Archie Clark

Archie L. Clark, born July 15, 1941, in Conway, Arkansas, is an American former professional basketball player who played guard for five National Basketball Association teams. Standing 6 ft 2 in, he has been called the father of the crossover dribble.

The fourth of twelve children, Clark grew up in Ecorse, a suburb of Detroit, where he attended high school. He did not begin playing basketball until the tenth grade and excelled in both basketball and baseball. Unable to find work during a recession after graduating, he enlisted in the United States Army, where he served three years. Ten days after he joined, the Detroit Tigers belatedly invited him to spring training. Clark was assigned to a United States Air Force unit at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, where he played intramural basketball on a team coached by Buzz Bennett. Bennett, who had played at the University of Minnesota, was impressed by Clark and contacted a Minnesota assistant coach about recruiting him.

Minnesota offered the 21-year-old Clark a basketball scholarship, and he played three seasons for the program.