This past Friday, the football world lost one of the best football reporters in John Clayton. Born right outside of Pittsburgh in Braddock, Pennsylvania, Clayton began his career at 18 years old by reporting and writing about the Pittsburgh Steelers. Clayton was fortunate enough to enter the industry at one of the best times in, not just Pittsburgh sports, but in Steelers’ history as well.
Even though he was only considered a ‘kid’ at the time, Clayton did his time and at the age of 24, he broke one of the biggest NFL scandals, which would ultimately propel his career to the national stage. But not a lot of Steeler Nation was around or remember this scandal tied to Chuck Noll’s Steelers.
Noll was caught by Clayton when he held secret contact workouts with shoulder pads on in the 1978 offseason. This was what-to-be-known as “Shouldergate.”
Before the days of social media, the internet, or large sports media enterprises, there were simply ‘beat writers’. They would try to sneak into confidential and secret team meetings to be the first to break news stories. So even though Noll shut his practices off to the public, Clayton was able to extract information about the private practices from the players themselves.
So, who did Clayton talk to who spilled the story? Well, it was mixed between several different players, including defensive player John Banaszek, linebackers Robin Cole and Willie Fry, and rookie Randy Reutershan. With so many players (44 total to be exact), wearing shoulder pads in offseason workouts, Clayton described the Steelers’ closed-door practices as if they were “dress-rehearsing for a game.” Clayton saw Cole with pads on and his arms taped up with extra protection after a practice. Reutershan was also caught wearing pads with extra cushioning due to sunburn. In addition, Banaszek reportedly told Clayton:
“I’ve almost forgotten what these things felt like,” he said. “I haven’t had these things on since September.”
Clayton thought that maybe Noll was simply making the players run with pads on to keep up with their stamina and fitness. However, when Clayton asked Fry is that was the case, Fry replied:
“Well, I’m not sore all over for nothing,” he said. “We basically worked on fundamentals. The drills are the same for defensive tackles and ends. But actually, we work more on fundamentals here than we did at Notre Dame.”
Needless to say, Clayton knew he was the first, and only, reporter to break this news. In his column in the June 1st, 1978 edition of The Pittsburgh Press, Clayton wrote:
“Noll locked the doors of this week’s rookie camp to the media and was very selective about who could watch the activity. No wonder. The Steelers were holding contact workouts in pads, a violation of league rules which will probably result in a substantial fine.” Clayton went on to write, “Noll’s Top Secret, call it Shouldergate if you wish, was not very successful.”
This is where the scandal received the attention from the league and as a result, the Steelers ultimately lost a third-round pick in the 1979 NFL Draft. At that time, this was a direct violation of Section 20, article 4 of the league’s collective bargaining agreement. Needless to say, this did not sit well with Steelers fans. Even other local reporters and the entire Pittsburgh community heavily scrutinized Clayton for breaking the story. However, it would be Noll and the Steelers who would have the last laugh. With ‘Shouldergate’ having occurred in the offseason leading up to the 1978 season, the Steelers would go on to defeat the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XIII to win their third championship in franchise history.
Although this scandal put a bad taste in Steelers fans’ mouths towards Clayton, there is no denying Clayton wasn’t one of the best in the business. Clayton will certainly be missed throughout the sports world.
Do you remember Shouldergate? How do you remember John Clayton? Let us know in the comments below!
#SteelerNation
