• 
• CLASS
• JOBS
• AUTO
• HOMES

Clatworthy remembered as a Janesville sports legend

Photo

George Clatworthy

JANESVILLE — Life was a ball for George Clatworthy.

Whether he was playing golf, mixing it up on the hardwood, launching another mammoth home run in softball or bowling a 700 series, as long as Clatworthy had a ball in his hand, he was happy.

Clatworthy died Saturday after complications from a stroke suffered in 1996. He was 74.

Jim Bohlman bowled with Clatworthy as part of the Purity Bread team in the Classic League at El-Ra Bowl for 10 seasons. He called Clatworthy a true Janesville sports legend.

“If you asked anybody from the day, they would tell you that George is one of the best all-around athletes ever in this city,” Bohlman said. “He always finished in the top five for bowling average in the city, and I know he was one helluva softball, football and basketball player, as well.

“And the best thing about George, and the reason I really enjoyed our time bowling together all those years, was because of all the good times we had. George was a lot of fun to be around.”

Clatworthy was inducted into the Janesville Sports Hall of Fame in 1992, and he remained active in bowling and golf up until his stroke.

The 1952 Janesville High School graduate was a three-sport star for the Bluebirds. He quarterbacked the football team, started at guard on the basketball team and led the 1951 golf team to the WIAA state title.

Clatworthy’s athletic accomplishments didn’t end with his storied high school career. He won the 1986 Wisconsin Public Links Senior Golf Championship and the 1978 Muni Classic at Riverside Golf Course in Janesville.

Lyle Gifford, a four-time city golf champion, battled Clatworthy many times on the golf course, softball diamond and basketball court. Gifford said Clatworthy’s intensity set him apart.

“George was, first and foremost, a good competitor,” Gifford said. “He played fair, but he played hard.

“On the golf course, George drove the ball pretty far and had a good short game. I know we used to drive over to Milwaukee and have pretty good success in tournaments against some pretty good competition.”

As much as Clatworthy enjoyed playing the game, he got even more pleasure out of teaching. His son, Gregg, learned the game of golf through his dad and parlayed the instruction into seven city titles and a spot in the Janesville Sports Hall of Fame.

George also helped teach his daughter, Patti, and granddaughter, Kathleen, to bowl and was the founding father of the annual Junior Bowlers golf outing.

In 1970, George rolled a record-setting qualifying series to earn a spot on the popular “Bowling With the Champs” television show in Milwaukee. Clatworthy put together an eight-game qualifying series of 1,865, which was the highest qualifying series ever bowled for the show at that time.

In 1985, George was inducted into the Janesville Bowling Association Hall of Fame.

George played basketball until he was 39. He and Bob Luchsinger were the only two Janesville players on a Sportsman’s Bar team that featured mainly University of Wisconsin athletes.

As long as George Clatworthy had a ball in his hands, life was good. And successful.