38 Days Until Kickoff! Dark Territory Clemson Letterman Of The Day

38 Days Until Kickoff! 

Dark Territory Clemson Letterman Photo Of The Day 

Deshaun Watson 

Deshaun Watson lettered at Clemson from 2014-2016 and put up record numbers at the quarterback position for the Tigers, guiding Clemson to consecutive College Football Playoff appearances and the 2016 National Championship. 

Watson led Clemson to 28 wins over his final two seasons while wearing the #4 jersey, the same number worn by former Tiger quarterback Steve Fuller. The number had been retired at Clemson, but Fuller allowed it to come out of retirement for Watson. 

Watson was a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist; finished third in the 2015 balloting with 148 first-place votes and second in 2016 with 269 first-place votes. Watson was the first ACC player to finish in the top three of the voting on multiple occasions. 

Watson was a two-time recipient of the Davey O’Brien Award, one of only four quarterbacks who can make that claim, and the first since Oklahoma’s Jason White in 2003 and 2004. 

Watson tied Rodney Williams and Tajh Boyd with 32 wins as a starter in the National Championship win over Alabama and Watson finished 3rd in ACC history in total offense with 12,094 yards, behind only NC State’s Philip Rivers and Boyd. 

Watson finished first in Clemson history in career completion percentage (.674), passing efficiency (157.5) and total offense per game (318.3). 

Watson also was a two-time All-ACC Academic Team (2015,16) selection and is believed to be the first quarterback in FBS history to pass at least 37 hours college credits and throw 35 or more touchdown passes in the same academic year (2015-16). 

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July 26th Clemson Historic Picture Of The Day

Hottie Ingram Out At Clemson

(Photo Uploaded By Alan Cutts)

Today’s photo is from Press Conference following the 1972 season at Clemson.

Clemson, after just completing a 4-7 season, put pressure on Hootie Ingram to resign as head coach of the football team. Ingram indeed resigned, paving the way for Red Parker. In his three years as head coach, Ingram’s overall record was 12-21.

In today's photo we see Hootie Ingram (left), Clemson President R.C. Edwards (center) and Hootie's replacement, Red Parker (right) in a press conference announcing the coaching change.

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39 Days Until Kickoff! Dark Territory Clemson Letterman Of The Day

39 Days Until Kickoff!

Dark Territory Clemson Letterman Photo Of The Day

Chuck McSwain

Today’s photo is of Chuck McSwain, who lettered for Clemson at running back from 1979-1982.

McSwain rushed for a career-high 151 yards and scored two touchdowns in Clemson’s 29-13 victory over South Carolina to cap an 11-0 regular season in 1981. Six weeks later, Clemson beat Nebraska in the Orange Bowl to win the National Championship.

McSwain said in an interview,  "My brother Rod came to Clemson a year later, and we were very fortunate to both make a difference in that South Carolina game. He blocked a punt that turned the momentum and I ended up being the leading rusher. I broke out a couple of long runs and scored a couple of touchdowns. "

You can read the original article here from Orangeandwhite.com:

http://www.myorangeupdate.com/2011/08/remember-when%E2%80%A6/

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July 25th Clemson Historic Picture Of The Day

Downtown Clemson In 1920’s

(Photo Uploaded By Alan Cutts)

Today’s photos are rare images of downtown Clemson in the 1920’s. The above photo is from what is now downtown Clemson facing toward Tillman Hall. In the photo you can see Sloan’s Store (which is now Subway).

The next photo was taken the same day but from the other side of College Avenue. The house in the upper right corner is sitting where Mr. Knickerbocker's is located today.

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40 Days Until Kickoff! Dark Territory Clemson Letterman Of The Day

40 Days Until Kickoff!

Dark Territory Clemson Letterman Photo Of The Day

Mr. Zip and Mr. Zap

Today’s photos are of Buddy Gore and Jacky Jackson, who lettered for Clemson at running back from 1965-1968. The above photo of Buddy Gore, who was nicknamed Mr. Zip.

