Reputation
Clark came into the league swinging, and refused to back down to the league's toughest players, racking up 227 PIM during his rookie year. Clark quickly gained a reputation for hard-nosed hockey, showing little regard for his opponents or himself. His most famous check is perhaps his hit on unsuspecting St. Louis' defenseman Bruce Bell. Coming from opposite corners, Clark caught Bell with his head down, and the devastating hit left Bell unconscious. Many legendary hits followed during his career, leading to his famous nickname, Captain Crunch.
Early in his career, Clark fought all the league's toughest players, quickly gaining a reputation as a feared pugilist. Despite his size, Clark more than held his own against much larger opponents, showing a ferocity seldom matched throughout the league. Clark's list of opponents is a relative who's who of his era's NHL tough-guys: Craig Berube, Bob Probert, Dave Brown, Rick Tocchet, Mark Tinordi, Garth Butcher, Marty McSorley, Mike Peluso, John Kordic and Brad McCrimmon.
Due to age, reputation and injuries, Clark's fights became less frequent during latter part of his career. But despite the numerous injuries, Clark's ability to change a game with a single bodycheck continued right up to his eventual retirement.
Read more about this topic: Wendel Clark
Famous quotes containing the word reputation:
““What have I earned for all that work,” I said,
“For all that I have done at my own charge?
The daily spite of this unmannerly town,
Where who has served the most is most defamed,
The reputation of his lifetime lost
Between the night and morning....””
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
“A prince must be prudent enough to know how to escape the bad reputation of those vices that would lose the state for him, and must protect himself from those that will not lose it for him, if this is possible; but if he cannot, he need not concern himself unduly if he ignores these less serious vices.”
—Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527)
“Character is like a tree and reputation like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.”
—Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865)