Raymond Francis Clark 1940 – 2008 Beloved father, devoted family member, and good friend to many, passed away unexpectedly on March 4, 2008. We miss him very much. We hope that all who cared about Ray will celebrate his life, big smile, laughter, and generous spirit, by attending his Memorial Mass on Friday, March 28th, 4pm at St. Ignatius Church, 650 Parker Ave., San Francisco. Dad was a native of San Francisco and spent all but a brief period of his life living in the City. He was the first in his family to graduate from college, receiving a bachelor of arts in Latin and English with a minor in math from the University of San Francisco in 1962. Dad put himself through USF by working as a playground director for the City of San Francisco and as a sexton at the Church of the Nativity. Dad had fond memories from both activities and he credited the experience as a playground director as the first step in his eventual career as a teacher. During this same period, he served in the US Marine Corps Reserves. Dad was fond of relating of how he moved both up and down the rank structure before receiving his honorable discharge with the “noteworthy” rank of private, first class. After USF, Dad served in the San Francisco Police Department as a patrolman for four years. He worked primarily at Central Station which was responsible for some of the more “colorful” areas of the City. He left the police department with some very good friends and more than a few great stories. After the police department, he enjoyed a satisfying career as a math teacher for the San Francisco Unified School District. He spent the bulk of his time teaching at Francisco Junior High School and Mission High School. He loved the Mission district and its wide variety of people and was well liked by his many students. In particular, Dad enjoyed teaching math by teaching building maintenance. Dad was uniquely qualified to provide this type of instruction since he was a gifted general contractor and talented plumber. He enjoyed fixing and maintaining a wide variety of items from pipes to cars. He took great pride in his work and was always willing to lend a hand to those who needed it. He remained active in general contracting until his death. Recently, his friends at the Plumbing Heating and Cooling Contractors Association of San Francisco kindly donated their time and talents to refurbish a large portion of his home for which Dad was deeply grateful. Dad possessed a love of learning and travel that enriched his life. His interests and knowledge bordered on the encyclopedic. He augmented this through a life time of travel to places ranging from Mexico to Russia, Australia to China, and many of the countries in Europe and most of the 50 states. In each new place, no matter how different the culture or the people, he truly had a gift for making friends. In 2002, Dad summed up his life well when he provided a short update to his classmates at USF: “I am currently retired after spending 20 years with the City & County of SF in the fields of education and law enforcement. I then spent an additional 20+ years in the building trades primarily as a state licensed plumbing contractor. I am divorced, but am in close contact with my two sons: Matthew and Stephen. Matthew has just completed an MBA at Harvard and is working in Irvine, CA. He is married and has an adopted daughter from China. Stephen, after graduating from Cornell, is a manager for the Fairmont. I have a home in Crested Butte, CO, which I enjoy with my family. Warmest regards, Ray Clark.” Dad is greatly missed by his sons: Matt and Steve and their families; Ann, who was his best friend throughout his life and his relatives and many friends. In his honor and in lieu of flower, the family suggests remembrances to the Ray Clark High School Scholarship Fund, c/o St. Ignatius College Preparatory, 2001 37th Ave., SF, CA 94116; or the Ray Clark College Scholarship Fund, c/o Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling Contractors of SF, P.O. Box 28137, SF, CA 94128-1378.

Published by San Francisco Chronicle on Mar. 23, 2008.

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The Denver Broncos have been trying to move Frank Clark, and if they can’t find a partner, they will be cutting him, per team sources. Here’s what you need to know:

• It would be the second notable veteran defensive lineman the Broncos have moved on from recently. The Broncos traded edge rusher Randy Gregory to the San Francisco 49ers leading up to Week 5.
• The Broncos signed the former Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs defender to a one-year deal worth $5.45 million guaranteed (via Over the Cap) in June. Clark, 30, only played 36 snaps in two games this season.
• The three-time Pro Bowl has tallied 58.5 sacks in his nine seasons in the league.

