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Former players surprise coach
Past teammates fete John Clayton
John Clayton got the "surprise of his life" when dozens of his former basketball players had a reunion with their former coach.
Clay Clayton (above left), along with about 25 former area basketball players, surprised his dad, John, with a special luncheon at Barnhill's Buffet in Collierville.
Left: Charlie Blanchard (standing) shares a laugh with his former basketball coach John Clayton.
Clayton is a former basketball coach. More than 25 former players from Frayser High School gathered at Barnhill's Buffet recently to pay tribute to the longtime Memphis/Shelby County educator whose tenure included stops at Bartlett (1957-58), Frayser (1958-1971), Raleigh-Egypt (1972-76), Rossville Academy (1976-85), Germantown (1985-89) and Houston (1989-1997) high schools.
"I was shocked to say the least," said Clayton, 74, who retired in 1997 and now lives in Rossville.
And that's just the response those who helped organize the surprise gathering were seeking.
"I think we caught him completely off guard," said Jeff Hopkins (Frayser High, class of 1970), baseball coach at Collierville High who helped organize the luncheon in Clayton's honor. "He has meant so much to so many people, especially to those of who were fortunate to have played for him."
Clayton, who served as Houston High's first principal, thought he was going to spend some time at an area AutoZone, then eat lunch with his son, who had the responsibility of getting his father to the restaurant without letting him know what was going to happen.
"Clay had the hard job," Hopkins said.
"When I got in the restaurant, I told the girl at the front I wanted to sit someplace where it was warm," Clayton said with a laugh. "It wasn't until I started into the room (where the ex-players were) that I knew something was up. I couldn't believe it. I was stunned. It was wonderful to see all these guys."
Clay had brought along tapes of Frayser games that he had converted to video, bringing back memories of days when basketball shorts were just that (short), dunking wasn't allowed and there was no 3-point shot. Watching the videos, the ex-teammates hooted when someone made a good or bad play. For them, it was like stepping back in time.
After the meal, each player got to express his appreciation to Clayton. Besides Hopkins, others who attended were Robert "Yard Dog" Henson, Don Medley, Jerry Sigman, Wayne Cain, Johnny Williams, Tommy Boberg, Johnny Herron, Buddy Webb, George Reed, Chuck Fann, Ricky Allen, Gary Blanchard, George Lowe, Randy Downey, Steve Ammons, Robert Dix, Andy Kitchens, Charlie Blanchard, Delton Drewry, Ricky Bell, Ted Tummins, Norman Hagemeyer , Don Tummins and Jon Allen. Former Frayser Junior High coach Roy Laughlin also attended.
Hopkins hopes to make the gathering an annual event and asks that all former Clayton-coached players at Frayser High call him at 921-7289.
Larry Rea is a freelance writer.