CLARKSON
ATHLETIC HALL of FAME
GEORGE MACLEAN '42
CLASS of 2004 INDUCTEE
From his days as a two-sport scholarship student-athlete in the late 1930s and early 1940s through his involvement with Clarkson Athletics as a professor and administrator, George Maclean has displayed great passion and pride for the University and the Golden Knights’ sports teams.
As a 6-2, 185-pound tackle, Maclean played three years of football for head coach Pete Dwyer’s squads, serving as a captain in his junior and senior campaigns. The Syracuse native, who was a standout at Onondaga Valley Academy prior to coming to Clarkson, made a big impact for the Green and Gold gridders playing both ways.
Fielding a team of 22 players, Clarkson opened each season during Maclean’s varsity career playing at national powerhouse Syracuse University, which featured 60+ athletes on its roster.
Although the Knights never defeated Syracuse, they were competitive against their highly regarded opponent and with the money gained from playing the Orangemen at Archbold Stadium, Clarkson was able to cover the cost of the entire athletic department budget for a year.
Maclean enjoyed some of his best collegiate games against the Orange and was named to Syracuse’s All-Opponent Team. Maclean routinely lined up against Syracuse standout Les Dye, who would later become Clarkson’s head football coach.
Those early season games against Syracuse helped to prepare the Knights for their games against the smaller schools on their schedule. In Maclean’s final season, in the fall of 1941, Clarkson compiled one of its best records ever at 5-1-1. Coach Dwyers’ Tech squad gained all five of its wins that season by shutting out its opponents, blanking Ithaca (20-0), Hartwick (13-0) and Cortland (23-0) at Snell Field. The Clarkson eleven also shutout City College of New York, 20-0, in the metropolis, and posted a whitewash over St. Lawrence in Canton for the second time in three seasons with a 26-0 victory.
Once football season ended in late fall, Maclean traded in his muddy cleats for skates and headed over to Clarkson Arena to play hockey for the Knights. A three-year member of coach Jack Roos' teams, Maclean was primarily a defenseman, but when called upon he was more than willing to play whatever role best benefited the team.
During his junior season when starting goaltender Bob Butterworth suffered an injury, Maclean, with no goaltending experience, jumped into the crease and took up the role as Clarkson’s goaltender for two games, including a win over Cornell, as the Knights went on to post a 10-3 record for its best mark of the 1940s.
While a great athlete, Maclean was also a great student and served both as his class and Student Government president, and was tapped into Phalanx.
Following graduation in 1942, he joined the Foster Wheeler Corporation, before entering the U.S. Army Air Force where he served until May of 1946, mostly in the Pacific theater.
After completing military service, Maclean began his career at Clarkson as an instructor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He was named a full professor in 1958 and became chairman of the mechanical engineering department the following year. In 1968, he began 14 years of service to the External Relations area at Clarkson and retired in 1982.
While serving in academia at Clarkson, Maclean helped to start the College’s Athletic Board of Control, which established the rules and regulations for athletic teams, many of which are still in affect today. Maclean was also instrumental in establishing the University’s Arnold H. Barben Award, which is presented to a Clarkson hockey alumnus who has demonstrated outstanding professional achievement, has contributed to the betterment of his community and has worked unselfishly for his alma mater. Maclean, who was the 17th recipient of the Barben Award in 1997, is also a founding committee member of the Clarkson Athletic Department Hall of Fame.
George Maclean accepts his Athletic Hall of Fame plaque from Clarkson AD Sean T. Frazier 