Before the 1967 season began the media had dubbed Gore Mr. Zip because he had great speed as he “zipped past'em”.

The below photo is of Jacky Jackson, dubbed Mr. Zap, because he go the tough yards inside the tackles and “zapped ‘em”.

Jacky Jackson also had great hands out of the backfield as he caught a long scoring pass the year before to complete the scoring in the famous comeback win over Virginia in the first game for Howard's Rock. Buddy

Gore, while not nearly so skilled at receiving, managed to hold onto a key TD pass in 1967 when the Tigers knocked off the highly ranked NC State Wolfpack led by Chuck Amato.

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July 24th Clemson Historic Picture Of The Day

“Gator” Farr

(Photo Uploaded By Alan Cutts)

Today’s photo are of a Clemson legend, “Gator” Farr. Gator was a 1930 graduate of Clemson and best known for his humorous eulogies during the pep rallies prior to the South Carolina football games.

Frank Mellette wrote an interesting insight into the character of "Gator" Farr:

“There is no doubt in the mind of anyone at Clemson that "Gator" Farr was one of the greatest characters who ever went there. "Gator" could blow a bugle and get the softer and more beautiful tones out of it than anybody at Clemson. He was a member of the Drum and Bugle Corps during his first two years. He realized that if he remained there for his last two years, he could only reach the rank of captain.”

“He had higher military ambitions and withdrew from the Drum and Bugle Corps after his sophomore year. During his junior year, he was Regimental Sergeant Major, the highest ranking military member of the junior class. "Gator" was Cadet Colonel his senior year, again the highest ranking military member of his class.”

“From time to time, after he had dropped out of the Drum and Bugle Corps, he would go down to the guardroom and blow taps. When he did this, there wasn't a cadet on the campus who didn't know who was blowing the bugle that night. On those occasions as the last notes faded away, there would be immediate and instantaneous applause from all sections of the campus.”

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41 Days Until Kickoff! Dark Territory Clemson Letterman Of The Day

41 Days Until Kickoff!

Dark Territory Clemson Letterman Photo Of The Day

Steve Fuller

Today’s photo is of Steve Fuller, who lettered for Clemson at quarterback from 1975-1978.

Fuller was a dangerous pass-run threat as a quarterback, and was one of the centerpieces of the Clemson teams of the late 1970′s that brought the Tigers back to national prominence in college football.

One of only five two-time ACC Football Players of the Year (1977, 1978), he led Clemson to a 27-8-1 record in his final three seasons with the Tigers including an 11-1 mark, an ACC Championship and a No. 6 national ranking in 1978.

  

Fuller was one of only three players in Clemson history to be named both an Academic All-America (twice, 1977-78) and a football All- America (1978, 3rd-team) in the same year, Fuller was chosen to the prestigious NCAA Top Five Award in 1978 for excellence in athletics and academics.

Fuller is a charter member of Clemson’s “Ring of Honor,” and was a first-round draft pick of the Kansas City Chiefs and the 23rd overall selection in the 1979 NFL Draft. He went on to an eight-year NFL career with Kansas City, Chicago and the L.A. Rams, throwing for 7,156 yards, 28 TDs and a 56.8 completion percentage in 86 NFL games.

While in Chicago, he was a member of the 1985 NFL Champion Chicago Bears. In 2003, he was named to the ACC’s 50th Anniversary Football Team. Originally a native of Enid, Oklahoma, Fuller currently lives in Bluffton, S.C.

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July 23rd Clemson Historic Picture Of The Day

More Dan’s Sandwich Shop

(Photo Uploaded By Alan Cutts)

Today’s photos are a few more of Clemson's old mainstay....Dan’s Sandwich Shop.

Dan’s Sandwich Shop may best be known for the pictures that adorned the walls of the restaurant. Clemson athletes, especially football players, made it to the “big time” if Dan would place their photo on the wall in the restaurant. You can see in the above photo all of the pictures that are on the walls.

