Clairton will name new stadium after Tyler Boyd

Not only is Clairton’s football stadium getting new turf, new bleachers and new lights, it also has a new name: Tyler Boyd Stadium.

A 2013 graduate now playing in his ninth NFL season, Boyd had a legendary high school career at Clairton and remains rooted in his hometown. He was a record-setting football player for the Bears, who went 63-1 in his four seasons, winning four WPIAL titles and four state championships.

The school announced the name change Monday night.

The stadium, built in the 1930s, is undergoing a major rebuild that is expected to be completed by spring. Naming the new version of the stadium after Boyd was “a no-brainer,” said Clairton athletic director Alexis Trubiani.

“When you say you’re from Clairton, everybody says, ‘We know Tyler Boyd,’” said Trubiani, a Clairton native and school district employee for 17 years. “Every kid knows him and looks up to him. He comes to our baseball games and sits in the stands. We play down at Clairton Park at 3:30 and we don’t get a lot of fans in the middle of the day. He comes and sits there like one of the guys.”

Trubiani said the name change was approved several months ago but wasn’t announced until construction had started. The football team played its final game on the natural grass surface last Friday night.

Few stadiums or fields around Western Pennsylvania are named after a former player who reached the NFL, but Boyd joins a list that includes Joe Montana at Ringgold, Tony Dorsett at Hopewell, Russ Grimm at Southmoreland and Jimbo Covert at Freedom.

The current stadium in Clairton was named after Neil C. Brown, a former principal and football coach.

The school district announced a fundraising effort last summer to pay for the $6.6 million stadium renovations. Boyd is likely to support the project financially, Trubiani said, but the naming rights weren’t for sale.

“This was the right thing to do, with or without a monetary donation,” Trubiani said. “Tyler really earned this as a Clairton Bear, with what he did for the city and what he continues to do for the youth programs. The school board and the administrative team thought this was a no-brainer.”

Boyd was a multi-sport athlete and inducted into the WPIAL Hall of Fame in June. He finished his Clairton career as a WPIAL record-holder with 117 career touchdowns and ranked fifth in league history in career rushing yards with 5,755. He later starred at Pitt, where he earned all-ACC honors three times.

After eight years with the Cincinnati Bengals, Boyd signed with the Tennessee Titans.

Trubiani said Clairton sees Boyd as a source of pride and a success story.

“When I say he means the world to the community, he really does,” Trubiani said. “He and his family give to the Clairton community. Naming the stadium after him is well deserved.”