Remembering John L. Clark: Hockey, Humor, and Heart in Two Harbors

There is a neighbor from around here who was gone before my time, but his spirit lingers in the stories people still tell—tales of charm, mischief, and even a fishing tourna­ment that carries his name. I never met him, yet every time the stories begin, I find myself leaning closer, wishing I had.

I felt that same tug when I con­nected with Kevin Gruver to talk about John Clark. A Two Harbors sports star, prankster, artist, and all-around original, Clark had a mag­netism that left a mark on everyone who knew him. Gruver, his lifelong best friend, had no shortage of sto­ries. Some had me laughing out loud, all of them had me leaning in, wishing I’d known Clark myself.

Clark passed away in June of last year after a long illness, at just 59. Yet in the stories Gruver shares, Clark feels as present as ever. Some people fade with time, but Clark is one of those who never will.

Soon, a memorial plaque will be hung in the Sonju (Lake County) Arena to honor #16, John L. Clark, “GOATMAN,” class of 1983. The event is scheduled for September 25 at 1 p.m., and Clark’s family invites relatives, friends, the class of 1983, and the local hockey community to join in remembering him.

For Gruver, it will be a full-circle moment. He remembers spending countless hours at the arena with Clark, especially on weekends, por­ing over photos of past hockey stars when they weren’t playing or prac­ticing.

“We were at the arena all the time, especially on weekends, watching game after game,” Gruver recalled. “We spent a lot of time upstairs, looking at all the team photos from the early years of Two Harbors hockey.”

They would stand there, scanning row after row of old team photos as if flipping through a book of local legends. Clark loved pointing out the heroes—players who scored the big goals, wore the letter, and made the town proud. Soon, Gruver says, visitors to those walls will see Clark among them.

“I think he’d really like that be­cause we enjoyed looking at that stuff. It’s a way for people to know him,” he said. “I think he’d really be touched by that.”

Though Clark excelled in many sports, hockey was his “true love,” according to Gruver. He also played football through his junior year, but broke his leg on the football field and didn’t want to risk his senior hockey season.

Clark also had a natural talent for baseball, and Gruver believes that in another era, he could have played in the major leagues. But back then, without the internet and with scouts rarely venturing up north— where games were often canceled due to lingering winter weather— those opportunities were limited. In Clark’s senior year, the baseball team reached the playoffs but fell to Grand Rapids.

He loved golf, too, and for any sport he didn’t play, he and Gruver followed it just as closely.

“John was an exceptional athlete. I think he was one of the better ath­letes to ever come out of Two Har­bors,” Gruver said. “And he was always trying to make other people better. I mean, he was a lot better athlete than I was. We were insep­arable growing up and he was al­ways trying to help me be better at whatever sport we played.”

In the 1978–79 season, Gruver and Clark were part of Two Har­bors’ first Bantam A team, which went on to compete at the state tour­nament that year.

“It was a big deal. We upset Clo­quet, who were number one or two in the state all season, and we beat Cloquet and went on to the state tournament,” Gruver reported. “John was a key member of that team.”

The following year, Clark made the varsity hockey team as a fresh­man. During his high school career, Two Harbors defeated Greenway at Greenway twice, eliminating them in the playoffs. After graduation, Clark attended Hibbing Communi­ty College, where he and three of his high school teammates helped secure the 1985 National Champi­onship.

Clark also played baseball at Hib­bing and Gruver relayed that the team’s coach once told him Clark hit the longest home run he had ever seen in person.

In 1986, Clark played hockey for Bethel College, but a concussion sustained during intramural flag football brought his playing career to an early end. He carried on his love of the game by coaching hock­ey in Two Harbors.

After his hockey career ended, Clark starred in a men’s softball league, hitting plenty of home runs. He also spent much of his free time golfing and fishing.

The more Gruver and I talked, the more I realized there wasn’t much Clark couldn’t do. He was a skilled cook, often making lasagna and cas­seroles for his parents, with whom he was very close. He spoke with his dad nearly every day, their con­versations often revolving around the Vikings.

“He was very passionate about the Vikings,” Gruver said. “We dis­cussed JJ McCarthy and we were both glad the Vikings drafted him.”

Clark was also a talented artist, though I needed a see a picture to understand what Gruver meant by “rock fish.” He creatively assem­bled rocks, painting them to resem­ble fish, and also painted fish on wood and ceramic trout. His eye for color and detail was remarkable and his work could easily be featured in a gallery or studio.

While Clark’s accomplishments as a sports legend were impressive, I could have spent hours on the phone with Gruver just hearing sto­ries about Clark the prankster.

Gruver remembered more than one occasion when he went grocery shopping while attending UMD and Clark tagged along. Later, as he put away his groceries, he’d discover a can of baby food mysteriously tucked among his items.

“He had a great sense of humor and loved pulling pranks,” Gruver said. “That’s just the kind of guy he was.”

Clark pulled plenty of pranks in the locker room, including one memorable instance where he re­placed all the padding in a team­mate’s pants with paper towels. The player didn’t realize it until they stepped onto the ice.

As kids, the two followed high school hockey so closely that they knew all the top players and stand­out teams. Clark would even call friends to ask whether players like Grand Rapids’ Tom Rothstein were over there.

He also had a strange fascination with orange pop and was known to prank call friends and family simply by yelling, “orange pop!” on their answering machines. One time, Gruver reported, a mom called him back and yelled “orange pop!” right back.

Gruver also explained that back when rotary phones were common, there was a code that could make the phone ring after you hung up. “John would do that right before leaving quite often,” he said.

When I asked about the nickname “Goatman,” which the Clark fami­ly said was a nod to him being the greatest of all time, Gruver added a funny anecdote.

“He got that nickname when we were young,” he said. “He could make a goat sound perfectly. He could imitate a goat and every once in a while, if somebody asked him to do it, he’d do it.”

Clark and Gruver remained close friends for decades, growing up so near each other that Clark could hear Gruver’s mower and know when he was too busy to hang out. Their friendship spanned double dates, first drinks, and eventually weddings. Together, they followed the UMD Bulldogs and local high school teams, spending countless hours watching games and talking sports.

“It’s really a big hole that he’s gone, a big emptiness,” said Gruver. “We all miss him, and he was just a great guy as a player and a person, a great teammate and friend.”

Clark’s teammates are expected to turn out in force, and his family encourages friends to bring along photos and memories to share. In his honor, donations will go to Two Harbors Youth Hockey and the Lake County Humane Society, reflecting Clark’s passion for both the game and animals (especially dogs).

Monte, Clark’s beloved dog, passed away about a year before him. It’s easy to imagine the two re­united, side by side on a riverbank, casting lines and reeling in the big ones. And if a prank call could somehow reach the living from beyond, Clark would surely find a way. Perhaps he’d let Gruver know there’s plenty of orange pop on the other side.