After this Clemson landmark closed, it became the Tiger Paw Restaurant and served boxed chicken lunches for awhile but soon the kitchen closed and it was strictly a bar with a dance floor. Too many minors nabbed by ABC agents inside saw the loss of the Tiger Paw's license around 1976.

This cleared the way for The Bookstore, which featured a live deejay for the disco era in downtown Clemson. Students could honestly tell their parents that they were spending time at the bookstore! When The Bookstore closed, the place was remodeled into Strawberry's Restaurant, which stayed in business for several years in the early to mid 1980's.

In 1986 and part of 1987 it was a bar/restaurant called Lester's Burgers & Spirits. Finally, the location became TD's, opening July 1, 1988.

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July 17th Clemson Historic Picture Of The Day

Courtside In Littlejohn 1972

(Photo Uploaded By Alan Cutts)

Today’s photo is a courtside view during at Clemson basketball game during the 1972 season. Notice the location of Tiger Band during that era…right behind Press Row.

You can see the late Bob Bradley in the photo standing at the left of the press table. The man seated to the left is Bill McLellan, Clemson's Athletic Director at the time.

Notice also the WSBF banner for the game day radio broadcast. In those days WSBF was both AM and FM. Rumors persist to this day that WSBF used the water pipes in Johnstone Hall as their AM antenna that provided a powerful signal across the upstate of South Carolina.

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July 22nd Clemson Historic Picture Of The Day

Tillman Hall In The Snow-1940’s

(Photos Uploaded By Alan Cutts)

Today’s photo is from the 1940’s and shows a beautiful Bowman Field and Tillman Hall after a fresh winter snow.

In this photo, Tillman Hall was just becoming Tillman Hall. Prior to 1946, the building was called the Main Building. This was the case for the first half of the twentieth century.

The building was formally named Tillman Hall in honor of Governor Benjamin Tillman, one of the seven original trustees of Clemson, by the Board of Trustees at their meeting in the first week of July, 1946.

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43 Days Until Kickoff! Dark Territory Clemson Letterman Of The Day

43 Days Until Kickoff!

Dark Territory Clemson Letterman Photo Of The Day

Eric Harmon

Today’s photo is of Eric Harmon, who lettered for Clemson at right guard from 1987-1990.

Harmon was a 6-foot-1, 282-pound lineman who started over 40 games which (at the time) was more than any other offensive lineman in school history.

During his senior season, Harmon led the Tigers with 38 knockdowns and had 235 for his career, 11 shy of the school career record.

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42 Days Until Kickoff! Dark Territory Clemson Letterman Of The Day

42 Days Until Kickoff!

Dark Territory Clemson Letterman Photo Of The Day

Walter Cox

President Emeritus Walter T. Cox is a member of Clemson University's Class of 1939, and was the third alumnus to rise to the status of president (1985-1986). "Dean" Cox served Clemson in almost every role imaginable, from an offensive guard for the football team while a student, to the football team's line coach, from the baseball coach and ticket manager, to an assistant to the president and director of alumni affairs, from dean of students, to vice president for student affairs. Dean Cox devoted his life to Clemson, and even after his retirement was often seen around campus saying hello to fellow Tigers.

In his playing days, Cox was a starter on the football team, including the 1940 Cotton Bowl Championship team that won Clemson's first-ever bowl game. He was also named All-State that year and later returned to the team as a coach. He was inducted into the Clemson Hall of Fame in 1984.

A Belton native, the son of Walter T. and Grace Campbell Cox came to Clemson in 1935 as a freshman cadet. Except for a year of military service during World War II, he never left. As a student, he was a company commander in the Cadet Corps, a letterman in the Block "C" Club and an All-State guard on the football team. After graduating in 1939, he stayed on for a year of postgraduate study, during which he anchored the Tiger front line that helped defeat Boston College in the Tigers' first post-season game, the Jan. 1, 1940, Cotton Bowl.

