The door slowly creaks open around mid-day every Monday; behind it a man who, at first, may seem a bit dauntingly stoic, but has assimilated himself in the sports media world for dozens of years.
A fixture in Bucks County with his auto racing-themed show, appropriately titled “Racing Wrap” which airs every Monday at 5 p.m., Skip Clayton takes a seat in the desk opposite the studio board in the cozy, blue-walled studio known as WBCB 1490AM.
The start of the 73-year-old’s day wouldn’t be complete without his blue Yocum Ford bag and tethered white NASCAR cap, complete with his lunch, which usually consists of a sandwich and some sliced melon in a plastic bowl, along with some various media guides and catalogs. This time it’s a Villanova Basketball media program.
“I might go to that; haven’t decided yet. I haven’t been to a Villanova game in so long, so long,” says Clayton, slumping back in the leather chair while offering a bag of Utz pretzels to anyone in sight.
After WBCB’s “Speak Your Piece” starts up, Clayton’s attention shifts to a Dell computer in the back of the studio, sandwiched right in the middle of the program director’s office and the audio room where shows are recorded. It’s lunch time for Skip, but not before talking to WBCB Program Director Matt Mirro.
“Hey Skipper!” remarks Mirro in routine fashion.
“Matt, did you watch the Superbowl?” asks Clayton as he removes his lunch from a plastic Wawa bag.
“Of course!” shouts back Mirro while in the process of phoning various high schools.
After e-mailing a few people, as well as publishers, Clayton turns to Merrill Reese, general manager of WBCB and the voice of the Philadelphia Eagles.
“Merrill, what’d you think of the hall of fame class for the NFL? I thought they were all deserving.”
“Remember when we used to cover games in Connie Mack stadium? Those were the days,” Clayton says.
The sports media veteran got his start as the sports director at WRCP (an ABC affiliate in Philadelphia) back in the 1960s. Eventually, Clayton found himself working for ABC Radio Network as well as WRCP, saying he “had a lot of fun.”
“I covered everything you could think of,” Clayton says. “They asked me to cover events for over 35 years.”
In January 1977, Clayton was laid off at WRCP.
Yet, nearly 36 years later Clayton’s drive and material remain fresh; a walking encyclopedia of sports knowledge and an emphatic baseball fan.
Sporadically, Clayton gets up to retrieve a Diet Coke from his worn Ford bag, or even to his white sedan to get something for the day’s show. Clayton strides back complete with a manila folder with dozens of pages filled with stats, some blank CDs, and a Triumph Books catalog for the upcoming 2013 Major League Baseball season.
He also places hockey great Bernie Parent’s new book, “Unmasked,” on the desk just outside the studio.
“Got him at 2:15(p.m.),” Clayton says.
Settling in Philadelphia for 33 years, Clayton has always been around Bucks County. “I moved out to the suburbs in 1970,” the radio host remarks.
Holding a blank CD, he asks one of the station interns to burn him some audio of a Jeff Gordon press conference. The youthful intern agrees, with Clayton shouting from the other room: “How long does it run?”
“14 minutes and 39 seconds!”
“Excellent!” Clayton exclaims.
For Clayton, the 1970s not only represented a change in location but perhaps offered the most thrilling events of his broadcasting career.
“I covered the ’74,’80,’83,’85,’87 and ’97 Stanley Cups. The ’74 (clinching game) between the Bruins and the Flyers was a pretty exciting day.”
Clayton also managed to cover the 1976 international event at the Spectrum against the Philadelphia Flyers and the Soviet’s HC CSKA Moscow, reflecting on it as the “second biggest hockey event I ever covered.”
At around 18 minutes after 2 p.m., Bernie Parent of the Philadelphia Flyers calls in to the station, with an eager Clayton waiting to discuss Parent’s new book. Clayton offers his praise for the book’s recollection of the ex-goalie’s career, which featured the controversial trade to the Toronto Maple Leafs, his reuniting with the Flyers and his two Stanley Cups championships in the half-hour interview.
Parent, always an approachable person, credits the fans with his two Stanley Cup wins, to which Clayton offers a healthy smile and chuckle. Following the conversation, Clayton remarks off-air, “Boy, I could talk to him all day.”
Clayton then returns to the computer in the back to continue his research on the Phillies of the ‘40s and ‘50s.
“I started following the Phils’ and (Richie) Ashburn was my favorite from the get-go. At St. Luke’s Episcopalian Church I became a choir boy and the choir master took us all to a Phillies game, a 7-0 (victory) against the New York Giants on May 15, 1948. (Now) 65 years later, I’m still a member of St. Luke’s Episcopalian Church, even though it’s 30 miles away compared to just a few,” Clayton says.
In 2000, Clayton penned “50 Phabulous Philles” with Jeff Moeller, an in-depth look into former Phillies’ stories in the clubhouse ranging from the days of the 1915 World Series to polarizing players like Dick Allen and Mike Schmidt. Clayton, along with former Miami Dolphin Garo Yepremian, also authored “Tales from the Miami Dolphins Sideline,” an inquisitive look into the Dolphins perfect 1972 season.
“My favorite all-time sports moment, Oct. 1, 1950, Phillies win the pennant. Personally, I have about 100 baseball books and have also probably given hundreds away,” Clayton says.
One of Clayton’s favorite moments covering baseball came while reporting on the 1996 World Series between the Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees. The Allentown Morning Call’s Don Bostrom couldn’t make the World Series, “so I got a call and said ‘What time we leaving?’ And we got there around 1 p.m. for (game six) and watched the Yankees clinch that night.”
“Sports are my hobby,” a smiling Clayton says.
“My favorite Eagles moment has to be when my dad and I were at the 1960 Championship game. We had season tickets,” Clayton recounts.
Philadelphia and NFL icon Merrill Reese walks past Clayton, who’s casually adorned in a WBCB fleece, black slacks and white shoes—with one shoe having looser laces than the other. “One day, I want to hear Merrill Reese say, ‘The Eagles are Super Bowl Champions!’”
Following the hourly Independent Radio News update, it’s time for Skip’s signature show, “Racing Wrap.”
“There was a restaurant in Langhorne—it’s been sold since—the old Langhorne Speedway; Merrill (Reese) called me and asked if I wanted to do a show there. I said ‘sure,’ and we did the show in the restaurant for four years before moving to the studio (WBCB). Feb. 7, 1997 was the first show.”
For Skip, content on his show involves being a member of NASCAR media complete with an electronic account for press conferences and information. Clayton often has two or three guest callers a week, involved with racing no-less, some more noticeable name than others.
“My most memorable guest was Richard Petty. He was the first NASCAR driver I ever interviewed,” reflects Clayton, who has had a background in racing media for some time now.
“Jeff Scott did a show—Weekend on Wheels—and he asked me to cover the Indy Car race in Langhorne at the time, and a couple of weeks later NASCAR has its race in Dover—July 6, 1969. Prior to that, I didn’t know NASCAR. Growing up, I only knew Indy Car (racing).”
Clayton enters the studio complete with his manila folder packed with information. Each paper inside lined up in chronological order, which, given the number of sheets, seems like a deliberating task to the common person. With a producer connecting him to his callers, Clayton offers not only his insight but a sense of wisdom and knowledge unheard of by many radio hosts today.
Following “Racing Wrap,” Clayton, now in a studio of about three or four people compared to the usual ten, puts on his navy blue windbreaker and signature, worn NASCAR hat, placing the catalogs and various sports books in his Ford bag. Making sure to say his goodbyes and thanks to everyone left in the studio, Clayton eventually starts to break for his car in the WBCB parking lot.
“See you next Monday,” says Clayton for the 16th straight year.