Former 2-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Leon Clarke dies at 76

Former Pro Bowl receiver Leon Clarke dies

LOS ANGELES — Leon Clarke, a two-time Pro Bowl wide receiver in the NFL who played for Southern California in the 1955 Rose Bowl, has died at 76.

He died of pancreatitis on Monday in suburban Los Alamitos, USC said Thursday.

Clarke was a three-year letterman at USC. He led the Trojans in receiving in 1954 and 1955, earning All-Pacific Coast Conference honors that year, when the Trojans lost to Ohio State 20-7 in the Rose Bowl game.

Clarke was a second-round pick in the 1956 NFL draft by the Los Angeles Rams, and played with them for four seasons, twice being selected to the Pro Bowl.

He also played for Cleveland from 1960-62 and Minnesota in 1963. He caught 141 passes for 2,215 yards with 18 touchdowns in his eight-year pro career.

Funeral plans were pending.