The Mudsock Trophy
Past. Present. Future.
Much like the legendary Hoosier-Boilermaker rivalry, our own Tigers and Royals square off in 19 sports each school year. We call this intradistrict competition the Mudsock. The winner of each event earns one point for their respective school and a small traveling award unique to their sport. The school with the most points at the end of the year wins the Mudsock Trophy. Continue reading below for the history of the Mudsock.
The Dub Clark Family
During the 2007-2008 school year, Hamilton Southeastern High School and Fishers High School began competing for the newly created traveling trophy called the Mudsock Trophy. Each year, the Royals and the Tigers keep a tally of wins and losses in each varsity sport during the regular season. For one year, the winner keeps the traveling trophy. Most importantly, the winner also earns one point for its respective school. At the conclusion of the spring season, the school with the most points earns and keeps the Mudsock Trophy for the year.
The trophy is shaped like a mudsock and has a red “F” or a blue “H” attached to it to honor the year’s winner. The award is named “Mudsock” in recognition of one of the original names for the town of Fishers, Indiana.
The Mudsock Award and trophies were sponsored by the Robert “Dub” and Jeanne Clark family. Dub Clark graduated from the original Fishers High School in 1941. Dub’s daughter Cherie (Clark) Bryant graduated from Fishers High School in 1967 with the last class to graduate from Fishers prior to its reopening in 2006. The Clark’s two sons, Stan and Richie, graduated from HSE in 1969 and 1975, respectively. The Clark’s four grandchildren all graduated from HSE and two of their great-granddaughters graduated from Fishers in 2009 and 2019.
Dub and Jeanne supported Fishers Athletics since their marriage in 1948. It was not uncommon for the Fishers basketball players to play ball during the summer in the barn loft at the Clarks’ and then be treated to a home-cooked meal. The Clarks often treated the players after their winter games at the Rainbow Roller Rink Restaurant since the Tigers’ home games were played at the Armory in Noblesville. After Hamilton Southeastern opened in 1967, Stan and Richie were involved in athletics, and Dub and Jeanne continued as fans. They often prepared food for the players in the home economics room or bought pizza after competitive games back in the barn loft. Both Dub and Jeanne served on the Hamilton Southeastern School Board and Jeanne was the first president of the Hamilton Southeastern Booster Club. With the reopening of Fishers High School, Dub continued to be the Royals’ and the Tigers’ biggest fan. He rarely missed football, basketball, baseball, and softball games.
Dub passed away in 2017 and Jeanne passed away in 2018. The Mudsock rivalry will forever have its roots in the Clark’s legacy. The Royals and Tigers Athletic Departments thank Dub, Jeanne, and the rest of the Clark extended family for their love and commitment to the City of Fishers, its high schools, and its student-athletes.