Frank Clarke

This is part of a series of posts that provides an in-depth look at the Cowboys of the 1960s. Several will provide comprehensive statistics.

Bob Hayes is widely regarded as the best receiver in Cowboys history prior to the arrival of Drew Pearson, but Frank Clarke needs to be mentioned any time that this conversation arises. Clarke was, of course, the first player in team history to surpass 1,000 receiving yards in a season, and his 14 touchdowns in 1962 remained the standard until 2007.

That said, the team’s passing game took off once Hayes arrived. In 1964, when the Cowboys featured such players as Clarke, Tommy McDonald, and Pettis Norman, Dallas averaged 179.71 yards per game. These number climbed to 237.93 yards per game in 1966 once the Cowboys had added Hayes, Pete Gent, and running back Dan Reeves. Lance Rentzel later emerged as a major target and became the third player in team history to gain more than 1,000 yards in a season.

Team Receiving Totals: 1960s
Year Rec. Yards Ave. TD Rec./Game Yds/Game
1960 163 2388 14.7 17 13.58 199.00
1961 219 2918 13.3 23 15.64 208.43
1962 200 3115 15.6 31 14.29 222.50
1963 200 2799 14 20 14.29 199.93
1964 192 2516 13.1 10 13.71 179.71
1965 167 2747 16.4 25 11.93 196.21
1966 214 3331 15.6 27 15.29 237.93
1967 210 3093 14.7 28 15.00 220.93
1968 220 3339 15.2 26 15.71 238.50
1969 189 3212 17 24 13.50 229.43
Total Combined Receptions, 1960s
Name Rec. Yards Ave. TD
Clarke, Frank 281 5214 18.6 50
Hayes, Bob 252 4888 19.4 49
Howton, Billy 161 2368 14.7 17
Rentzel, Lance 155 2965 19.1 26
Perkins, Don 146 1310 9 3
Norman, Pettis 118 1602 13.6 14
Reeves, Dan 114 1528 13.4 17
Marsh, Amos 97 1011 10.4 4
Folkins, Lee 75 984 13.1 10
Gent, Pete 68 989 14.5 4
McDonald, Tommy 46 612 13.3 2
Doran, Jim 44 707 16.1 5
Dial, Buddy 42 713 17 2
Baynham, Craig 32 393 12.3 3
Bielski, Dick 30 415 13.8 4
Dugan, Fred 29 461 15.9 1
Dupre, L.G. 27 265 9.8 2
Lockett, J.W. 26 192 7.4 4
Garrison, Walt 24 277 11.5 0
Stiger, Jim 22 216 9.8 1
Shy, Les 21 265 12.6 1
Hill, Calvin 20 232 11.6 0
Ditka, Mike 17 268 15.8 3
Homan, Dennis 16 332 20.8 1
McIlhenny, Don 16 126 7.9 1
Barnes, Gary 15 195 13.0 0
Kowalczyk, Walt 14 143 10.2 1
Babb, Gene 13 140 10.8 1
Bullocks, Amos 10 116 11.6 1
Dunn, Perry Lee 10 104 10.4 1
Gregory, Glynn 6 100 16.7 0
Smith, J.D. 6 13 2.2 1
Conrad, Bobby Joe 4 74 18.5 0
Renfro, Mel 4 65 16.3 0
Mathews, Ray 3 44 14.7 0
Davis, Donnie 2 31 15.5 0
Wright, Rayfield 2 27 13.5 1
Douglas, Merrill 1 -2 -2.0 0
Lewis, Woodley 1 19 19.0 0
Top Annual Receiving Totals
Year Name Rec. Yards Ave. TD
1964 Clarke, Frank 65 973 15.0 5
1966 Hayes, Bob 64 1232 19.3 13
1967 Rentzel, Lance 58 996 17.2 8
1961 Howton, Billy 56 785 14.0 4
1968 Rentzel, Lance 54 1009 18.7 6
1968 Hayes, Bob 53 909 17.2 10
1967 Hayes, Bob 49 998 20.4 10
1962 Howton, Billy 49 706 14.4 6
1962 Clarke, Frank 47 1043 22.2 14
