Born in Anamosa, Iowa in June 1940, Charles Richard Clausen came to New Mexico with his family in the mid-1950s when his father Dick Clausen took a football coaching job at University of New Mexico. The younger Clausen quickly made a name for himself on the gridiron and on the mat, winning two state heavyweight wrestling titles at Albuquerque's Highland High School.
When his dad accepted the Athletic Director position at University of Arizona, Clausen first enrolled at University of Iowa, according to the Albuquerque Journal ... but then transferred to UNM, where the 6'2", 230-pound Clausen was starting center and linebacker for the Lobos, helping them win the inaugural Western Athletic Conference championship his senior year in 1962. Described by his friends as a "big bear of a man" and a "gentle giant," Clausen also wrestled heavyweight for the New Mexico Lobos, winning 90% of his matches, according to his bio at the UNM Hall of Fame website , which also described Clausen as an academic star in addition to his athletic accomplishments.
After graduating from UNM, Clausen launched his coaching career, serving as a head wrestling coach at Gallup High School in New Mexico and at Washington High School in Fremont, Calif. However, the greatest portion of Clausen's professional career was spent as an assistant football coach, starting as an assistant with Marv Levy at The College of William & Mary in Virginia in 1958. Later, Clausen accepted a coaching position working with head coach Woody Hayes at Ohio State through the early 1970s, helping to take the Buckeyes to four consecutive Rose Bowl appearances.
After a decade-and-a-half in the collegiate football coaching ranks, Clausen then moved on to the NFL, as an assistant coach for Dick Vermeil and Marion Campbell with the Philadelphia Eagles from 1976-1985, earning a Super Bowl ring in the process when the Eagles' lost to the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XV.
Clausen later served as an assistant for the Atlanta Falcons and the San Diego Chargers before retiring from coaching in 1991. He worked in commercial real estate in Gainesville, Ga., some 55 miles northeast of Atlanta. However, Clausen didn't leave the sports world completely. While in Gainesville, he began writing a high school sports column for the local newspaper and serving as a color commentator on high school football broadcasts on WDUN.
A memorial service for Clausen will be held Saturday, Jan. 9 at 11:00 a.m. at First Baptist Church of Gainesville. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Boys & Girls Club of Hall County, PO Box 691, Gainesville, GA 30503 or Eagle Ranch, P.O. Box 7200, Chestnut Mountain, GA 30502, www.eagleranch.org .
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