Clarence Robert Beck (March 13, 1896 – August 20, 1962) was a professional
football player from
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in P ...
.
Biography
Beck attended high school at Harrisburg Tech where he scored a 105-yard
touchdown
A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Americ ...
for Tech against their rival Steelton. After high school, Beck attended
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State becam ...
where he became a star
offensive tackle. He made his professional debut in the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...
in 1925 with the
Pottsville Maroons
The Pottsville Maroons were an American football team based in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, in the northeastern part of the state. Founded in 1920, they played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1925 to 1928. In 1929 they relocated to Bosto ...
and played in the NFL for one season.
Prior to that, he played for the independent
Union Quakers of Philadelphia
The Union Quakers of Philadelphia were a professional independent football team, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1921. The team evolved from a number of pro players who played with the Union Club of Phoenixville during their 1920 season. ...
in 1921.
In 1924, Beck helped the Maroons win the 1924
Anthracite League
The Anthracite League, also referred to as the Anthracite Association, was a short-lived American football minor league comprising teams based in coal-mining towns in eastern Pennsylvania (hence the league name's reference to anthracite coal). Th ...
championship. This move placed Clarence with his brother,
Carl, on the Maroons team. In 1925, the Maroons entered the NFL. That year Clarence played on the Maroons team that won the 1925 NFL Championship,
before it was stripped from the team due to a disputed rules violation.
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beck, Clarence
Players of American football from Pennsylvania
Penn State Nittany Lions football players
Pottsville Maroons players
Pottsville Maroons (Anthracite League) players
Union Quakers of Philadelphia players
1896 births
1962 deaths