Zack Clayton

Zachary Morris Clayton

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 0", Weight 192 lb.
• High School Simon Gratz High School
• Debut 1934
• Final Game 1945
• Born April 17, 1913 in Gloucester County, VA USA
• Died November 20, 1997 in Philadelphia, PA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Zack Clayton was an infielder of the 1930s-1940s.

Clayton debuted with the independent Philadelphia Bacharach Giants in 1932. He made his league debut with the 1934 Philadelphia Bacharach Giants, hitting .293/.406/.310 for a 107 OPS+ as the regular first baseman; he led the team with 11 walks and 11 runs. He and Steel Arm Davis split first for the 1935 Chicago American Giants but Zack struggled big time - .167/.214/.186, a 5 OPS+.

He was 2 for 18 with two walks for the Bacharach Giants against top teams in 1936, when they again did not belong to a league. He was 5 for 30 with two walks and no extra-base hits for the American Giants in 1937, backing up Luther Gilyard at 1B. He was 2 for 12 with a triple in the championship series.

Clayton resurfaced with the 1943 New York Black Yankees, batting .213/.253/.309 for a 50 OPS+ as their starter at 1B. The next year, he hit .241/.313/.345 (78 OPS+). He was 3 for 11 with two walks and a double for the 1945 Baltimore Elite Giants, backing up Doc Dennis at 1B. He played for the Oakland Larks in the minor West Coast Negro Baseball League in 1946.

He was more famous as a basketball player, winning two world titles (with the New York Rens and Washington Bears). A point guard in the pre-integration era, he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017. He later was a boxing referee, famously working with the George Foreman-Muhammad Ali "Rumble in the Jungle" fight in Zaire among 200+ fights.

Sources

• Seamheads
• Hall of Fame basketball players