Dublin provided the opposition on that occasion; however, victory went to Galway and Clarke collected an All-Ireland Under-21 Hurling Championship medal.
Later that summer Clarke's side trounced Westmeath and shocked Cork to book their place in the All-Ireland final.
Kilkenny, inspired by marvelous displays by Eddie Keher and Liam 'Chunky' O'Brien, powered on to win by 2–22 to 2–10.
Galway faced a series of defeats at the penultimate stage of the championship for the next few seasons; however, Clarke captured a second All-Star award in 1978.
However, disaster struck for Clarke in the game as he sustained a serious shoulder injury that meant he would miss the final.
Despite missing the game, Clarke certainly wasn't forgotten and when captain Joe Connolly's memorable acceptance speech, delivered in Irish, referenced Clarke, the Galway crowd chanted his name until Connolly called him to hoist the Liam MacCarthy Cup with his 'good' right arm.
Offaly, a team that Clarke's side defeated on the way to the championship the previous year now provided the opposition.
In another close encounter Galway looked set to make history as they took a six-point lead after the interval.