Clary is an award winning author and a distinguished alumnus of Fordham. He graduated from Fordham College in 1954 after being the first junior editor of The Ram. Following Army service and tenure as the Grantland Rice Fellow at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, he worked for 15 years as a sports writer and columnist for the Associated Press, New York World-Telegram & Sun, and Boston Herald Traveler. He has been a free-lance sports media specialist since 1972 and has written more than 50 books and 300 magazine articles.