107: Archie Clark-NBA

Archie Clark broke into the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakes in 1966. He came off the bench his first season (1966-67) and averaged 10.5 PPG. Over the course of the next few seasons, Archie brought two new moves to the game that so any players use today, the “Shake and Bake” and the “step-back”. And while Archie was an innovator on the floor with such moves, it was what he did off the court that has made the most important and lasting impression for the NBA stars of today – he challenged management when it came to contract negotiations. Very few players whose names weren’t Chamberlain, Russell, Baylor, etc. saw the big dollars of the day. But Archie fought and won. It was his determination that paved the way for today’s “supporting” players. But, Archie was more than a supporting player. He was a star, albeit, for teams that weren’t so great. After spending the first two years of his career with the Los Angeles Lakers, Archie was traded to the Philadelphia Warriors (before they moved to San Francisco) for Wilt Chamberlain. He was also traded to the Baltimore Bullets (now the Washington Wizards) and spent time with the Detroit Pistons and the Seattle Supersonics (now the Oklahoma City Thunder). Archie enjoyed a terrific career and is on this episode of Sports’ Forgotten Heroes to talk about it all. Also on this episode of SFH is Bob Kuska who just released a new book about Archie, “Shake and Bake, The Life and Times of NBA Great Archie Clark.” Archie and Bob talk in great detail about Archie’s “battles” with management and how the game differs from what it is today, including the incredible demands placed on NBA players back in the late 60s and early 70s when it came to travel, the arenas they played in, three and four games in a row in different cities and the incredible pressure to play even if you couldn’t walk or shoot for fear of being cut.

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