When Dr. Pat Clare was a Husker football player in the 1960s, Memorial Stadium's field was grass and crowds were much smaller. Half a century later, Clare stood on the sidelines of a very different Memorial Stadium Saturday during his last home game as the University of Nebraska's chief orthopedic surgeon.Â
After 40 years of treating the ankles, knees, shoulders, joints, toes and fingers of the UNL's student athletes, Clare is retiring.
Clare, surrounded by his family, was recognized between the first and second quarters of the Huskers' loss to Minnesota. Athletic Director Shawn Eichorst presented him with a framed "Dr. Clare" Husker jersey. Fans gave him a standing ovation.
Clare has attended more than 500 Husker football games since he started as the team physician in 1974.
"It's been a real thrill and a big part of my life," he said. "I've totally enjoyed it."
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Clare, who also works at Nebraska Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine, has been on the Husker football sideline for 397 wins, 113 losses and two ties. He's missed only two games in 40 years. One was because the team tried taking one physician, instead of two, with them to an away game, and Clare was the one who stayed home.
The other time he missed a game was when he went on the One Box Pheasant Hunt in Broken Bow.
"Coach (Tom) Osborne never let me forget it, so I never missed another one," Clare said.
He has treated countless minor bumps, bruises and sprains. But there have been some tougher surgeries and restless nights.Â
"I'm just standing there, waiting, watching," he said. "Hoping that nothing bad happens."
Clare's job doesn't stop with football. He and two others from his office, including his son Dr. David Clare, also work during the practices and games of other Husker sports, including basketball, baseball, wrestling and soccer.Â
Clare played football himself at UNL after attending high school in Sioux City, Iowa. In 1960, he was an Academic All-American, and in 1961 he was a team captain.Â
"Being involved (in football) made him want to give back to the university that gave so much to him," said Tim Clare, another of Clare's sons and a member of the University of Nebraska Board of Regents.
For the Clares, the University of Nebraska is practically a member of the family. Clare, his wife, Linda, three of their four sons and five of their grandchildren have attended or are attending UNL.Â
Before returning to his alma mater, Clare went to medical school at the University of Nebraska Medical Center and completed his orthopedic residency -- "ironically," he said Saturday after the game -- at the University of Minnesota Affiliated Hospitals. He was then an orthopedic surgeon in the U.S. Air Force Medical Corps from 1971 to 1973.Â
Clare earns a nominal fee, but in reality his time spent on the sidelines is a labor of love.
"(The money) was never a prime reason to be here," he said.
Clare still will work the Nebraska-Iowa game and a bowl game. And he'll continue working with the Nebraska athletic department until the end of the academic year. But next season, for the first time since 1973, he'll be watching the game from the stands with his wife.
"It won't go well," Linda said, with a laugh. "I think he's going to sit with me for one game and then after that, he'll find friends to sit with."