John "Boots" Clark
"The track team of 1930 at Bedford High School , headed by the incomparable Boots Clark, was top-notch."
That single line, now 43 years old was written 33 years after the legendary °Boots" Clark and his mates had set some marks that will probably never be matched by a Bedford County school. The Bedford track team finished second in the state track meet by three points to Williamsport, and Clark won two gold medals The state meet was held in Altoona and there was just one classification for every school in the state. Williamsport had won the state championship in 1929 and was led by 100 and 220-yard champ and eecord holder Ferstermacker. Bedford's "Boots" Clark was running against him in both events.
Clark, fast as the wind, won the 100-yard and set a new state record of 10.0 and placing third was another Bedford boy, Don Harris, who was a year or two younger then Boots. In the 220-yard Boots did it again beating the 1929 champ Fenstermacker by two steps and setting a new record of 22.1
Clark is still the only athlete from Bedford County to win two gold medals in the same state meet. Other Bedford boys who placed and earned team points at the 1930 state meet were: Tom Snell fourth in the pole vault, Charles Brown fifth in the discus and the mile relay of James, Tom McLaughlin, Don Harris, and Boots Clark.
There were two heats in the mile relay and Bedford was in the first heat and won. In the second heat four teams ran faster and therefore Bedford was fifth. The Bedford boys thought that they could have ran faster if they were in the second heat and possibly won the state title.
In a quote from the Altoona Mirror, "Little Bedford High is ending a school term that deserves more support then the Bedford towns people are offering, for the town had an undefeated football team and a champion track team, that beat Altoona in a duel and their only loss was finishing second in the state meet yet the towns folk knocked out an issue for a new high school and track."
Boots ended his career with four wins in the 100-yard and 220-yard in the Bedford County Meet (1927, 1928, 1929, and 1930). He also won the 100 and 220 in the District 5 meet in 1927, 1928, and 1930. The results for 1929 were not found. Clark came within tenths of a second of the world record in the 100 in the 1929 county meet held at Saxton running a 9.8.
Boots moved to the Harrisburg area after his senior year, but he would often retum to Bedford to socialize with Don and Floyd Harris and others. He died in the Harrisburg area and the date is not know.
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"The track team of 1930 at Bedford High School , headed by the incomparable Boots Clark, was top-notch."
That single line, now 43 years old was written 33 years after the legendary °Boots" Clark and his mates had set some marks that will probably never be matched by a Bedford County school. The Bedford track team finished second in the state track meet by three points to Williamsport, and Clark won two gold medals The state meet was held in Altoona and there was just one classification for every school in the state. Williamsport had won the state championship in 1929 and was led by 100 and 220-yard champ and eecord holder Ferstermacker. Bedford's "Boots" Clark was running against him in both events.
Clark, fast as the wind, won the 100-yard and set a new state record of 10.0 and placing third was another Bedford boy, Don Harris, who was a year or two younger then Boots. In the 220-yard Boots did it again beating the 1929 champ Fenstermacker by two steps and setting a new record of 22.1
Clark is still the only athlete from Bedford County to win two gold medals in the same state meet. Other Bedford boys who placed and earned team points at the 1930 state meet were: Tom Snell fourth in the pole vault, Charles Brown fifth in the discus and the mile relay of James, Tom McLaughlin, Don Harris, and Boots Clark.
There were two heats in the mile relay and Bedford was in the first heat and won. In the second heat four teams ran faster and therefore Bedford was fifth. The Bedford boys thought that they could have ran faster if they were in the second heat and possibly won the state title.
In a quote from the Altoona Mirror, "Little Bedford High is ending a school term that deserves more support then the Bedford towns people are offering, for the town had an undefeated football team and a champion track team, that beat Altoona in a duel and their only loss was finishing second in the state meet yet the towns folk knocked out an issue for a new high school and track."
Boots ended his career with four wins in the 100-yard and 220-yard in the Bedford County Meet (1927, 1928, 1929, and 1930). He also won the 100 and 220 in the District 5 meet in 1927, 1928, and 1930. The results for 1929 were not found. Clark came within tenths of a second of the world record in the 100 in the 1929 county meet held at Saxton running a 9.8.
Boots moved to the Harrisburg area after his senior year, but he would often retum to Bedford to socialize with Don and Floyd Harris and others. He died in the Harrisburg area and the date is not know.
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Class of 2006
Bedford County Sports Hall of Fame
Bedford County, Pennsylvania
Bedford County, Pennsylvania
