PERRYSBURG — Larry Clark has left his mark on the Perrysburg basketball program.
In return, fans of the long-time Yellow Jacket coach showed their gratitude for all of his work as part
of Larry Clark Appreciation Night before the Perrysburg-Maumee boys game Friday at the high school.
Clark addressed the crowd, which gave him a standing ovation, thanking the fans, players and students he
worked with during his 36 years as an educator and coach at Perrysburg.
“This has been a part of my life for a long time. Just to get up and leave is pretty tough to do,” said
Clark, who is leaving Perrysburg and moving to Van Wert. “I’ve had some great teams and some great
players and really had some great students. It’s been amazing.”
Clark, who was head coach from 1974-96, compiled 442 career wins and five Northern Lakes League titles
while at Perrysburg.
“When you’re the head coach, it’s stressful,” Clark said. “There were days where I didn’t go to bed for a
couple days. I was up all night. I’d sleep with a pad beside me and plan practice.”
The highlight of his stint as coach was back-to-back undefeated regular seasons in 1979-80 and 1980-81.
Clark, now retired, served Perrysburg Schools as an industrial arts and driver’s education teacher for 36
years. He coached basketball in Ohio for a total of 49 years, as well as track and football.
Clark has spent the past 10 seasons as a Perrysburg junior high basketball coach, as well as being on the
bench for varsity games during the same span.
“He was instrumental in building this program and creating an atmosphere of success in his years as head
coach,” current Perrysburg coach Dave Boyce said. “That’s 30-some years of commitment to our program and
watching it grow and being there for it all the way.”
Clark was inducted into the Perrysburg Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006.
“There were tons of things I gained from him,” Boyce added. “The best thing Larry does is he’s just great
with the kids. The kids love him. They want to play hard for him and they want to win for him. He’s got
a great, positive attitude and he’s a tireless worker.”
Clark said he is moving to Van Wert where his wife of 43 years, Karen, has already relocated. He said he
still would like to teach and coach.
“I’ve already applied to substitute (teach) and put down that I’d love to coach,” Clark said. “So I’m
looking to do junior high somewhere down there.”
