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General First nameBertrand Milbourne
LastnameClark
GenderMale
CountryJamaica
Date of birth1894-04-29
Place of birthKingston, Jamaica
Date of death1958-03-30
Place of deathKingston, England


About

From The Jamaica Gleaner, April 6, 1958

Bertrand M. Clark – Obituary

By Alva Ramsay and Herbert Macdonald

The death occurred, on Sunday March 30, of perhaps the greatest all-round Jamaican sportsman of all time, Bertrand Milbourne Clark, aged 62, son of the late Dr Enos Clark and Clementina Louise Clark, née Sanguinetti. He was in his day all-island champion in tennis and golf, an outstanding player in nearly every sport and pastime, in his retired years a friend and adviser to the younger generation. Now his name will be remembered for all time: he was a champion.

His schooldays were spent at the old Kingston High School and Jamaica College. Already in those years he began the great career that only age could retard and death cease. In 1911, he began another career, in the civil service, first as treasury clerk, later to retire as medical secretary in the island medical office.

In retrospect, all sports lovers remember the words of a writer in an old All-Island Tennis Championship programme: The three most prominent figures in the male division of Jamaican tennis since the inception of the All-Island Championships in 1902 were Major Thomas B. Nicholson, Bertrand M. Clark and Donald Leahong. The major captured 23 national titles in his career – the singles 10 times, men’s doubles 7 times and mixed doubles 6 times; Bertrand M. Clark came next with 19 – 7 singles, 7 men’s doubles and 5 mixed doubles; while Donald Leahong has recorded one less than Clark, with 18 – the singles 7 times, men’s doubles 4 times and mixed doubles 5 times.

Clark partnered four different partners to the men’s doubles title: Charles Brandon, H.V. Alexander, Horace A. Lake and Oswald V. Lindo; and four to the mixed doubles title: Mrs William Wilson, Mrs Gloria Calder (now Mrs C. Elkins), Miss Edna DaCosta and Miss Olive Wilson.

First team

When Vincent Richards brought out the first invasion team in 1924, it was Clark to whom one and all looked for leadership against them. From then to 1934, Clark played in 10 international singles and 9 men’s doubles, winning two of the latter and four of the former, a truly creditable performance considering the “problems” he was up against.

Clark met Vincent Richards, Takeichi Harada, Fred Perry and George Lott, inter alia, and acquitted himself creditably against them all. There is no denying that the foes he had to face had reached a standard in world tennis that few subsequent visitors have attained. The match, however, that Clark most cherished was his encounter with Henri Cochet, the great Frenchman. Clark always enjoyed telling how he was beaten by one of the famous Four Musketeers.

For his very first international match Clark played Vincent Richards again in a great singles match. The Jamaican made the net a winning factor for the greater part of the third and last sets, advancing and scoring with the most impudent shots against one of the world’s best of the time. Clark gave a fine exhibition of fast aggressive tennis, one of the finest by a Jamaican against any invader, even though Richards won.

In those early days Clark won against the American Dr William Rosenbaum but went down to teammates Harada and Richards. In 1932, he beat the Canadian Ronald Longton, but then there was Fred Perry. Here “honour was served” for Clark took a set off the Englishman. Two years later Clark played his last international singles, against George Lott, who beat him 6-3, 6-1.

In international doubles, Clark turned in some good victories for his island with different partners. Actually, he won his first doubles, pairing with Thomas P. Evelyn against some good Americans. Then they crushed the next pair, but bowed out to Vincent Richards and Harold Throckmorton, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3.

Fine player

Clark was a fine tennis player, with a game based around his forehand and service. He delighted in hitting the ball and in going up, even against the great Vincent Richards, volleying returns to his service for clean aces. Clark lived in the days when local men placed a premium on strategy on the court rather than speed. Harold Lake, Leslie Ashenheim and his brother Neville, and R.S. Cargill, all were deliberate strategists, hitting either highly spun or medium fast shots with the object of creating openings for the winning placement.

