George was Highland Games legend
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Highland Games legend - George Clark.
THE revived Gordon Castle Highland Games will have had afficionados of these events reminiscing about the old days when the "heavy" athletes ruled the roost, drawing crowds in their thousands to games all over Scotland.
Join me in turning back the clock to 1951, and a crowded arena at the world famous Braemar Gathering has witnessed a feat which hadn’t been achieved since 1881.
The massive Braemar caber, 19ft 3in in length and weighing 120lb, has just been tossed by a 44-year-old games veteran. They ought not to have been too goggle eyed, however, for the athlete in question was none other than the legendary George Clark of Grange, near Keith. To prove it was no fluke, big Clark tossed it another twice.
For this prodigious demonstration of strength and skill, he received special congratulations from the King and Queen, and from the organising committee a £10 award. Years later, the feat earned the stalwart Clark a mention in the Guinness Book of Records.
To put it into perspective, at the time few could lift let alone toss this particular caber, which was kept soaking in water all the year round to retain its heft. That day, he failed twice to toss the object, and while drawing his breath for a third attempt a pressman approached and said: "What’s wrong George? Can’t you do it?" "Na, na, man" quipped Clark, "I hiv to gie them a show". And up and away went the caber.
Clark was born in Banff on February 1, 1907, and brought up in Grange as part of a large farming family, learning the art and craft of throwing the different weights and hammers with awesome power. Practice, as they say, made perfect. On the farm they would stop for dinner and a few of the young lads would spend the hour throwing the hammer about, then go back to work. Then in the evenings they would be back at it again, hurling the hammer and the stone.
Clark related this grounding to a reporter for a national newspaper in the early 1960s, whilst reminiscing of the halcyon days when games were held almost every day of the week. He was only 17 years old when he started competing on the circuit in 1924, and at his mightiest, was a fearsome 6ft 1in, weighing a solid 17 stones, and had a chest expansion of around 50in. He soon made his presence felt, and proceeded to break records with monotonous regularity – and he had no peer for over 30 years.
He held the record for throwing the 56lb weight at Aboyne for over 30 years, a distance of 39ft 6in. He also tossed the 28lb weight an amazing 76ft 4in in 1934, and regularly heaved the 56lb weight over 15 feet into the air over a bar.
His tussles with other Highland giants of the time, like Ed Anderson, Henry Gray and Jock McLellan, drew crowds in their thousands as they witnessed these stalwarts vie for the crown of top dog. It’s safe to say that the mighty Clark was indeed the top dog. He was always a leader, and was nobody’s fool.
He led what became a famous strike of the heavyweights one year at Aboyne, the scene of so many of his impressive triumphs. The committee had decided to lower the prize money, but the athletes, with big Clark as their spokesman, were having none of it, and they were forced to reinstate the original figures. That incident prompted big George to boycott Aboyne for 16 years.
To many folk, Clark seemed to be a dour Highlander, quite devoid of humour, as one judge said: "He jokes wi’ deeficulty". He had his own particular brand of humour, being the master of the pawky remark and the caustic comment. Indeed, the Banffshire Giant was quite a colourful character, and at one of the games,the officials thought that a small, light caber would be more acceptable and create a better spectacle. It was left to Clark to notify the committee this wasn’t on and he said: "Ye’ll hiv to get a new caber next year, I’m needin’ a new spurtle, and this will dee fine for stirring my porridge. I think I’ll jist tak’ it hame in ma pooch".
Another time, the mighty George, who was known to like a "refreshment" during competition, was at Braemar in the 1940s. King George V1 was in attendance, and big Geordie went to great lengths to conceal what he was drinking. He would wrap the bottle in a towel, and whilst wiping his face would take a none too subtle swig.
This particular day, the athletes were sitting on a pile of cabers, awaiting the start of the next event. The big fella paused with the
"towel" almost at his lips, and with a sly look towards George-the-King, said to fellow heavy Bob Shaw of Ballater: "Is Geordie lookin’?"
Clark also excelled at Cumberland wrestling, and professional catch-as-catch-can wrestling, touring the United States, Canada and South Africa in the 1930s, and in 1938 he twice fought world champion Lou Thesz in Hartford, Connecticut, losing on both occasions, but giving his all nevertheless. He did have the distinction of defeating former world champion Danno O’Mahoney in Boston.
The larger than life Clark continued competing on the Highland Games circuit well into his 50s, tackling new kids on the block like Arthur Rowe, Bill Anderson and Charlie Allan, winning prizes in the face of competition from many athletes 30 years his junior. Upon his retiral from active competition, he continued on the circuit as a judge, and was invited back as guest of honour at the Grange Games in 1986, revived for the first time in around 40 years.
The organisers must have had a premonition, for the great man died later that year on December 31, in Torphins, Aberdeenshire, just a
month away from his 80th birthday.
Love him or hate him, one thing is certain – when the mighty men of the Scottish Highland Games are discussed, the legend that is George Clark has his name mentioned in the same breath as the marvellous Donald Dinnie and A.A. Cameron, as well as the superb Bill Anderson.
Yes, he was indeed that good!
