ILH secretary Benham dies
Advertiser Staff
Clay Benham, long-time executive secretary of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu, died today.
Advertiser library photo • May 19, 1995
Benham, 81, was stricken Friday with a brain abscess and was admitted to Queen's Medical Center. He was in an irreversible coma yesterday, a family friend said.
Clay Benham was stricken with brain abscess.
Benham's wife, Marian, and other family members were keeping vigil at Queen's.
Benham, an avid tennis player and former Territorial champion, had played three sets on Thursday, the friend said.
Benham was looking forward to travelling with long-time friend Tony Sellitto this week to see his first Kentucky Derby.
Benham had been the only executive secretary of the ILH since it was re-structured as a private-high school athletic association in 1970. He also headed the ILH for several years before that, when Honolulu's urban public high schools also belonged to the league.
Benham was an outstanding athlete in football, baseball and tennis at Kamehameha and graduated in 1940. He returned there in 1954 as a teacher and head football and tennis coach, and later became athletic director.
Benham played football and tennis at San Mateo, Calif., junior college and was the No. 1 tennis player at the University of Denver, where he graduated in 1953. He also worked for the Honolulu Police Department for about nine years.
