Harry Clarke
1926-1935
147 games
34 goals
Premiership Player 1933
Best and Fairest 1933
Swans Team of the Century

Harry Clarke, the son of a Middle Park Bowling Club greenskeeper, was born and raised in Bloods territory. He spent his formative football years with the Middle Park club before graduating to South Melbourne Districts. A young player of great promise, he joined South Melbourne's VFL squad ahead of the 1926 season.

He played once in his debut season—the year Roy Cazaly returned to the club, to win the inaugural Swans best and fairest. Clarke's dedication was recognised in The Record's report of the club's annual general meeting, "H. Clarke, who played in only one match, showed his loyalty by attending every training night."

Clarke emerged as a senior player of note in 1927, when his speed offered coach Charlie Pannam a point of difference on the wing, and he featured 12 times. By 1929, in the three years since his arrival, he'd been joined by future Swans greats Austin Robertson, Len Thomas, Terry Brain, Ron Hillis and Hugh McLaughlin, with the young South Melbourne core impressing amid a disappointing run of form for the team.

That year, Clarke debuted for Victoria in the state's first-ever victory in Perth. He earned his selection by displaying first-class wing craft and played his role in the win over the West Australians in a game The Age described as "fast and thrilling". The match was also played in front of the largest attendance ever seen for football in the west.

In 1930, a young forward named Pratt joined the Southerners, and they finished the season strongly to take seventh place on the ladder, with a percentage of precisely 100. Their promising second half of the year promoted a sense of optimism not seen at the Lake Oval for some years.

Clarke was South Melbourne's sole representative in the Victorian squad selected to compete in the 1930 Australian National Football Carnival held in Adelaide. Victoria was crowned champion when they defeated South Australia at the Adelaide Oval in the final match of the carnival, finishing with five wins from five matches.

The following year, Clarke was joined in the Victorian team by fellow South speedster Austin Robertson, who had been described as 'the fastest man alive.' During the season, in The Sporting Globe, 'Jumbo' Sharland wrote, "In regard to possession of all-round pace, there is no faster combination in the game than South Melbourne. Austin Robertson, McLaughlin, Hillis, Brain, Patterson, Harry Clarke, Milburn, McKay and Pratt all have plenty of 'toe'."

That dynamic combination gave incoming captain-coach Johnny Leonard something to work with. The 1932 season heralded a new era at the club as grocery store magnate Archie Crofts began to invest heavily in the playing stocks. He orchestrated an unprecedented nationwide recruitment drive, lifting South into immediate premiership contention.

After winning their first 10 matches, South featured in the finals series for the first time since 1924. However, a disappointing semi-final loss to Collingwood left players and officials hungry for greater success. More recruits would arrive, but Leonard, who'd made an impactful start at South, returned to Western Australia for work. Under Leonard, Clarke, as one of the team's elder statesmen, played with great discipline as a critical component in the improving side.

Jack Bisset took control of the Southerners in 1933 with immediate effect. Clarke began the season dazzlingly, forming a fearful wing partnership with another Western Australian newcomer, Johnny Bowe. A further new arrival, Bloods champion Laurie Nash, also made his mark on the competition.

South Melbourne finished the home-and-away season in second place, and after trailing Richmond by 28 points at the final change of their semi-final matchup, they stormed home with eight fourth-quarter goals to win by 18 points. Clarke was outstanding in a superbly balanced midfield, and the win sent them straight to the Grand Final.

An Australian record crowd of 75,754 attended the club's first Grand Final since 1918, with the Tigers also winning through to the season's deciding match. The Southerners started the game brilliantly and were never headed. A 42-point victory sealed the club's third VFL premiership and eighth overall, sending the South Melbourne community into a state of delirium.

Clarke won praise for his performance. In Bloodstained Angels: The Rise and Fall of the Foreign Legion, Mark Branagan and Mike Lefebvre said, "Smaller players Brain, Bowe and Clarke had prevailed in their individual clashes for the ball and across midfield”. In The Argus, Alec Chisholm wrote, "South Melbourne was the better team of the day—faster, more vigorous, more confident—in practically all parts of the field", naming Clarke as one of the team's best.

Capping off an outstanding season in which he claimed a premiership and again represented Victoria in the national carnival, Clarke won South Melbourne's best and fairest trophy in a star-studded team that contained nine Swans Hall of Fame players.

Local South Melbourne newspaper, The Record, published their player of the year votes, with Clarke winning the award, 11 votes clear of Bob Pratt. They stated, "He started off with dazzling brilliance, which he maintained until the Fitzroy match when he was outpointed by Smallhorn, the ultimate Brownlow Medallist. A lean mid-season period followed, but Clarke maintained his form at the right time and finished the season as brilliantly as he commenced."

On the opening day of the 1934 season, 40,000 supporters crammed into the South Melbourne Cricket Ground to witness the unfurling of the premiership flag. Another consistent season ensued, but Richmond exacted their Grand Final revenge, defeating South by 39 points.

Clarke played in his third consecutive Grand Final in 1935 as South Melbourne faced Collingwood. The Southerners were firm favourites for the flag until a truck knocked Pratt down as he stepped off a tram. The Magpies became premiers just days later, winning the decider by 20 points.

Clarke was the team's best performer in what would be his final match in red and white. The Record reported, "Harry Clarke was one of the most serviceable players afield, doing an enormous amount of work. The veteran winger has retained his pace remarkably well. Clarke took many hard knocks during the game but stuck to his task manfully. It was no fault of his that South missed its objective."

Announcing his retirement from the VFL, Clarke said, "I am getting out of the game because I feel my age—I am now 30—prevents me competing with younger fit players. I say farewell to League football in the knowledge that I have enjoyed every minute of it. I want to make way for younger men."

In 1937, Clarke was appointed captain-coach of the Victorian sub-district League club, Fairfield, and after that season, hung up the boots for good. He is remembered as a brilliant wingman, one of the finest players of his generation. Clarke's significant contribution to the club was recognised in 2003 when he was named in the Swans Team of the Century.