Clay Luraschi

San Fran speedster Clay Luraschi spent five years on the wing for the Lions, and his slashing, slaloming runs were a vital part of the Lions’ Division III championship in 2002. A Filipino/Italian mix, Luraschi’s first sporting success was baseball -- starting in rightfield at nationally-ranked Pepperdine in Southern California, and playing alongside major leaguers such as Troy Glaus, Eric Byrnes and Randy Wolf. He turned down a Pittsburgh Pirates contract during school, hoping the offer would be higher when he graduated. When it wasn’t, he focused on a more stable career, and his rugby skills.

Teammates remember Clay-Mation as a fiercely loyal teammate, an indefatigable imbiber and a stalwart finisher with an uncanny knack for humiliating opposing wingers with high-speed zigs and zags. A longtime spokesman for baseball card company Topps, Luraschi left New York last year to return to San Francisco, where he still toils for Topps, while pursuing an MBA. After a season with Super League team Olympic Club, Luraschi currently suits up for new club the Baracus.

A PINT WITH: How did you find the Lions?
CLAY LURASCHI: I played for Manhattan when I first came to New York. We had a bye week and I was jonesin’ for a game, so I went to Randalls, where the Lions were playing Schuylkill River. Mike Barry told me the Lions didn’t need players, but Schuylkill did, so I played with Schuylkill. We went to Fiddlesticks afterwards, and I thought, the Lions are the team I want to be on. I never played for Manhattan again.

APW: What’s this Baracus club?
CL: They’re a Division I team that’s actually named for “A-Team” star B.A. Baracus. They started in Division III four years ago and are up in Division I already. They definitely have sort of a Lions flavor to them; their president is a guy named Ollie Burke, who played for the Lions for a season or so.

APW: Did you get in any Super League games with Olympic Club?
CL: I was on the roster and suited up, but never got to play. But just the experience of getting to practice with those guys, a lot of who are in the Eagle pool, was great. It was great for me to see the commitment it takes to play at that level.

But that’s also why I left for Baracus – to play at that level takes a huge amount of time and commitment, and with school and work, it was too much time. If I can’t go at something 100%, I’m not going to do it.

APW: What do you miss most about the Lions?
CL: Everything. The Lions are family. I thought it would be really easy to just jump in with another team, but there isn’t anything else like the Lions. It’s a family. I really miss the team -- what you get with the Lions, you just don’t get anywhere else.

APW: How many baseball cards do you have?
CL: Oh, god, hundreds of thousands. I started collecting when I was a little kid, and then my brothers gave me their collections. I remember the 1976 Oscar Gamble card used to give me nightmares, he was so frightening looking.

APW: How many sticks of gum do you have?
CL: I’ll tell you a funny story. I was at a card show, and bought a pack from 1954 off this guy. He dared me to eat the gum, so I opened the pack and put the gum in my mouth. It disintegrated on contact. I had a major stomachache for a while.

Quick Facts:

• Favorite Beer? Stella
• Favorite Lions Memory? Winning Division 3 and beating Lund, Sweden on our European tour in 2001. You should have seen the look on their faces.
• Raiders of the Lost Ark or Star Wars? Star Wars, because it's real.
• Most Valuable Teammate? I had the opportunity to play with a lot of great Lions, but one that stands out is Stevie Raia. He would hit people and I would say to myself cringing "Damn, I'm glad I'm friends with him." He had great energy that could carry the whole team.