Most schools can lament the great athlete that got away, but Utah State can go one better: the one that got away after not getting away.
In 1947, after one year playing varsity basketball at Utah State, Jim Cleverly, faced with housing and cash shortages, left school. He took a year off and when he reappeared, he had transferred to the University of Utah. The rest was Utah sports history. Cleverly went on to become a college All-America in baseball and basketball at the U., leaving Utah State behind for want of affordable housing.Cleverly also had a six-year professional baseball career and then a long run as a high school coach in Davis and Weber counties.
Cleverly cast his lot with the Aggies in the fall of 1946, where he became a starting guard on the basketball team. But being married and needing help, Clevery, who was living off the G.I. bill, found himself in financial straits. He was drawing $90 a month off the bill, but that all went for rent on a motel room the young couple lived in. The school had indicated a willingness to find more affordable housing, but the offer never materialized and Cleverly left Logan.
When he started back in school in 1948, Cleverly became an infielder for Utah, playing third and second base. He was named All-America in baseball and picked to the Little All-American second team in basketball, an honor reserved for players 5-foot-10 and under.
The Big Blue unsuccessfully tried to get Clevely back after the transfer. By then the die was cast; Cleverly was a Utah Man.
After his college career Cleverly, who had spent two years in the service, signed a contract with the Cleveland Indians. He spent six years in that organization, advancing as far as the Triple-A level. He made stops in Ft. Smith, Ark.; Reading, Pa.; and Wichita, Kansas. Then it was on to Tulsa and finally the Triple-A team in Indianapolis.
Cleverly's career was cut short when he dislocated his arm while diving for a ball behind first base. "I got up on my elbows to throw, and I could tell it was dislocated," says Cleverly.
He returned to play for a Provo semi-pro baseball team and finish up his final year of college.
In 1961 he began his coaching career at Clearfield High, leading the baseball and junior varsity basketball teams. That spring Clearfield won the state baseball championship under Cleverly. He jumped to Viewmont in 1964.
At Viewmont, where he coached baseball and basketball, his hoop teams made the semifinals twice.