| Clay Stapleton | |
| Birth Date: | 24 June 1921 |
| Birth Place: | Jenkins, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Marshall, Missouri, U.S. |
| Player Years1: | 1941, 1946–1947 |
| Player Team1: | Tennessee |
| Player Positions: | Guard |
| Coach Years1: | 1950–1952 |
| Coach Team1: | Wofford (line) |
| Coach Years2: | 1953–1954 |
| Coach Team2: | Wyoming (assistant) |
| Coach Years3: | 1955–1957 |
| Coach Team3: | Oregon State (assistant) |
| Coach Years4: | 1958–1967 |
| Coach Team4: | Iowa State |
| Admin Years1: | 1967–1970 |
| Admin Team1: | Iowa State |
| Admin Years2: | 1971–1973 |
| Admin Team2: | Florida State |
| Admin Years3: | 1973–1978 |
| Admin Team3: | Vanderbilt |
| Overall Record: | 42–53–4 |
| Awards: | Big Eight Coach of the Year (1959) |
George Clayton Stapleton (June 24, 1921October 30, 2014) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator.
Stapleton grew up in Fleming-Neon, Kentucky, where he played basketball and football for the Fleming High School Pirates. He was later recruited by the University of Tennessee and played as a guard for the Volunteers over the span of a few seasons between 1941 and 1947. Stapleton began working as an assistant football coach in 1950, and became the head coach at Iowa State University in 1958.
Stapleton served as the head football coach at Iowa State from 1958 until 1967, compiling a record of 42–53–4. Stapleton was known for his single-wing offense and notorious for punting on third down. He is also well known for coaching Iowa State's "Dirty Thirty" – the 1959 team that started the season with only 30 healthy players – to a 7–3 record, coming one game shy of earning a bid to the Orange Bowl.[1] He served as Iowa State's athletic director following his coaching stint, from 1967 to 1970. He was the athletic director at Florida State University from 1971 to 1973 and at Vanderbilt University from 1973 to 1978. Stapleton played college football at the University of Tennessee for head coach Robert Neyland.
On September 9, 2006, Stapleton was inducted into the Iowa State Athletics Hall of Fame with fellow alumni Beth Bader, Jon Brown, John Crawford, Barry Hill, Russ Hoffman, Jerry McNertney, Hugo Otopalik, Keith Sims, and Winnifred Tilden.
Stapleton died on October 30, 2014, in Marshall, Missouri, at the age of 93.[2]