Braddock native John Clayton still going strong at 64

The NFL first took note of John Clayton during a Steelers playoff game in 1972 when fans and team officials crammed near him in the Three Rivers Stadium auxiliary press box went out of their minds cheering what would become the Immaculate Reception right under their noses.

Clayton, a Churchill High School senior writing for the St. Mary’s Daily Press (long story), calmly turned to an NFL official and asked if he could see a replay because he thought Franco Harris had just made an illegal catch.

That inquiry by Clayton would not have been popular among many around him, but then he never let popularity stand in the way of doing his job, whether it was for the St. Mary’s Daily Press, the…