Clark introduced the element of speed. In doing so, however, he had to think a lot, so that in later years his apprenticeship in the old school helped him to hold his own against such fine strokes players as Leahong and Harold Dayes, who had been converted to his gospel of speed. Later Clark toured England and played at Wimbledon. He was also about the best writer on golf and tennis in the Caribbean with a literary style that has no peer among sports writers.

When Clark found tennis too much of a strain on his physical resources, he turned to golf and enjoyed the distinction of joining Major Nicholson as the only man to win both the All-Island Tennis Championship and the Golf Championship. Clark won the Match Play Championship in 1933, and eight years later was runner-up in the same event to L.R. Mayall in the 36-hole final, the match going to the 37th hole, as Clark was four down with six to go, and made it all-square on the 36th.

Those who played Clark at tennis and golf can attest to his skill and determination at both. He was a wonderful opponent, a gracious winner and an unruffled loser. He was also a cricketer and footballer of note, and played for the Melbourne Cricket Club senior team for a number of years.

Of Clark’s prowess at football, Clarence Passailague, former all-island captain, says: “He was always a methodical player, having a definite plan for each opposing team we faced; therefore at half-back he was of great assistance to our team. He excelled at distributing the ball accurately to the forward line, although I think the strongest part of his game was his ability to defend around the goal area, when it was in danger. He would always come out of the scrimmages with the ball; in fact, I was never happier when he was with me on the playing field. As he was then, he would find a place on any of our best present-day sides.”

Of Clark’s cricket, V.C. Marshall, vice-president of the Cricket Board of Control, says: “Clark was one of a group of senior cup cricketers who formed the backbone of the Melbourne team of the time. They were Ronald Clark, his brother; Frank Martin, the famous international; Sam Brown; and myself. Clark was more than a useful bat. His defence was sound and in his repertoire of offensive shots was a great cover drive. On the field he had a safe pair of hands. Altogether he was a most valuable member of the side and he helped bolster our morale with his cheerfulness.

“He concentrated so much on the game that he never seemed to have time for grousing and differences. He usually had his opinions and not unusually put them over, though always cheerfully and by dint of persuasion rather than by aggressiveness.”

Bertrand Clark was for eleven years the secretary of the Jamaican Golf Association and only gave up the post when his vision became impaired a few years ago. He also served for many years on the council of the Lawn Tennis Association. The island has lost a wonderful sportsman and perhaps its greatest all-round athlete of all time. He was never content with half-measures and was a keen student of every game in which he participated.

In memory of Bertrand M. Clark, great gentleman and sportsman, no greater words could be quoted than the immortal words of Grantland Blee: “When the Great Scorer comes to mark against your name, he writes not ‘won or lost’, but how you played the game.”

Media


Archive statistics Career1917 - 1934
Tournament wins9
Matches35
Match wins22


Tournament wins 1929 - Jamaica (Amateur)
1928 - Jamaica (Amateur)
1927 - Jamaica (Amateur)
1926 - Jamaica (Amateur)
1925 - Jamaica (Amateur)
1924 - Exmouth (Open)
1922 - Jamaica (Amateur)
1921 - Jamaica (Amateur)
1920 - American Tennis Association Championships (Open)


Tournaments Jamaican International Championships - 1934 Jamaica - 1933 Jamaica - 1931 Wimbledon - 1930 Jamaica - 1929 Jamaica - 1928 Jamaica - 1927 Jamaica - 1926 Jamaican International Championships - 1926 Jamaica - 1925 Jamaican International Championships - 1925 Wimbledon - 1924 Exmouth - 1924 Herga Club - 1924 Jamaican International Championships - 1924 Jamaica - 1922 Jamaica - 1921 Jamaica - 1920 American Tennis Association Championships - 1920 Jamaica - 1919 Jamaica - 1918 Jamaica - 1917