Jack Clark (November 25, 1925 - July 21, 1988) was an American game show emcee and announcer. He is most noted for his hosting duties on The Cross-Wits, which ran from December 15, 1975 to September 12, 1980. In addition, he served as offstage announcer on Wheel of Fortune from 1980 until his death in 1988.
Jack Anthony Clark (born November 10, 1955 in New Brighton, Pennsylvania), also known as “Jack the Ripper”, is a former Major League Baseball player. From 1975 through 1992, Clark played for the San Francisco Giants (1975-84), St. Louis Cardinals (1985-87), New York Yankees (1988), San Diego Padres (1989-90) and Boston Red Sox (1991-92). He batted and threw right-handed.
A clutch hitter and consistent slugger, Clark was injury-prone for the first 13 years of his career. He started his major league career with the San Francisco Giants in as a right fielder. But Clark hated the Giants' Candlestick Park, a notoriously bad park for power hitters because of the wind coming off of the San Francisco Bay. He won the first Willie Mac Award in 1980 for his spirit and leadership.
On February 1, , Clark was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for shortstop José Uribe, pitcher Dave LaPoint, and first basemen-outfielders David Green and Gary Rajsich. He switched to first base to reduce risk of injury. He became the hero of the 1985 National League Championship Series with a dramatic Game Six ninth-inning three-run home run off Dodgers pitcher Tom Niedenfuer. (He would later join the Dodgers as their hitting coach in 2003.) In 1987, Clark had probably his best season. He hit .286 with 35 home runs, 109 RBI, and a led the league in on-base percentage and slugging percentage with a .459 OBP and a .597 SLG. He finished 3rd in the MVP vote, but some have speculated that he should have won the award over the man who actually won it, Andre Dawson. Clark again led the Cardinals to the World Series that year, although injuries limited his contributions in the post-season.
In , Clark played with the New York Yankees, basically as a designated hitter, because of the presence of Don Mattingly at first base. Clark also played for the San Diego Padres in two seasons, returning to the American League as a DH with the Boston Red Sox. He retired at the end of the season. A four-time All-Star, Clark also won the Silver Slugger Award in and .
In an 18-season career, Clark was a .267 hitter with 340 home runs and 1180 RBI in 1994 games. He also collected 1118 runs, 332 doubles, 77 stolen bases, and 1826 hits in 6847 at bats.
One of the 1970s most-loved and respected TV personalities, Jack Clark was best known as host of the highly successful syndicated game shows "Dealer's Choice" (1973-75) and "Cross Wits" (1975-80). Born in St. Joseph, Missouri around 1925, he moved to California where after the service he worked at KROW in Oakland. After graduating college in 1948, he worked as a CBS staff announcer, moving to New York in 1952 and working for 20 years as announcer and substitute host on shows like "To Tell the Truth", "Password", and the original "Price Is Right", as well as hosting the short-lived "100 Grand". Late in 1973, Clark took over as host of "Dealer's Choice", and segued into his most successful series, "Cross Wits" in December of 1975. After the demise of "Cross Wits" in 1980, Clark became the announcer on the top-rated "Wheel of Fortune" until his untimely passing in 1988.
