View source for John Helton

{{Short description|American gridiron football player (born 1947)}}
{{about||the professor of mathematics|John William Helton|[[John Helton (MP)]]|Appleby (UK Parliament constituency)|and|Carlisle (UK Parliament constituency)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{BLP sources|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox gridiron football person
| name = 
| image = 
| alt = 
| caption = 
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1947|5|23}}
| birth_place = 
| death_date = 
| death_place = 
| team = 
| number = 77, 99
| status = 
| import = yes
| position1 = Defensive tackle
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 3
| weight_lb = 250
| college = [[Arizona State University|Arizona State]]
| NFLDraftedYear = 1969
| NFLDraftedRound = 7
| NFLDraftedPick = 157
| NFLDraftedTeam = [[Buffalo Bills]]
| playing_years1 = {{CFL Year|1969}}–{{CFL Year|1978}}
| playing_team1 = [[Calgary Stampeders]]
| playing_years2 = {{CFL Year|1979}}–{{CFL Year|1982}}
| playing_team2 = [[Winnipeg Blue Bombers]]
| career_highlights = 
* [[Grey Cup]] champion ([[59th Grey Cup|1971]])
* [[CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award]] (1974)
* [[CFL's Most Outstanding Lineman Award]] (1972)
* 2× [[Norm Fieldgate Trophy]] (1974, 1979)
* [[DeMarco–Becket Memorial Trophy]] ({{CFL Year|1972}})
* [[Tom Pate Memorial Award]] (1979)
| CFLAllStar = {{CFL Year|1971}}–{{CFL Year|1976}}, {{CFL Year|1978}}, {{CFL Year|1979}}, {{CFL Year|1982}}
| CFLWestAllStar = {{CFL Year|1969}}–{{CFL Year|1976}}, {{CFL Year|1978}}, {{CFL Year|1979}}, {{CFL Year|1981}}, {{CFL Year|1982}}
| awards =
| honors =
| CFHOF = john-helton
| CFHOFYear = 1986
}}

'''John Helton''' (born 23 May 1947) is a former [[Canadian football]] [[defensive tackle]] for the [[Calgary Stampeders]] from 1969 to 1978 and the [[Winnipeg Blue Bombers]] from 1979 to 1982 of the [[Canadian Football League]] (CFL).

==Early life and college==
John Helton graduated from Captain Jack High School in [[Mount Union, Pennsylvania]]. Helton was selected in the seventh round of the [[1969 NFL/AFL draft]] by the [[Buffalo Bills]] after a stellar career at [[Arizona State University]], but opted to go to Canada.<ref name=boys>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cfl.ca/2018/08/08/calgarys-comfort-lured-pennsylvania-boys-nfl-prospects/|title=Calgary's comfort lured Pennsylvania boys from prospect of NFL|date=August 8, 2018|website=[[Canadian Football League]]}}</ref>

==Professional career==
Helton was a CFL-All Star 10 times in 14 years of play at [[defensive tackle]]. Helton won a [[Grey Cup]] with the Stampeders in [[59th Grey Cup|1971]].<ref name=boys/>  He also lost the [[58th Grey Cup]] in 1970 to the [[Montreal Alouettes]] on a very muddy field.

==Honors==
Helton was inducted into the [[Canadian Football Hall of Fame]] in 1986. He was inducted into the [[Alberta]] Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 1993. In November 2006, Helton was voted one of the CFL's [[TSN Top 50 CFL Players|Top 50 players]] (#12) of the league's modern era by Canadian sports network [[The Sports Network]]/TSN, with no defensive lineman being ahead of him.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sootoday.com/local-sports/doug-flutie-voted-cfls-greatest-player-of-modern-era-106233|title=Doug Flutie voted CFL's greatest player of modern era|website=[[SooToday.com]]}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{YouTube|Kuclh4OdxCI|Seen in game 3 of the 1970 Western Conference finals in its entirety, won by Calgary}}

{{Bills1969DraftPicks}}
{{CFL MO Lineman}}
{{CFL MODPs}}
{{59th Grey Cup}}
{{Tom Pate Award}}
{{Canadian Football Hall of Fame members}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Helton, John}}
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Players of Canadian football from Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Arizona State Sun Devils football players]]
[[Category:Calgary Stampeders players]]
[[Category:Canadian football defensive linemen]]
[[Category:Canadian Football Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:Canadian Football League Most Outstanding Defensive Player Award winners]]
[[Category:Winnipeg Blue Bombers players]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:People from Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania]]


{{Canadianfootball-defensive-lineman-stub}}