Having scored three goals in the Old Boys' run to the 1879 FA Cup Final, he was selected at outside-left for the final itself, played at Kennington Oval on 29 March 1879. This was the Old Etonians third Final, whereas their opponents, Clapham Rovers had reached the final for the first time. Clapham dominated the early stages of the final but the first half finished goalless. The only goal of the game came after 59 minutes, when "the energetic" Clerke scored from close range following a run from Harry Goodhart. The Old Etonians thus claimed the cup for the first time in what was considered to be "the poorest FA Cup Final to date".