During the '40s, he worked for Clemson athletics in a number of capacities (assistant football coach, business manager, baseball coach, recruiter, IPTAY promoter). He even filled in for the boxing coach, who was called into the military, and helped clear land, with handsaws, chains and mules, for the football stadium.

In 1950, Cox became the director of public relations and alumni affairs and assistant to the president. In 1955, he was named vice president for student affairs and took a leadership role in directing Clemson's transition from military to civilian status.

"Dean Cox," as he was known to generations of Clemson students, served as vice president for student affairs for three decades. During his tenure, enrollment grew from 2,700 to more than 12,500, and he presided over some of the most important milestones in Clemson's development into a major university, including the enrollment of women and the peaceful desegregation of the student body. At the request of the Board of Trustees, he left the student affairs post in July 1985 to become Clemson's 10th president. The third Clemson graduate to be the school's president, he served until Max Lennon assumed the presidency in March 1986.

Cox once again was called upon to fill a key position temporarily when, from July 1986 until March 1987, he served as vice president for institutional advancement. Although he retired from full-time employment in April 1987, he remained active as a consultant and goodwill ambassador for the university.

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July 21st Clemson Historic Picture Of The Day

Classic Tailgating Car And Fiberglass Tiger

 (Photos Uploaded By Alan Cutts)

Today’s photos are of a great looking classic car decked out in Tiger Orange!

The above picture was taken on a fall afternoon in Clemson prior to a football game in the mid 1960’s. The car would show up at almost every home football game, and this picture was taken in the Tillman Hall loop.

If you notice, the car has the number ’42 on the side door panel. I believe the significance of the ’42 is to honor the class of 1942 and their 25th Anniversary of graduation (which would have been in 1967).

Below is a black and white picture taken of the car with member of the class of 1942 standing beside it. Worth notice from this class of students…almost all of them upon graduation would have entered the service and fought in World War II, which we had just entered in December of 1941 (just 4 months before the Class of ’42 graduated). Therefore, this picture may represent a majority of that depleted Class of ’42, many of which perished fighting for our nation.

After posting the blog last June with the above photo, I received an email from Terry Pierce who updated me on the current location of the fiberglass Tiger that was seen above the classic Clemson car from the 1960’s that was posted in the original blog. Terry sent me some updated pictures of the Tiger and here is the excerpt from his email:

The story behind the Tiger comes from the late Ruby Ellenburg. Mrs. Ruby Ellenburg, who lived on Flat Rock Road in Liberty, bought the Tiger in the late sixties or early seventies for her daughter-in-law Brenda who is a Clemson grad. Brenda wasn't impressed so Ruby stuck it under the bushes in front of her house where only its head was visible. There it stayed until 2007.

My in-laws lived next door to the Ellenburg’s and during a visit my wife decided she just had to have that Tiger so she called Brenda who was glad to be rid of it. So we cleaned it up, loaded it into the SUV and took it home to Lenoir City, Tennessee.

The Tiger is fiberglass and at one time had wooden fangs. Unfortunately, although overall it survived thirty years outdoors relatively unscathed, all but one of its fangs have rotted away and only the nails that they were attached to remain.

Also it had a wooden base but it was in pretty bad shape so we removed it too. Now he just prowls my basement and the cat plays on him! I wish I knew more about who Ruby bought the Tiger from but unfortunately no one thought to ask her before she passed.

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July 21st Clemson Historic Picture Of The Day

Dan’s Sandwich Shop In 1950’s

(Photo Uploaded By Alan Cutts)

Today’s photo is of Dan’s Sandwich Shop (Current Location of TD’s) in the 1950’s. This corner has a long history at Clemson with a variety of restaurants occupying the space.

Early in the 1940’s a restaurant named College Cafe occupied the space. In 1952, Dan Gentry opened Dan's Restaurant directly across from the town's post office and served hamburgers. "Judge" Keller would walk up from his store for lunch there.

