William Edward Clary (May 22, 1916 – February 27, 2005) was an American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

player and

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

back The human back, also called the dorsum, is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck. It is the surface of the body opposite from the chest and the abdomen. The vertebral column run ...

. He was drafted professionally in both sports, following a college career at University of South Carolina, pursuing a career in baseball, and spent two seasons with the

Martinsville Manufacturers The Martinsville Manufacturers were a Bi-State League baseball team based in Martinsville, Virginia, United States that played from 1934 to 1941. They were affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals from 1936 to 1939 Philadelphia Phillies The Phi ...

and Landis Dodgers. Clary was born on May 22, 1916, in

Gaffney, South Carolina Gaffney is a city in and the seat of Cherokee County, South Carolina, United States, in the Upstate region of South Carolina. Gaffney is known as the "Peach Capital of South Carolina". The population was 12,539 at the 2010 census, with an estim ...

, and attended

Gaffney High School Gaffney High School (GHS) is a public high school in Gaffney, South Carolina in the United States. It is part of the Cherokee County School District. History The high school building was opened at its campus in 2000 at a cost of $22 million. ...

there. A sportswriter reported after one game, "In Ed Clary, Gaffney presented a youngster who could do about everything one could expect of a first class

triple threat man In gridiron football, a triple-threat man is a player who excels at all three of the skills of running, passing, and kicking. In modern usage, such a player would be referred to as a utility player. Triple-threat men were the norm in the early d ...

. His rushing was good, his blocking of the first order and his

kicking A kick is a physical Strike (attack), strike using the leg, in unison usually with an area of the knee or lower using the foot, heel, tibia (shin), ball of the foot, blade of the foot, toes or knee (the latter is also known as a knee (strike), ...

the best on the field." Jake Wade, of ''

The Charlotte Observer ''The Charlotte Observer'' is an American English-language newspaper serving Charlotte, North Carolina, and its metro area. The Observer was founded in 1886. As of 2020, it has the second-largest circulation of any newspaper in the Carolinas. I ...

'', wrote, "Take that boy Ed Clary. He weighs 185 pounds and is built ideal for fullback. He breaks the line with the ferocity of a mad bull. He runs around end like he was late for dinner, and he kicks the ball high and wide. As a matter of fact, he kicked one plum into Cleveland County. He did kick one 70 yards in the air." After graduating in 1935, Clary joined the University of South Carolina, and was a member of the freshman football and baseball teams. He was called one of the team's most outstanding players on the football field by ''

The Gaffney Ledger ''The Gaffney Ledger'' is a tri-weekly newspaper in Gaffney, South Carolina. It was founded in 1896 under the name ''The Ledger'', and assumed its current name in 1907. The paper has been owned and published by the Sossamon family for five generat ...

''. He joined the varsity teams in 1937, earning

letters Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech; any of the symbols of an alphabet. * Letterform, the graphic form of a letter of the alphabe ...

in both sports. From 1938 to 1939, Clary was captain of the

baseball team Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding te ...

. He played

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

and punter on the

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

, being named All-Southern as a senior and being the first South Carolina player in the

Blue–Gray Football Classic The Blue–Gray Football Classic was an annual American college football all-star game held in Alabama, usually in late December and often on Christmas Day. The brainchild of Alabama college football legend Champ Pickens, the contest began in ...

. After the season ended, Clary was named team

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

by teammates, five years after his cousin Earl was given the award and three years after his cousin Wilburn received the honor. Following his college career Clary was selected in the 14th round (121st overall) of the

1939 NFL Draft The 1939 National Football League Draft was held on December 9, 1938, at the New Yorker Hotel in New York City, New York. With the first overall pick of the draft, the Chicago Cardinals selected center Ki Aldrich. Player selections Round one ...

by the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

, and in the baseball amateur draft by the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

. He opted to play professional baseball, and was sent to the

Bi-State League The Bi-State League was an American baseball minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often ...

team. He batted

left-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

and appeared in 54 total games. He appeared at-bat 201 times, and made 61 hits, three doubles, two triples, and one

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

. In Clary's second season, he played for two teams. He first returned to Martinsville, appearing in 28 games with 99 times appearing at-bat, before leaving for the Landis Dodgers of the

North Carolina State League The North Carolina State League was a "Class D" league in Minor League Baseball. The original version of the league existed from 1913–1917 as the successor to the Carolina Association. The second version of the league was established in 1937 i ...

. He appeared at-bat 93 times in the remainder of the year, making 27 hits, one double and one triple with Landis. Prior to leaving Martinsville, he made 27 hits, six doubles, and one home run with the team that year. Clary retired after the 1940 season. He later was drafted to the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

, and served during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He died in February 2005, at the age of 88.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clary, Ed 1916 births 2005 deaths Players of American football from South Carolina Baseball players from South Carolina American football running backs South Carolina Gamecocks baseball players South Carolina Gamecocks football players Martinsville Manufacturers players Landis Spinners players