Clayton Benham, Class of 2012

Clayton was born in 1920, and raised on a sugar plantation in Hawaii. After graduating from Kamehameha in 1940, he played football and tennis for a year at San Mateo Junior College in California. In 1947, Clayton competed at the US National Championships, losing in the first round to two-time Roland Garros singles champ and 1954 Wimbledon champion Jaroslav Drobny. He won the 1950 National Public Parks Doubles Championship in Detroit, Michigan, with fellow Coloradan Bobby Curtis.

He enrolled at Denver University, and starred at the No. 1 position in singles and doubles for three years, serving as Pioneers head coach in his last two seasons. Clayton won the Denver City Open men's singles title in 1950, 1952 and again in 1953. He also won the Intermountain men's singles championship in 1950 and again in 1952.

Clayton returned to Hawaii and was head football coach at Kamehameha from 1954-57 and supervisor of physical education and athletics from 1958-73. He retired from teaching in 1982, and continued to play tennis several days a week right up until his death in 2002.