Maryland State Archives

This collection contains the photographs, news articles, and documents of the Hall of Fame golfer Jimmy S. Clark. Most of the materials relate to Clark’s career as a golf professional for the Argyle Country Club in Silver Spring, MD, the various golf tournaments he participated in, including the 1964 National Open, and his involvement with the Professional Golfers’ Association of America (PGA). In addition, there are papers, letters, and articles about the military records of Clark’s family, mostly centered on his brothers, Charles F. “Frank” Clark and Donald R. “Bob” Clark, and their experiences serving in World War II.

This collection was donated by Jimmy Clark’s son, Christopher “Chris” Clark, and a majority of the letters relate to Chris Clark’s research into his uncles’ military service. Frank Clark served in the 8th Air Force, 489th and 44th Bomb Groups (BG) and Bob Clark served in the 28th Division Infantry, 112th, Company 2. Bob Clark was a prisoner of war (P.O.W.) for a time in Germany during the war. Chris Clark corresponded with many veterans of the 489th BG and a few from the 44th BG, researching his uncles’ military experiences. This research illustrates Chris Clark’s dedication to preserving the history and memories of his family’s history and of the veterans who served their country.

Arrangement:

• MSA-SC-6366-1: Personal and Family Papers - arranged by year
• MSA-SC-6366-2: Jimmy Clark’s Golf Career - arranged by year
• MSA-SC-6366-3: Clark Family’s Military Career and Correspondence - arranged by year; letters related to Charles F. “Frank” Clark are grouped together and the letters related to Donald R. “Bob” Clark are grouped together after
• MSA-SC-6366-4: Christopher D. Clark’s Military Research - arranged by the last name of the sender - Restricted due to personally identifiable information (PII)
• MSA-SC-6366-5: Photographs

The Clark family are descendants of Abraham Clark who arrived in Maryland in 1654. James “Jimmy” Scholl Clark was born on June 28, 1934, in Washington, D.C. to Donald E. Clark and Grace Clark (nee Lafferty). He had seven siblings, several of whom appear in various correspondence by their nicknames. They include:

• Charles Franklin Clark- “Frank,” “Reds,” “Red Bird,” “Old Baldy” (1921-1987) - Wife: Lucille Irene Becker (Edmund’s sister)
• Marilyn Lelia “Lee” Bean (nee Clark) (1923-2010) - Husband: Dr. Richard Bean
• Kathryn Becker (nee Clark) - “Kitty” (1923-d.) - Husband: Edmund John Becker
• Margaret Belanger (nee Clark) - “Meg” (1925-d.) - Husband: Leon Belanger
• Donald Robert Clark - Robert, “Bob” (1925-2006)
• David L. Clark - “Dave” (1928-d.)
• Thomas A. Clark - “Tommy” (1932-1994)

Jimmy Clark married Avon Blair "Bonnie" Clark (nee Milam) (1932-2015) in 1957 and they had five children including Chris Clark.