Hall of Fame
Nate Clay was the image of hard work and achievement on the basketball court. Even though Nate had to leave college to work after his 1960 freshman year, he returned to McKendree five years later to complete his education and to contribute to the success of the McKendree Bearcat basketball team.
Nate was a native of Centralia, Ill., and an inspiration to those who knew him. He survived a sports accident in 1970 which left him paralyzed from the waist down at the age of 31. Despite his injury, Nate forged on in life with remarkable courage and determination. He authored The Nate Clay Story, an account of his life after the accident. One of Nate’s poems, “The Moment,” was also published in Today’s Greatest Poems (1985). Nate was inducted into the Centralia Township High School Hall of Fame for both Basketball and Football, as well as the Kaskaskia College Hall of Fame for Baseball and Basketball. The city of Indianapolis, IN, honored Nate on December 6, 1972, which was proclaimed “Nate Clay Day” by then Mayor Richard G. Lugar, now a US Senator.
Nate loved sports so much that he found many ways to stay involved in athletics despite his physical inability to participate. Nate went on to coach several championship women’s softball teams in the Centralia area. He was the sports coordinator and host of “Sportsline,” a sports talk show on WILY-AM/WRXX-FM Radio. Nate Clay’s legacy and love for sports certainly lives on at McKendree, with the annual Nate Clay Memorial Award presented to the most outstanding defensive basketball player.
