Hillsdale Great Nate Clark Passes Away at 70

Hillsdale College Magazine, Spring 2005

Nathan Clark Jr., '57, TKE,of Detroit passed away on February 9, 2005, after a lengthy battle with diabetes. He was 70 years old.

Clark played football at Hillsdale during the mid 1950's under coach Frank "Muddy" Waters. One of Hillsdale's most outstanding running backs ever, he contributed to many of the program's accomplishments. He played during Hillsdale's 34-game winning streak that began in 1954 and ended in 1957, an unprecedented feat among all American colleges and universities at the time. Clark earned Associated Press Little All-American honors two times and led the nation in scoring with 144 points on 24 touchdowns in 1955. In the same year, he rushed for 949 yards and helped lead the team to a 9-0 record. The 1955 team was invited to play in the Tangerine Bowl, but due to the Bowl Committee's policy of excluding black players, Hillsdale turned down the invitation , refusing to participate if Clark and the other black teammates could not play. He served as co-captain of the team his senior year and led the school in rushing from 1953-1956. He still holds the school records for touchdowns and total career point accumulation. In 1998, Clark was inducted into the Hillsdale College Athletic Hall of Fame.

Clark is survived by his wife, Lucille, four children, Nathan Clark III, Cheryl Cadwell, Lisa Landrum, and Robin Clark; five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Hillsdale Alum Skelton Gets Win in 1st United Indoor Football League Start

By Stacy Clardie
The Journal Gazette
Sunday, June 26, 2005

PEORIA, Ill. – Despite not starting at quarterback in his professional career, Bill Skelton said he didn’t have any jitters after being named Fort Wayne’s starter this week.

Despite an interception and a couple off-target throws, Skelton didn’t show many nerves either.

Skelton completed 13-of-23 passes for 201 yards and four touchdowns to help the Freedom snap a two-game losing streak with a 56-35 victory over Peoria in front of a sparse crowd Saturday at Carver Arena.

Fort Wayne (11-2) beat the Rough Riders (4-9) three times this season, and this was perhaps the most important. After starting the season with 10 consecutive victories, Fort Wayne had lost two straight.

“It was definitely a huge win for us, a morale booster for sure,” Skelton said. “We’ve been down the last two games, and we needed this win. It was on the road, good opponent. This team has never been beaten by the same team three times, so we knew that was going to be a tough challenge coming into it.

“We finally started playing Freedom football. We play with emotion. That’s what we talked about all week, playing with emotion and pride and getting back to the basics.”

Full Story from Fort Wayne Journal Gazette | 06/26/2005 | First-time starter at QB gives Freedom needed lift

Recruiting Class Reaches 31

Hillsdale has announced commitments from 31 incoming freshmen who will join the program this fall. This year's class hails from 6 different states.

View updated list.