Zack Clayton
(1913-1997)
Hall of Fame Induction: 2017
Card Shown:
2017 Panini Hall of Fame
Class of 2017 Enshrinement
Position: PG
Height: 6’1″
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Zachary “Zack” Clayton was a star player for several all-black teams during the Black Five Era, before the racial integration of the NBA in the 1950s. Clayton won two world championships with the New York Rens and Washington Bears. He also played briefly for the Harlem Globetrotters. He is known as one of the early black pioneers in the game of basketball, helping set the stage for those who would follow him. Although Clayton never played in the integrated NBA, Zack’s (and his teammates’) success against the top white teams helped lead to the changes that were made.
Zack led a life filled with multiple exciting careers both inside and outside the world of sports. In addition to playing professional basketball, Clayton also played professional baseball, was a boxing referee, and a firefighter.
Awards and Honors
- Clayton and the New York Rens won the first World Championship of Professional Basketball in 1939, defeating the Oshkosh All-Stars 34-25. Zack was selected to the All-Tournament team. Other Hall of Famers on that team include Charles “Tarzan” Cooper, William “Pop” Gates, and John “Wonder Boy” Isaacs.
- In 1943 Clayton helped the Washington Bears to capture the World Championship of Professional Basketball title and he was named to the All-Tournament Second Team. Many of the Bears players had come from the Rens championship team of 1939. The Bears went 41-0 that season and defeated the Oshkosh All-Stars 43-31 to win the championship.
- Clayton was inducted into the Philadelphia Basketball Hall of Fame in 1989. Other inductees into the Philadelphia Hall of Fame include Wilt Chamberlain and Charles “Tarzan” Cooper.
Points of Interest
- Zack started his professional sports career in baseball, a left-handed batter who played first base and catcher in the Independent Negro Leagues. Clayton played pro baseball from 1931-1946.
- Zack earned the nickname “the black bomber” for his great shooting range on the basketball court.
- Three teams that Clayton played for, the Rens, the Bears, and the Globetrotters, helped pave the way for blacks to become integrated in the game of basketball. Those teams showed the country that all of the best players were not playing on the white teams as the black teams defeated them for several championships.
- After he retired in 1949 from professional basketball, Zack became a career firefighter and was a boxing referee for more than 40 years. As a boxing referee, Clayton worked the famous “Rumble in the Jungle” fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman in Zaire in 1974. He refereed over 200 fights in his career.
- Clayton passed away 20 years before he was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 2017. His widow, Lunette Clayton, was still living in Philadelphia at the time. However, at 102 years old, she did not travel to Massachusetts for the enshrinement ceremony.
Zack Clayton – Basketball Player Autographed Photo
Zack Clayton – Baseball Player Autographed Photo
Zack Clayton Referees the Fight Between Ali and Foreman