After a fire in 1965, Dan set-up cooking burgers on the sidewalk outside the next day. Gentry would later purchase the building beside his original Dan’s and expand into the biggest hamburger joint in Clemson during the 1960’s and 1970’s. Tomorrow, I will have some pictures of the expanded Dan’s.

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45 Days Until Kickoff! Dark Territory Clemson Letterman Of The Day

45 Days Until Kickoff!

Dark Territory Clemson Letterman Photo Of The Day

Justin Watts

Justin Watts played wide receiver at Clemson from 1996-2000.

Watts came to Clemson as a heralded quarterback prospect from South Florence. In his first week of practice, he moved to wide receiver.

In the 10th game of his freshman year, Watts tore his knee up and a year later tore up his other knee against Florida State.

That prompted the very unusual circumstance of lettering 5 years in a sport. Watts became the first Clemson football player since 1919 to earn five letters.

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July 20th Clemson Historic Picture Of The Day

Memorial Stadium From The Air In 1955

(Photo Uploaded By Alan Cutts)

Today’s photo is from high above Memorial Stadium at halftime of a game in 1955. As you can see from the picture, Clemson Cadets are coming back into the stands after being on the field at halftime.

The 1955 Tigers were 7-3 overall and 3-1 in the ACC, which was good enough for a 3rd place finish in the ACC. The Tiger QB’s in 1955 were Charlie Bussey and Don King. Joel Wells and Billy O’Dell were the running backs on that team.

This was the last year that Clemson was a military institution. This group of Cadets on the field in this picture were the last group to have this honor at Clemson.

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46 Days Until Kickoff! Dark Territory Clemson Letterman Of The Day

46 Days Until Kickoff!

Dark Territory Clemson Letterman Photo Of The Day

Don Testerman

Today’s photo is of Don Testerman, who lettered for Clemson at running back from 1974-1975.

Testerman’s biggest day as a Tiger was in 1974 when the Tigers travelled to Knoxville to take on Tennessee. After the Tennessee kick-off, Clemson struck from long yardage with Testerman running 68 yards over right-tackle for a touchdown giving the Tigers a 28-21 lead with 7:16 left.

Testerman would finish the day with 146 yards and 1 td in the loss to Tennessee.

Testerman played in 4 NFL seasons from 1976-1980 for the Seattle Seahawks and the Miami Dolphins. Here is a link to some info about Testerman’s time with the Seattle Seahawks. http://www.beckys-place.com/testerman

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July 19th Clemson Historic Picture Of The Day

1950’s Memorial Stadium Press Box

(Photo Uploaded By Alan Cutts)

Today's photos are of the early 1950's and the Press Box at Memorial Stadium. As you can see from the picture above, the area was small and cramped.

Lou Sahadi writes of some of the antics that went on during this era in the press box.

"Frank Howard always enjoyed a good rapport with the press. Basically, he always made time to accommodate the writers and radio announcers who covered the team.”

“One of his favorite writers in the early 1940's was Carter "Scoop" Latimer, who worked for the Atlanta American. If there was one thing that Latimer liked besides writing, it was drinking. Sometimes he mixed the two, which didn't always work out too well. “

“Yet, Scoop had enough friends to bail him out of trouble. Once, when he was covering a Clemson game, he got so drunk he couldn't finish writing his story and passed out in the press box. His cronies bailed him out. Several kept filing stories over the Western Union wire. After they had sent six of them, the newspaper sent back a message to stop, it didn't need any more Clemson stories."

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47 Days Until Kickoff! Dark Territory Clemson Letterman Of The Day

47 Days Until Kickoff!

Dark Territory Clemson Letterman Photo Of The Day

Wyndie "Dumb-Dumb" Wyndham

Wyndie Wyndham played blocking back on offense and linebacker on defense from 1948-1950.

Here is an excerpt from Frank Howard’s Book, Howard: The Clemson Legend

When Wyndham first came to Clemson everybody called him 'Friendly'. I didn't know at first why they called him that- because he was the most unfriendly boy on the team - but I later found out that Friendly was actually his given middlename.