Why the Broncos are making this move

The decision to part with Clark, similar to last week’s move to trade Gregory, was rooted in two things: Denver’s desire to create more snaps for a young group of pass rushers led by Nik Bonitto and Jonathon Cooper; and the Broncos’ spot at the bottom of the standings.

The Broncos may not be done making moves ahead of the Oct. 31 trade deadline. Denver is 1-4 heading into Thursday night’s game against the heavily favored Chiefs and is angling toward a rebuild. — Nick Kosmider, Denver Broncos writer 

How Clark could help a different team

It was an underwhelming and brief stay in Denver for Clark. He played in only two games due to injuries and tallied two tackles. He dealt with an adductor injury heading into Week 2 and played in only 11 snaps when he returned against the Jets last week.

Still, Clark has a reputation as a pass rusher who comes up big in the playoffs. His experience as a two-time Super Bowl champion could make him an option for contenders adding situational pass-rushing depth ahead of a postseason run. — Kosmider 

Backstory

Clark came to Denver after spending the last four seasons as a fixture among the Chiefs’ defensive front, amassing 23.5 sacks during his time there. Clark spent the previous four seasons with the Seahawks after the team selected him the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft.

Required reading

(Photo: Justin Edmonds / Getty Images)

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This is the second story in a three-part series about Doug Clark, who was inducted into the Western Massachusetts Baseball Hall of Fame. Read the first part here.

All the players that make it to the lower leagues have been great somewhere.

Best in your city. Best in her school. Best in their condition. It’s not just an American competition either. Baseball is followed with religious fervor in many Latin American countries. (Last year, 28.5 percent of major league players were Hispanic or Latino. The percentage is higher among minors.) The game is also popular in Japan and South Korea, as well as parts of Canada and Australia.

Ninety percent of these ultra-elite minor leagues will never spend a day in the big leagues.

It’s ruthless competition and sometimes an unhealthy culture. The success of a player who is playing your position is bad for you. His injury improves your chances.

It’s a tough life. You’re always on the move, long bus rides to a number of Days Inns and late-night drives to Taco Bell. Again and again you see friends being “released” – baseball’s cruel term for “fired.” For years you earn meagerly.

Off-season jobs are a must, which means years as a substitute teacher at Central High School for Doug Clark.

Yes, there are the transcendent moments: the setting sun on a perfect summer’s day, the fans singing along to John Fogarty’s “Put Me In, Coach”, the serious Little Leaguer asking for an autograph, that incredible feeling when the bat hits the ball perfect, at the sweet spot, starts a drive deep into the night.

As the competition intensified in the higher tiers of the Minors, Clark did his best to keep going and compete against the best of the best. It was a steep climb. The guy who played his left field position in the big leagues was called Bonds. Barry Bonds. The man who went on to win seven MVP awards, hit more home runs than anyone and shrouded his career in controversy over performance-enhancing drug use.

Sometimes at spring practice in Arizona, Clark would watch Bonds in the batting cage: the short, wild swing, the ball soaring into the desert sky. “He has so much power up there,” Clark once said, “that you can’t even fathom it.”

**

Doug Clark’s six siblings stayed close to home, working as teachers, coaches and counselors. His journey was different. Bill and Peggy Clark followed as best they could, logging into late-night games to listen to the webcasts, reveling in the good nights and gulping down the bad.

Clark wasn’t a superstar, but he was good enough to keep going, keep moving up, and hope that one day he would break through.

In 2005, he was eight years old and approaching 30 on his next birthday – becoming baseball old. He had the year of his life at Triple-A with the Fresno Grizzlies. Hit well over .300. Thirteen homers, 30 doubles, 29 stolen bases. He was confident he would finally get the call on Labor Day, when the minor league season ended and the big league rosters were expanded.

It did not happen. He trotted home. Moved back to the basement on Piedmont Street.

On a muggy Tuesday morning, September 13, he and his sister Molly (a special education teacher) drove to Central in a gray Ford Escort. He turned off his cell phone and got to work. That afternoon, while teaching an American history class, he heard a knock on the door, looked through the rectangular window, and saw his father. He thought this couldn’t be good news.

