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Coach Clark
circa 1960

THE "TORCHY" CLARK LEGACY

COACH CLARK PUT XAVIER ON THE MAP

FUNERAL HELD APRIL 25, 2009 MEMORIAL MASS HELD AT XAVIER
TORCHY CLARK ATHLETIC FUND

Xavier High School in Appleton opened its doors for the first time in the fall of 1959, and Gene “Torchy” Clark ‘moved’ from St. Mary’s Grade School in Appleton to become the first head coach for the football and basketball teams at the city’s first Catholic high school. He also coached the boys tennis teams and was the athletic director at XHS.

His legacy at Xavier almost seems made up, as he quickly established a very successful and strong tradition... one that still makes the school widely respected in athletic circles.

He coached 10 seasons at Xavier (the 1959 football season was against JV teams as the school opened with only freshmen and sophomores, and, XHS joined a conference in ’61). Torchy’s teams won almost 90% of the time, and, they earned plenty of “hardware” to fill the school’s trophy cases: XHS won 7 conference championships in 8 years in football, and, they captured 8 conference titles in 8 seasons in basketball.

Entrance to Torchy Clark Gym at Xavier High School in Appleton

His B-ball teams went to the State Tournament in Milwaukee 6 times in 9 years (they weren't eligible in his first year), and the Hawks returned to Appleton with a trophy each time: Xavier won the State Title in 1963, was 2nd in ’64, was 4th once, and claimed 3 Consolation honors.

A then-single-game-record-crowd of 7,095 witnessed the ’63 state finals, eager to see Xavier top Marquette High, 71-66, in the '63 private schools' state championship game before a raucous,
“mostly-blue” Milwaukee Arena in the WCIAA tourney. POST-GAME PHOTO

His basketball teams won 49 straight, but their shot at the 1964 state title and 50-in-a-row came up short against Marinette Central & Coach Marty Crowe, 43-37, in the '64 state championship game.

Torchy’s b-ball teams also had a 62-game regular season win streak – before Chicago St. Pat’s put an end to that string, 66-54, before an as-always packed-in-crowd in the noisy & hot XHS gym.

The post-season Football Playoffs in Wisconsin did not start until 1969 – after Clark left Xavier.

A huge “gold ball” was the league’s trophy / reward for conference championships, and those were the first of many such awards in the school’s illustrious and proud athletic history that was started by Coach Clark and his teams. The outstanding fan support by the Xavier Community and the Valley for XHS athletic

Gold at Xavier - Conference Championships

Each gold ball is a Conference Championship for the Hawks.

events, also started in the Torchy Clark era, continues to this day.

His football teams posted a record of 69-9-2 overall, as 3 times XHS was 9-0 and 3 times was 8-1. Xavier shut out its opponents in nearly 50% of their games – as the Hawks averaged 27 points per game and allowed just 6 points a game... over 9 football seasons. The ’62 team was rated # 1 in the state by the Associated Press.

His basketball teams were 208-26, and, after his first two years never had more than 3 losses in any of 8 straight seasons. XHS was undefeated in 6 seasons at home, and in two other seasons had just one loss at home – as his home-court advantage was 95-7 over 10 seasons. The Hawks outscored opponents in those 10 years by an average of 70.7 points to 50.7 points per game.

Torchy's combined record for football and basketball was 277-35-2 -- a phenomenal 88% over 10 years.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame for the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association in 1981, and Torchy was the first Xavier coach to be so honored.

Torchy gained his nickname from his grade school athletic days... but it could have easily come from his red hair and fiery sideline personality, as he always demanded a top effort from all of his players. He left Xavier after the 1968-69 school year to coach basketball at Florida Tech University, which is now the University of Central Florida. He continued his winning ways as a collegiate coach before retiring.

Clark’s first college team in 1969-70 played its first game before the squad even had a nickname, or a real "home court." In his first eight collegiate seasons, Torchy and his band of nomads played home games at Orlando JC (now Lake Highland Prep), Oviedo HS and Winter Park HS, often at 9:00 p.m. after the Wildcat Girls' varsity games.

He would go on to extend his legendary college career through the 1983 season, compiling a record of 274-89 -- a .754 winning percentage. Under Clark’s direction, UCF was ranked in the top 10 nationally at the Division II level for seven consecutive years and he guided the Knights to six NCAA Division II Tournament appearances. He led UCF to five Sunshine State Conference championships, and, in 1978, he guided UCF to the Division II Final Four. Clark was voted Sunshine State Conference Coach of the Year four times and was named the conference’s coach of the decade. At UCF, the court on the $800-million, 10,000-seat UCF Arena bears his name.

Torchy and his wife, Claire, lived in Orlando after leaving Wisconsin. She passed away in 2007. Torchy passed away in 2009. They had five children -- Mike, Tom, Bo, Bob and Patty -- plus 17 grandchildren.

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READ ABOUT THE TORCHY CLARK ATHLETIC FUND

TORCHY CLARK GYM PLAQUE