You hear a lot nowadays about how quarterbacks 'audible' at the line of scrimmage to change the play that was called in the huddle. We did that 50 years ago. We did it by adding and subtracting . One day at practice we were running a play. I think I had called for them to run 54. But I saw that the tackle was in too close and the play wouldn't go so I hollered, "Add two!"

Well, 'Friendly' Wyndham was bumfuddled altogether. He stopped and he came back and said, "Whatta you mean, coach?" I said, "Well, I'll tell you. The play I called was 54. Add two used to make that 56. I don't know what it is now, but I think it's still 56. And I want you to run 56."

Then I looked at him and said, "Boy, you're so dumb you ought not to be one, you ought to be twins." After that, all his teammates didn't call him 'Friendly' anymore. Or just 'Dumb'. Because of my remark about twins they started callinghim 'Dumb-Dumb'.

But he was a great one. In 1950 we was playing Missouri out there. We got ahead of one of Coach (Don) Faurot'steams. It was in September -- the second game of the season - and it was hot as the devil. We were playing some two platoon football then, although Dumb-Dumb played in both the offensive backfield as a blocking back and at linebacker on defense.

I started substituting freely because of the heat and the fact that we were comfortably ahead. I wanted everybody to geta chance to play. Dumb-Dumb came up to me and said, "Coach, how about not putting more than six of them sorry ones in on defense with me at one time. I can protect six of them, but I don't think I can protect more than six."

Missouri had scored in its last 125 games. It was something like 13 or 14 seasons since they'd been shut out. They hadn't scored on us up to that point and Dumb-Dumb said he'd like to be a part of stopping their string. So I told Dumb-Dumb that I'd stand on the 50-yard line and that I'd have all the players I wanted to get in the game on defense stay to my left. I'd have all the offensive players stand to my right. Then I told him he could be in charge of the defensive substituting as long as he saw that everybody got in the game.

We were getting ready to kick off to them after scoring a touchdown. It was a high, but short kick. They had a big 'oltackle. He was about 6-6 and weighed about 290 back in the days when boys wasn't so big. That big tackle backed up under the ball and had his hands up in the air to catch it.

The second the ball touched his hands, Dumb-Dumb hit him right in the stomach and knocked him cold. They recovered the ball and went on offense. The right halfback ran with it. Dumb-Dumb tackled him and knocked him out. The fullback ran with it on the next play and Dumb-Dumb knocked him out. Then the left halfback ran with it and he knocked him out.

That's when the Missouri captain went up to the referee and asked him to "get that wild so-and-so out of this game before he kills every one of us." Dumb-Dumb made sure all the subs - the boys he called 'the sorry ones' - got in the game, but we still managed to shut them out, 34-0.

We blanked four teams that year - Presbyterian, 55-0; Missouri, 34-0; North Carolina, 27-0; and Auburn, at Auburn,41-0 in the last regular season game. Then we beat Miami in the Orange Bowl. We didn't lose a game that season. Our only blemish was a 14-14 tie with South Carolina in one of those 'Big Thursday' games.

We ended the season 10-0-1and ranked 10th in the Associated Press poll. Going back to that 1949 Gator Bowl game, one play Dumb-Dumb made in it I'll always remember. The Missouri quarterback was named Harold Entsminger - and he was a good 'un. He pitched to one of his halfbacks –Nick Carras or Dick Braznell - I don't remember which one. Then Entsminger was leading the interference.

Dumb-Dumb was backing up the line. Well, he ran over the quarterback to get at the ball carrier and he knocked both of them out.

Dumb-Dumb was a killer.

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July 18th Clemson Historic Picture Of The Day

Tigers Upset NC State In 1962 ACC Tournament Behind Press Maravich

(Photo Uploaded By Alan Cutts)

Today’s photo is of Clemson Head Press Maravich being carried off the court in the 1962 ACC Tournament after the Tigers stunned NC State in Greensboro. The Tigers were only 12-15 overall during the 1961-1962 season and was only 4-10 in the ACC Regular Season.

