Coach Clayton is a fictional character

Fictional character

A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

, an African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 coach of the Archie Comics

Archie Comics

Archie Comics is an American comic book publisher headquartered in the Village of Mamaroneck, Town of Mamaroneck, New York, known for its many series featuring the fictional teenagers Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Veronica Lodge, Reggie Mantle and Jughead Jones. The characters were created by...

 universe. He is Chuck Clayton

Chuck Clayton

Chuck Clayton is an African-American teenage fictional character published by Archie Comics. Chuck lives in the fictional town of Riverdale, and is the friend of Archie Andrews, Betty Cooper, Jughead Jones, and other students at Riverdale High School....

's father. He first appeared in Archie at Riverdale High #14.
Coach Clayton is a physical education

Physical education

Physical education or gymnastics is a course taken during primary and secondary education that encourages psychomotor learning in a play or movement exploration setting....

 teacher

Teacher

A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...

 at Riverdale

Riverdale (Archie Comics)

Riverdale is a fictional town somewhere in the United States that is the setting for most of the various characters that appear in Archie Comics...

 High School who believes in practicing and experimenting with various methods for teaching students. He is also very open and warm, which has led many in the student body to seek out his advice as well as tell him about their problems. Unlike his fellow phys-ed teacher Coach Kleats, he is in excellent physical condition—although both men are very good athletes. He coaches the school's basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 and wrestling

Wrestling

Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...

 teams. In the late-1990s, he began to work beyond physical education, and also taught a history

History

History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...

 class.

Coach Clayton's first name is either Floyd or Harry, as he's been called Floyd many times by faculty in regular digest stories. The name was created in his early appearances, and used for some time afterwards. However, in some later comics, such as the Faculty Funnies mini-series where Mr. Weatherbee

Mr. Weatherbee

Waldo Weatherbee is a fictional character in the Archie Comics universe. Mr. Weatherbee is the principal of Riverdale High School, where Archie Andrews is a student. To Riverdale students and staff, he is commonly called Mr. Weatherbee, due to his authority position. Sometimes, Archie and his...

, Mr. Flutesnoot

Flutesnoot

Mr. Flutesnoot is a fictional character from the Archie Comics books.Mr. Flutesnoot is a chemistry professor . Although to a lesser level than Hiram Lodge and Mr. Weatherbee, he is sometimes the victim of Archie's ever-present accidents .Occasionally, Mr...

, Miss Grundy

Miss Grundy

Geraldine Grundy is a fictional character of the Archie Comics series.-Fictional history and character:In the comics, she is the homeroom teacher at Riverdale High School, occasionally teaching English and Math, as well. In Jackpot Comics #4, she is referred to as "Mrs. Grundy, the principal",...

 and Coach Clayton were secretly superhero

Superhero

A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...

es who all possessed super powers, Clayton was referred to as Harry. In still more recent appearances, such as Tales from Riverdale #1, his name is still Harry.

During one story, shown in Archie's Pals 'n'Gals Double Digest #120, Harry was recuperating from a fever; and at first, Coach Kleats, who was more a football coach, was leading the basketball team, and were getting defeated. Then Alice, his wife, decided to take over the coaching duties, which in the second half brought Riverdale to tie score and to overtime. With Archie scoring the winning basket, and bringing the team to victory, they led Mrs. Clayton out, on their shoulders. Harry recuperated well and returned to work, more out of fear that Alice would permanently take over his coaching duties than anything.