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Top Ten Philadelphia Flyers Of The Decade: 1960s-1970s

By Jacob Modugno

PHILADELPHIA, PA - CIRCA 1978: Bob Clarke #16 of the Philadelphia Flyers skates during an NHL Hockey game circa 1978 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Clarks playing career went from 1968-84. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - CIRCA 1978: Bob Clarke #16 of the Philadelphia Flyers skates during an NHL Hockey game circa 1978 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Clarks playing career went from 1968-84. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /
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1) BOBBY CLARKE (1969-1984)

Bob Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
Bob Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

Was there any doubt as to who would be #1 on this list? Widely regarded as the greatest Flyer of all-time, Bobby Clarke was a second-round selection of the Flyers in the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft. Clarke would spend his entire career in Philadelphia all the way up until his retirement in 1984, and provided the franchise with some of the greatest memories and moments we’ll ever see.

Clarke remains the leading scorer in franchise history to this day, racking up 358 goals and 852 assists for 1210 points in 1144 games with the Flyers from 1969 to 1984. Clarke was the recipient of the 1972 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, and also won three Hart Trophies in 1973, 1975, and 1976 as the league’s most valuable player. Clarke also brought home the 1973 Lester B. Pearson Award (now named the Ted Lindsay Award) as the league’s top player as voted by his fellow players and also won a Selke Trophy as the league’s top two-way forward, though that did not occur until 1983.

One of Clarke’s accomplishments that is quickly forgotten is that he also won the Lionel Conacher Award in 1975, an honor that is given to Canada’s top male athlete of the year. Clarke was given the award for winning the 1975 Hart Trophy as league MVP and for captaining the Flyers to their second consecutive Stanley Cup championship. Clarke remains the only Flyer to ever win the award.

He assumed captaincy of the franchise in 1973 and led the team to their two Stanley Cup championships in 1974 and 1975, along with helping them make the Stanley Cup Final for a third straight time in 1976 along with a fourth appearance in 1980. Clarke also played in eight NHL All-Star Games in 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, and 1978.

Clarke gave the franchise their first Stanley Cup Final game victory in Game 2 of the 1974 edition against the Bruins thanks to his overtime winner past Gilles Gilbert at the old Boston Garden. He was also the first Flyer to win a major NHL award. He was the face of the franchise and endeared himself to the city with his work ethic and skill and will always be one of the greatest players to ever skate in the NHL.

Clarke was enshrined into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1987 as one of the game’s all-time greats, and was an inaugural member of the Flyers Hall of Fame in 1988 along with Bernie Parent after having his #16 retired by the organization after his retirement in 1984. The team’s MVP trophy is also named in his honor as the Bobby Clarke Trophy is annually awarded to the team’s best player at the end of the regular season. Clarke was the epitome of what it meant to be a Flyer in his playing days. He was skilled, physical, fearless, and knew how to lead his team into battle and be as relentless as possible.

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