Clarke came to Richmond as an 18-year-old in the
1951 VFL season, from
Heidelberg. He was 19th man in the opening round, then was moved from his natural half-back flank position to full-back for the second round against
South Melbourne, after an injury to
Bob Wiggins. Described as a fast moving and robust player, Clarke appeared again in round three, then spent a brief period of time in the seconds. He put together 14 appearances for Richmond in the
1952 season, 12 of them in succession, playing in a variety of positions including full-back. In the
1953 season, Clarke played four early games before suffering a thigh injury from which he was unable to recover well enough to make any more appearances. He was unlucky with injuries again in 1954, unable to get a game he was granted a clearance to
Maryborough in late June. A member of five Heidelberg premiership teams, he is a
back pocket in the club's
Team of the Century. ==Personal life==