "I mean, I'm still being employed by somebody, I'm still being paid by somebody, so those decisions remain in their hands. If I can't contribute, they should retire me."
