Earl ( Dutch ) Clark Earl Harry " Dutch " Clark ( October 11 , 1906 – August 5 , 1978 ) was an American professional football player for the Detroit Lions in the National Football League . In his final two seasons he was the Head Coach of the Detroit Lions . At Colorado College , he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity . He set a team rushing record in 1936 that stood for 36 years . He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963 . High school sports . Dutch Clark began his football career at center as a freshman at Central High School in Pueblo , Colorado , circa 1922 . Coach Oscar “ Ollie ” Herigstad reassigned young Clark to fullback , where he earned All - State honors for the Wildcats . At Central , he was also an All - State basketball center , and set South - Central League track & field records in the discus and high hurdles . Baseball was his “ weak ” sport , on account of impaired vision in his left eye . He earned 16 letters , and graduated in 1926 . Collegiate sports . Clark was headed for the University of Michigan and had a stopover at Northwestern University , but ended up at the Colorado College in Colorado Springs . At CC , Clark earned 12 letters and was All - Conference in football , basketball , baseball and track for the Tigers . Coach W . T . “ Bully ” Van DeGraaff used Clark as a rusher , quarterback , drop - kicker , punter , linebacker , safety and punt returner . He rushed for 1349 yards on 135 carries in 1928 , his junior year , and scored 103 of CC ’ s 203 points . In 1928 , he became the first All - American football player from any of Colorado ’ s colleges and universities . He graduated from CC in 1930 with a B . A . in Biology . Professional football . Clark was 6 . 0 ft ( 1 . 83 m ) tall and weighed 175 - 185 lb ( 79 – 84 kg ) when he began his professional football career as a quarterback , kicker and punter with the short - lived Portsmouth Spartans in Ohio in 1931 . The Spartans had only sixteen players on their roster , not unusual at the time . He left pro football after two seasons to coach the Colorado School of Mines Orediggers in 1933 , a long - time rival of his alma mater . The Spartans moved to Detroit as a result of the Great Depression , and became the Lions . Clark returned to the Lions in 1934 , where he was a triple - option threat on offense through the 1938 season . He was a six - time All - Pro and three - time league scoring leader , and led the Lions to a 26 - 7 victory over the New York Giants in the 1935 NFL championship game . A popular photograph of Clark from the " Detroit News " was published in " Life " magazine . Clark was a player - coach in 1937 and 1938 , giving him a career - high and league - high salary of $ 7200 . He retired as a player and became the head coach of the Cleveland Rams from 1939 through 1942 . Clark served in the US Army during World War II , and as Athletic Director at the University of Detroit after the war . Sports honors . Clark was inducted as a charter member of the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951 . The Pro Football Hall of Fame inducted him as a charter member in 1963 , along with sixteen others including Jim Thorpe , Red Grange and Curly Lambeau . He was a charter member of the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 1965 , along with footballer - jurist Byron “ Whizzer ” White and boxer Jack Dempsey . In 1973 , Clark became a charter member of the Greater Pueblo Sports Association Hall of Fame . The Colorado College Athletic Hall of Fame inducted him posthumously as a charter member in 1995 . The Pueblo Public School Stadium was renamed Earl “ Dutch ” Clark Stadium in September 1980 . A statue of Clark by the Latka Studios was added in 1985 .