He awkwardly introduced his father to the class. Then his father whispered urgently, “You have to call the Giants!”

There had been a few injuries the night before. The Giants needed a left-handed hitter off the bench. His plane left in two hours.

Bill drove Doug to the airport. They shook hands. He flew first class for the first time in his life.

The next day, the Clarks exploded in the Piedmont Street family room when a certain No. 40 stepped on the plate as a pinch hitter at the end of the ninth inning in a 4-4 game. He ended up walking four pitches.

There were precious few chances this September. As a pinch runner, he slid home with the winning run one night — a brief moment of glory on ESPN SportsCenter — but he only went 0-5 on the plate. Still, he had finally made it.

He had had the faintest taste of the nectar. He longed for more. He wanted to return to the big leagues to secure his first major league hit.

In 2006, he signed as a free agent with the Oakland A’s. It’s been another productive season, but mostly more of the minor leagues, not quite well enough. At the end of June, however, the opportunity knocked again very briefly. Veteran Frank Thomas was injured. The A’s called Clark back to the big leagues.

He knew it would only be for a short time. Thomas’ injury was minor. Clark came off the bench and went 0 for his first 4, dropping him to 0 for 9 in his big league career. The clock was ticking.

On the night of June 28 in San Diego, the A’s fell behind the Padres early, and Clark was told he would hit Clay Hensley for pitcher in the fourth inning. He stepped into the box, looked at Padre’s catcher and future Hall of Famer Mike Piazza, and offered a “What’s up, Mike?” which received no reply.

He swung the first two pitches and only managed a weak foul tip. The next delivery came, a plumb line that just sagged a bit. Clark hit him on a line to left center, saw center fielder Mike Cameron close up quickly, but then backed away as the ball landed beautifully on the green. The ball was thrown into the A’s shelter and from his seat on first base he watched as a teammate pretended to heave it into the crowd.

After the season, Doug took this ball out of a sock, put it in a case, and presented it to his parents. It has been on Piedmont Street ever since.

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On Saturday, the San Francisco Giants retired the number of Mississippi State legend Will Clark, best known at Magnolia State for his role in the “Thunder and Lightning” tandem.

During a pregame ceremony at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Clark became the 11th San Francisco Giant to have his number retired. The Giants placed Clark’s number 22 between Major League Baseball phenoms at Monte Irvin and Willie Mays, who wore numbers 20 and 24, respectively.

Although the Giants typically retire the number of players who are members of the MLB Hall of Fame, the team changed their protocol in 2018 when they retired Barry Bonds’ number and essentially decided to give Clark the same honor.

“This is my Hall of Fame. It’s incredible to be recognized with the incredible names of this historic franchise,” Clark said during his retirement speech. “I always wanted to win and make others around me winners. We all did that together here. I’m Will ‘the Thrill’ Clark, I’m a part of San Francisco and I’m a giant forever.”

The Giants originally planned to hold Clark’s retirement ceremony in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic caused the event to be postponed by two years. The delay seemed a little random, as the retirement came in 2022, 22 years after Clark’s last game as a Giant and one honoring the number 22.

During his 15-year MLB career, Clark appeared in six All-Star games, won two Silver Slugger Awards, won a Golden Glove Award and hit 284 home runs.

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Stephen Clark Rogers was born on October 31, 1945 in Phoenix, Arizona to James L. and Doris M. Rogers. The family moved to Prescott, Arizona when Stephen was 3 months old.

He attended Washington Elementary School, Prescott Jr. High School, graduated from Prescott Sr. High School in 1963 and attended U of A in Tucson, Arizona.

While at school, Stephen worked for his father driving trucks that supplied Union 76 gas stations, was a lifeguard at the Granite Dells swimming hole, fought wildfires for the US Forest Service, valet parking at the Pine Cone Inn, stone carving at Drake, drove a forklift at the Coca -Cola plant and was a bronze caster at the Phippen Bronze Foundry in Skull Valley, Arizona.

He often said he had 27 jobs before he was 27.