After this stunning upset, the Tigers would defeat Duke the following day to advance to the ACC Championship Game against Wake Forest. The Duke win in the semifinals of that tournament, 77-72, on March 2, 1962, was the highest-ranked win in Clemson history to that point.

Clemson would fall 77-66 to the Demon Deacons in that title game, but the run was the highlight of the Press Maravich tenure at Clemson.

Maravich had a record of 55-96 at Clemson and his best year in 1961-1962. Maravich still holds the Clemson record for winning percentage in overtime games, 3-0, in 1956-1957, and he also had a 23-19 career mark in games decided by five points or fewer, also a Clemson record.

Maravich left Clemson and became an assistant coach at N.C. State before moving up to the head coaching position when Everett Case retired. Maravich later became head coach at Louisiana State University where he coached his son, Pete, who went on to become the leading scorer in NCAA history. (Even in 2013, "Pistol Pete" is still the all-time leading National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I scorer with 3,667 points scored and an average of 44.2 points per game.)

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48 Days Until Kickoff! Dark Territory Clemson Letterman Of The Day

48 Days Until Kickoff!

Dark Territory Clemson Letterman Photo Of The Day

Jim Stuckey

(Photo Uploaded By Alan Cutts)

Jim Stuckey Lettered In 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979 Stuckey was born in Cayce, South Carolina and attended Airport High School in West Columbia, South Carolina. While at Airport from 1972-76, Stuckey played middle linebacker and tight end.

Stuckey played for Clemson from 1976 to 1979. As a senior in 1979, he earned consensus first-team All-American honors. He was drafted in the first round of the 1980 NFL Draft by the 49ers. He was a member of the San Francisco 49ers Super Bowl XVI and Super Bowl XIX winning teams.

One of his more notable accomplishments was sealing a victory over the Dallas Cowboys in the 1981 NFC title game by recovering a fumble from quarterback Danny White with less than thirty seconds left in the game.

However, this is not well known to most NFL fans, as it was preceded by The Catch, which was caught by his college teammate Dwight Clark, one of the most famous plays in NFL Lore.

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Credit to clemsontigers.com and wikipedia

44 Days Until Kickoff! Dark Territory Clemson Letterman Of The Day

44 Days Until Kickoff!

Dark Territory Clemson Letterman Photo Of The Day

Banks McFadden

(Photos Uploaded By Alan Cutts)

Today’s photo is of Banks McFadden, who lettered for Clemson at tailback from 1937-1939.

McFadden attended Great Falls High School in South Carolina, where he led the Red Devils to two state championships in football and one in basketball. McFadden is widely considered to be the greatest athlete in Clemson University history, lettering in three sports (football, basketball and track).

In 1939, McFadden was voted the Associated Press' "Athlete of the Year". McFadden was also a two-time All-American in basketball (1938 and 1939) and led the Tigers basketball team to a Southern Conference championship in 1939.

Upon graduating, McFadden played football for the National Football League's Brooklyn Dodgers. McFadden fought in World War II and upon returning to the United States went into coaching.

McFadden was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1959. On September 19, 1987, Clemson University retired his basketball No. 23 and football No. 66. In October 2008, the O'Rourke–McFadden Trophy was introduced as a reward to the winner of the annual football game between Boston College and Clemson, in honor of the historic meeting between Charlie O'Rourke and Banks McFadden in the 1940 Cotton Bowl Classic, Clemson's first bowl appearance.

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July 16th Clemson Historic Picture Of The Day

Boxing At Clemson

(Photo Uploaded By Alan Cutts)

Today’s photos will look at a major sport at Clemson that is no longer a part of the Athletic Department. Boxing was a sport at Clemson in the 1930’s and 1940’s.

The photo above is of a Clemson boxer in a match during the 1942 season. This boxer, with the last name of Brown, defeated his opponent from VPI on this evening in Fike Field House.



