Sam Clancy (2019) - Pitt Athletics Hall of Fame

Sam Clancy

Induction:
2019
Class:
1981

One of the city of Pittsburgh's greatest athletes, Clancy was a four-year starter at Pitt from 1977-81, averaging 14.4 points and 11.6 rebounds per game. He is the only Pitt player to score more than 1,000 points (1,671) and grab over 1,000 rebounds (1,362) during his career. Clancy was a three-time Eastern 8 All-League selection. He led Pitt to four winning seasons, the 1981 Eastern 8 Tournament championship, an NIT berth in 1980 and an NCAA bid in 1981. Clancy was additionally a member of the U.S. Gold Medal team at the 1979 Pan American Games under coach Bobby Knight. He went on to be drafted by the NBA's Phoenix Suns in 1981 and the NFL's Seattle Seahawks in 1982, the latter occurring even though he never played collegiate football. Clancy played one season of professional basketball in the Continental Basketball Association (averaging 11.5 points and 8.3 rebounds for the Billings Volcanos) before playing 12 seasons of professional football. He was a member of the Seahawks and then returned to Pittsburgh to play for the Maulers of the United States Football League. He later played for the USFL's Memphis Showboats before returning to the NFL as an impact defensive end for the Cleveland Browns and Indianapolis Colts.