Although he hated war, he was proud of his service in the US Army Reserves and trained as a tank squadron commander at Fort Knox, Kentucky

Stephen moved to San Francisco in the 1970’s where he worked for over 30 years as an independent filmmaker, cinematographer and primarily film/video editor for CBS News across the country and in Central and South America. He was considered the best editor in the industry.

Stephen later became an independent producer, director and editor for companies such as Bank of America, Hewlett Packard, Apple and Chevron.

In the early 2000’s he moved to Prescott and continued to edit for clients remotely, working as a barista and honing his talents as an artist painting in oils and playing his beautiful piano. He also restored motorcycles and antique cars such as the 1960 Chevy Corvette, locally famous with its psychedelic yellow, pink and blue fiberglass body.

He studied astronomy and was hired by CBS to cover the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger tragedy.

Stephen was a Renaissance man in every sense. He was an accomplished artist, pianist, pilot, mechanic, electrician, carpenter and plumber, and journalist. He loved Dali, Liszt, Beethoven, Bach, bridge, books, cooking, films, his friends and especially dogs and people who loved dogs.

He was a true preserver of the English language, gracefully correcting the abuse. He mastered the art of listening before he spoke and considered it almost a sin to interrupt.

He wrote “lettditors” to the Courier as Coyote Contraire and signed them ^,,^ He wrote about global and local events, the stupidity of people and governments, and in defense of children and animals, especially dogs.

A proud achievement in late life was the resurrection of Prescott’s historic Senator Drive-In sign, which had been torn down. He designed the new sign himself and rebuilt it with the help of “some old Prescott boys” and the donations of many Prescott High School alumni.

Stephen was warm, caring, funny, exciting, a mentor to many, loyal to those he loved and most of all honest.

“Never chase safety,” he wrote, “it’s an illusory concept. So is the idea of ​​an unchanging passion.”

Stephen died peacefully in his sleep at his childhood home in Prescott on January 24, 2023 at the age of 77.

He was preceded in death by his parents, brother James/Hyme Rogers, dear friends Davey Lyzinski and John Carlson, and dog children Whitworth, Fordham and Mack.

He is survived by brother Kenneth A. Rogers, “son” John Behrens, and members of his tribe Karen Young, Barry Peterson, Ignacio Medrano-Carbo, Jimmye, Rachel, Carlos, Liz, Dan, and Janie.

From The Crownless King, a poem Ignacio wrote for Stephen: ‘Very few realized that a king had died. This diamond in the rough will never laugh in company with us again.”

Donations can be made to the United Animal Fund or the Senator Drive-In Sign in Stephen’s honor.

Ruffner-Wakelin Funeral Homes of Prescott undertook the cremation.

Information from friends who loved him.

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On Saturday, the San Francisco Giants retired the number of Mississippi State legend Will Clark, who is most famous in the Magnolia State for his role in the “Thunder and Lightning” tandem.

During a pregame ceremony at Oracle Park in San Francisco, Clark became the 11th San Francisco Giant to have his number retired. The Giants placed Clark’s number 22 between Major League Baseball phenoms in Monte Irvin and Willie Mays, who wore numbers 20 and 24, respectively.

Although the Giants typically retire the numbers of players who are members of the MLB Hall of Fame, the team changed its protocol in 2018 when they retired Barry Bonds’ number and essentially decided to place the same honor on Clark.

“This right here is my Hall of Fame. To be recognized with the incredible names of this historical franchise is beyond belief,” Clark said during his number retirement speech. “I always wanted to win and have others around me be winners. We all did that together here. I am Will ‘the Thrill’ Clark, I am part of San Francisco and I am forever a Giant.”

The Giants had initially planned to hold Clark’s number retirement ceremony in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic caused the event to be postponed for two years. The delay seemed a bit serendipitous given the retirement was held in 2022, 22 years after Clark’s last game as a Giant and one in which the number 22 was honored.

Over his 15-year MLB career, Clark appeared in six All-Star games, won two Silver Slugger Awards, won a Golden Glove award, and hit 284 home runs.

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