Clark, Who Led Drive to Secure Rams, to Be Honored by County Hall of Fame

Ralph Clark, a former Orange County supervisor, will receive the Orange County Sports Hall of Fame’s Lifetime Achievement Award for 1988, the hall’s board has announced. The presentation will be made at the annual induction banquet Feb. 15 at the Disneyland Hotel.

Clark, who retired in January after a 16-year tenure on the Board of Supervisors and who currently runs a consulting business, led the effort to bring the Rams to Anaheim. He is founder and past president of the Rams Booster Club and is active in promoting youth sports throughout the county.

“I think it is safe to say that Ralph Clark was the No. 1 sports fan among elected officials in Orange County,” said Hall of Fame President Mel Franks. “Typically, he was at the forefront when the Hall of Fame was founded in 1981. He presents each year an award that bears his name to the former county athlete who has gone on to outstanding achievement in other fields.”

Previous Lifetime Achievement Award winners have been: Angel owner Gene Autry; Millie Vessels, former owner of Los Alamitos Race Course; tennis coach Vic Braden; Dodger Manager Tommy Lasorda; Jack Stovall, sponsor of Orange County’s annual sports clinic; Arthur E. (Red) Patterson, a former baseball executive, and Orange County Register columnist John Hall.

Clark will share the spotlight on Feb. 15 with the Hall of Fame’s 1988 inductees: former baseball stars Rod Carew and Andy Messersmith, softball great Carol Spanks and Huntington Beach prep track sensation Eddie Morris.