This match was the highlight of the 1942 season as no other matches were won during that year. That can be blamed, in part, to the fact that the United States had just joined WWII and many Clemson Cadets were beginning training to enter service.

One other side note: The coach of the 1942 boxing team? None other than Walter Cox.

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49 Days Until Kickoff! Dark Territory Clemson Letterman Of The Day

49 Days Until Kickoff!

Dark Territory Clemson Letterman Photo Of The Day

Cliff Austin

Today's photo is of Cliff Austin, who lettered at Clemson from 1978-1982 as a running back.

Austin sat out the 1979 season after tearing his ACL in the Spring Game. Austin is remembered as a solid running back at Clemson, scoring a touchdown in the Orange Bowl that helped lead Clemson to the National Championship.

Austin was also a part of some unique circumstances at Clemson, something many remember him for even more than his play on the field. Austin was on the Clemson team that traveled to Tokyo, Japan to play Wake Forest in the Mirage Bowl in November of 1982.

At almost the exact moment that the Clemson plane touched down in Japan, word came to Clemson that Austin’s mother had passed away suddenly back in the United States.

Austin was placed on the next available plane back to the states to be with his family. Some accounts have Austin on Japanese soil less than 2 hours.

Austin is possibly best remembered for his role in a strange incident at the 1982 Orange Bowl. Austin was among three or four players that became “stuck” in an elevator for several hours on game day. The Miami Fire Department finally was able to get the players out of the elevator, but the story made the airwaves the night of the game as the NBC commentators made reference to the incident.

On the field, Cliff Austin broke the Clemson record for most rushing yards in a game with 260 in a route of Duke in October of 1982.

Austin was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the 3rd round in 1983 and went on to a five-year career in the NFL.

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July 15th Clemson Historic Picture Of The Day

The Story Of IP-O-AY

(Photo Uploaded By Alan Cutts)

Today’s photos are in reference to a short lived and mysterious group at Clemson in the early 1950’s.

IPOAY (I Pay One A Year) is the group that is pictured above. You can see from the flyer on the table that this group started as an athletic fundraising group by having people pay $1 a year to support the program.

This group was created in opposition to IPTAY (I Pay Ten A Year) that was started in the mid 1930’s at Clemson. Below, Frank Howard is out on the community trail drumming up support for IPTAY.

I don’t know what eventually happened to IPTOY, but it obviously fell by the side as IPTAY became the dominant fundraising group at Clemson.

Of course, $10 does not get you very far in IPTAY nowadays!

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50 Days Until Kickoff! Dark Territory Clemson Letterman Of The Day

50 Days Until Kickoff!

Dark Territory Clemson Letterman Photo Of The Day

Joe Henderson

Today’s photo is of Joe Henderson, who lettered for Clemson at running back from 1987-1989.

Henderson rushed for 1,752 yards at Clemson during his career, including a 4.9 yard per carry average and 16 touchdowns.

Henderson also was a good kick returner for the Tigers, averaging 26.7 yards per kick return and one touchdown during his career.

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July 14th Clemson Historic Picture Of The Day

Tiger Football in 1976

 (Photos Uploaded By Ed Oliver, Jr.)

Today’s photos are from a follower of this blog and were taken in 1976 on Picture Day in September prior to the start of the season.

Ed Oliver of Seneca sent these photos in and they were taken by his father, who ironically was a Gamecock fan. The photo above shows Coach Red Parker.

The below photo is of senior Joey Walters.

The next photo shows defensive back Malcolm Marler (#22), defensive back Bill Wingo (#16) and defensive back O.J. Tyler (#23). Bill Wingo is the father of South Carolina baseball player Scott Wingo.

The next photo is of the offensive line from 1976, including Jim Wells (#64), Darrell Misenheimer (#73), tight end Mark Clifford (#87), and Lacy Brumley (#69).

The final picture is of defensive tackle Archie Reese (#65).

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