Ernie Clark (American football)

Ernest Robert Clark (born August 11, 1937) is a former professional American football player who played linebacker for six seasons for the Detroit Lions and the St. Louis Cardinals.
Ernie Clark, known as EC burst on the scene at Michigan State University in 1959. He played both ways, offense and defense. He was feared on Defense and often teams ran away from his end. He was known for shedding blockers and making the tackles sure, hard, fast and furious. In 1961, number 6 ranked Stanford came to Michigan State and Ernie Clark dominated them. On an early play an offensive back left his feet to throw a block against EC. Clark caught him in midair, through him to the side and tackled the ball carrier still in the back field. This ignited the fan base and they never stopped, the result was a 31-3 trouncing of Stanford, the number 6 ranked school in the nation. The Spartans were talent laden that year. Clark and his teammates led Michigan State to be ranked #8 in the final AP Poll of that year. Clark was one of six taken the next year in the NFL.
I was at Michigan State from 1959-1963 and personally saw all (at least) all the home games. I was present and EC was a big fan favorite and often made exciting plays to stir up the crowd.