1965 Hayes, Bob 46 1003 21.8 12
1964 McDonald, Tommy 46 612 13.3 2
1963 Clarke, Frank 43 833 19.4 10
1969 Rentzel, Lance 43 960 22.3 12
1961 Clarke, Frank 41 919 22.4 9
1965 Clarke, Frank 41 682 16.6 4
1966 Reeves, Dan 41 557 13.6 8
1969 Hayes, Bob 40 746 18.7 4
1962 Folkins, Lee 39 536 13.7 6
1967 Reeves, Dan 39 490 12.6 6
1962 Marsh, Amos 35 467 13.3 2
1963 Howton, Billy 33 514 15.6 3
1961 Perkins, Don 32 298 9.3 1
1960 Doran, Jim 31 554 17.9 3
1963 Folkins, Lee 31 407 13.1 4
1968 Baynham, Craig 29 380 13.1 3
1960 Dugan, Fred 29 461 15.9 1
1966 Gent, Pete 27 474 17.6 1
1961 Bielski, Dick 26 377 14.5 3
1966 Clarke, Frank 26 355 13.7 4
1963 Marsh, Amos 26 224 8.6 0
1964 Norman, Pettis 24 311 13.0 2
1960 Howton, Billy 23 363 15.8 4
1966 Perkins, Don 23 231 10.0 0
1960 Dupre, L.G. 21 216 10.3 2
1961 Marsh, Amos 21 189 9.0 2
1969 Hill, Calvin 20 232 11.6 0
1967 Norman, Pettis 20 220 11.0 2
1961 Lockett, J.W. 19 114 6.0 2
1963 Norman, Pettis 18 341 18.9 3
1968 Norman, Pettis 18 204 11.3 1
1967 Perkins, Don 18 116 6.4 0
1969 Reeves, Dan 18 187 10.4 1
1965 Dial, Buddy 17 283 16.6 1
1969 Ditka, Mike 17 268 15.8 3
1968 Perkins, Don 17 180 10.6 2
1965 Gent, Pete 16 233 14.6 2
1968 Gent, Pete 16 194 12.1 0
1963 Barnes, Gary 15 195 13.0 0
1964 Marsh, Amos 15 131 8.7 0
1960 McIlhenny, Don 15 120 8.0 1
1964 Perkins, Don 15 155 10.3 0
1966 Dial, Buddy 14 252 18.0 1
1960 Kowalczyk, Walt 14 143 10.2 1
1963 Perkins, Don 14 84 6.0 0
1965 Perkins, Don 14 142 10.1 0
1960 Babb, Gene 13 140 10.8 1
1961 Doran, Jim 13 153 11.8 2
1969 Garrison, Walt 13 131 10.1 0
1969 Norman, Pettis 13 238 18.3 3
1962 Perkins, Don 13 104 8.0 0
1963 Stiger, Jim 13 131 10.1 0
1969 Homan, Dennis 12 240 20.0 0
1966 Norman, Pettis 12 144 12.0 0
1964 Dial, Buddy 11 178 16.2 0
1965 Norman, Pettis 11 110 10.0 3
1968 Shy, Les 10 105 10.5 0
1960 Clarke, Frank 9 290 32.2 3
1967 Clarke, Frank 9 119 13.2 1
1967 Gent, Pete 9 88 9.8 1
1965 Reeves, Dan 9 210 23.3 1
1964 Stiger, Jim 9 85 9.4 1
1965 Dunn, Perry Lee 8 74 9.3 1
1969 Shy, Les 8 124 15.5 1
1963 Bullocks, Amos 7 70 10.0 0
1968 Garrison, Walt 7 111 15.9 0
1962 Lockett, J.W. 7 78 11.1 2
1968 Reeves, Dan 7 84 12.0 1
1961 Dupre, L.G. 6 49 8.2 0
1964 Folkins, Lee 5 41 8.2 0
1965 Smith, J.D. 5 10 2.0 1
1960 Bielski, Dick 4 38 9.5 1
1969 Conrad, Bobby Joe 4 74 18.5 0
1968 Homan, Dennis 4 92 23.0 1
1968 Randle, Sonny 4 56 14.0 1
1966 Renfro, Mel 4 65 16.3 0
1967 Baynham, Craig 3 13 4.3 0
1962 Bullocks, Amos 3 46 15.3 1
1961 Gregory, Glynn 3 30 10.0 0
1962 Gregory, Glynn 3 70 23.3 0
1960 Mathews, Ray 3 44 14.7 0
1967 Shy, Les 3 36 12.0 0
1962 Davis, Donnie 2 31 15.5 0
1964 Dunn, Perry Lee 2 30 15.0 0
1966 Garrison, Walt 2 18 9.0 0
1967 Garrison, Walt 2 17 8.5 0
1962 Norman, Pettis 2 34 17.0 0
1961 Douglas, Merrill 1 -2 -2.0 0
1960 Lewis, Woodley 1 19 19.0 0
1961 McIlhenny, Don 1 6 6.0
1966 Smith, J.D. 1 3 3.0 0
1969 Wright, Rayfield 1 12 12.0 0