Dennis Briffett
A tribute to Clay:
I met Clay when I went to Grade 10 at Gander Collegiate. Over the next 10 years or so, we spent a lot of time together involved in sports, mostly ball hockey. To say Clay was a good athlete would be an understatement. We played together, along with Roger and Barney, and eventually won a provincial championship and represented Newfoundland at the Canadian Nationals. Clay, of course, scored a huge goal to get us back into the game and we ended up winning in overtime.
I'm sure many who knew Clay could tell a similar story, no matter what the sport.
Someone asked me about him after he died and my response was "One of the funniest guys and probably the best athlete I ever knew"
To this day I say if given one NFL game, he would have got a touchdown, one Major League at-bat, he would have got a hit and one World Cup soccer game, a goal. The best part is that while everyone was going crazy, Clay would have said "Never mind the cheering and clapping b'ys, get the game going again so I can get another one."
Many sports have had an individual known as "the greatest"; hockey had Wayne Gretzky, boxing had Muhammed Ali. Well, in this neck of the woods Clay, that title belongs to you.
My life is better having had you as a friend. You may be gone but you'll never be forgotten. Rest in peace Clay.
Friday April 14, 2017 at 4:12 pm
