Robbins Street Named for Deceased Prep Football Player

Norman Parish | As of Wednesday, December 2, 2015

A street in south suburban Robbins, Ill. was named for deceased former football player Rocky Clark.
A street in south suburban Robbins, Ill. was named for deceased former football player Rocky Clark. Photo by Norman Parish.

 Annette Clark misses her son, Rasul “Rocky” Clark, who died just three years ago.

So, she keeps many of his sports awards in a room in her south suburban home in Robbins, Ill.  In November, Clark received another visible reminder of her son – a nearby street bearing his name.

Robbins officials dedicated the Honorary Rasul Rocky Clark Drive on the corner of Lydia and South Hendricks Road.

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Photo by: Norman Parish

Annette Clark said she is proud of her son, Rocky Clark, after a street was named for him in south suburban Robbins, Ill. Clark, now deceased, became paralyzed in a high school football game but kept active in his community.

“It is wonderful,” said Annette Clark, whose son Rocky died after suffering complications from abdominal surgery. “It is a blessing. I think it will serve as an inspiration for other young people.”

In 2000, Rocky Clark made the news when he became paralyzed while playing football for Eisenhower High School in Blue Island, Ill.

Clark, then 16, became a quadriplegic after suffering a spinal injury and two broken vertebrae in the neck during a tackle.

Despite his injuries, Clark volunteered to coach and gave pep talks to young athletes.

“He didn’t let things get him down,” said Robbins Mayor Tyrone Ward. “He was very influential and very smart. He showed that one person can make a difference.”

Clark helped form Gridiron Alliance, a group that supported young football players with similar problems. The organization eventually expanded to promote safety for all sports, and was renamed Community Alliance for Sport Safety.

Clark faced major financial problems when his insurance coverage expired 10 years from the date of his injuries.  He lobbied for changes in a law to help with that problem.

In 2013, a year after Clark’s death, Illinois lawmakers passed “Rocky’s Law,” which requires all high schools in the state to offer catastrophic insurance coverage for student athletes.

The law requires all public and private high-schools to provide catastrophic accident insurance coverage for those injuries that happen in school-sponsored or supervised athletic events that result in medical expenses over $50,000. According to the law, the policies must have collective limits of $3 million or five years, whichever occurs first. This coverage is in addition to any and all other insurance, and the estimated cost of this coverage will be no more than $5 per student.

Former Gov. Pat Quinn said then that the law was a “tribute” to Clark and is intended “to provide more comfort to sports families across Illinois.”

Clark received recognition for his efforts.

TV One Network aired a “Will to Live” program on Clark, while South Suburban College in South Holland, Ill. established the Rocky Clark Memorial Scholarship Fund.

But perhaps the most special recognition that Clark received, said his mother, was the street sign that now honors him.

Annette Clark, who is looking for work in home care assistance, said she plans to push for the law to become a national one.

“I want young people to be able to continue on and pursue their education,” Clark said. 

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