John Helton graduated from Captain Jack High School in Mount Union, Central Pennsylvania. Helton was selected in the seventh round of the 1969 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills after a stellar career at Arizona State University, but opted to go to Canada.
John Helton was a -All Star 10 times in 14 years of play at defensive tackle. He also lost the 58th Grey Cup in 1970 to the Montreal Alouettes on a very muddy field
Helton was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1985. He was inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 1993. In November 2006, Helton was voted one of the "s Top 50 players (#12) of the league"s modern era by Canadian sports network The Sports Network/TSN, no defensive lineman being ahead of him.
