Re: Hill Watch...88 days!!!

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88 Seasons Ago Clemson Football Finished 4-4-1 in 1937

Jun 3, 2025, 12:00 AM

Year 7 of the “Seven Lean Years.” Hitting the end of the lean period!

Overview:

According to Wikipedia:

“The 1937 Clemson Tigers football team was an American football team that represented Clemson College in the Southern Conference during the 1937 college football season. In their seventh season under head coach Jess Neely, the Tigers compiled a 4–4–1 record (2–0–1 against conference opponents), finished third in the conference, and outscored opponents by a total of 128 to 64.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1937_Clemson_Tigers_football_team

Worthy of Note:

According to Wikipedia:

“Red Sharpe was the team captain. The team's statistical leaders included tailback Bob Bailey with 579 passing yards, fullback Don Willis with 329 rushing yards, and back Red Pearson with 29 points scored (3 touchdowns, 1 field goal, 8 extra points).

H.D. Lewis was the team captain. Two Clemson players were selected as first-team players on the 1937 All-Southern Conference football team: center Charlie Woods and tailback Bob Bailey.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1937_Clemson_Tigers_football_team

And according to ClemsonTigers.com:

“Nov. 17, 1937 – Clemson defeated Florida in Gainesville by a 10-9 score. Don Willis scored Clemson’s only TD of the game on a one-yard run that culminated a 65-yard drive on Clemson’s opening possession. Later Clemson gave up a safety and a touchdown, so Florida led 9-7 heading into the fourth quarter. But, the Tigers drove 60 yards late in the game and Ben Pearson booted a 27-yard field goal to win the game. At the time, it gave Clemson a 4-4 record in 1937, but it proved to be a program builder, much as Clemson’s win over South Carolina in 1980 did. The Tigers posted to a 22-2-2 record over a 26-game period that started with that win at Florida. Clemson’s only losses in that 26-game period were to Tennessee in 1938 and Tulane in 1939. Tennessee ended the 1938 season with a 10-0 record and ranked second in the nation, while Tulane ended the 1939 season with an 8-0-1 mark and fifth in the country.”

https://clemsontigers.com/clemson-football-historical-timeline/

Perhaps most noteworthy was the presence of a young player who was going through a position change and would see limited action in 1937. But this young player would go on to be one of the greatest athletes to play at Clemson. According to ClemsonTigers.com:

“Neely’s 1-4-1 record against Furman persuaded him to hire that school’s backfield coach, Clemson alumnus and former quarterback star McMillan. He would play a key role in developing single-wing backfields at Clemson, and he was quick to return [Banks] McFadden to the backfield in 1937, where he saw limited action at the wingback position and as a punter. It was another .500 season, but the schedule included Army, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Tulane, and Florida – and there were no “blowouts.”

https://clemsontigers.com/banks-mcfadden/

Results:

September 18: Presbyterian* W 46–0
September 25: at Tulane* L 0–7
October 2: at Army* L 6–21
October 9: at Georgia* L 0–14
October 21: at South Carolina W 34–6
October 30: Wake Forest W 32–0
November 6: at Georgia Tech* L 0–7
November 13: at Florida* W 10–9
November 25: at Furman T 0–0

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1937_Clemson_Tigers_football_team

Interesting that Clemson only played two home games in 1937. Call it an undefeated home season!

With another win over the Gamechickens, Clemson’s record vs the Chickens improves to 23-11-1.

And the Tiger student newspaper provides a nice preview before the game at Army:

(From: https://open.clemson.edu/tiger_newspaper1937/)

Also in 1937:

According to ClemsonWiki:

“The town of Calhoun is chartered for the third time. Official records for the City of Clemson date from this point.”
…

November 27: Dr. Richard Newman Brackett, associate professor of chemistry, the last surviving member of Clemson's original faculty (from 1891), passes away. He is interred at the Old Stone Church, for which he compiled and edited a history in 1905.

https://clemsonwiki.com/wiki/1937

And further away from home – world chaos is beginning to break!
- According to History.Howstuffworks:

July 29, 1937: Japanese forces occupy Peiping.

September 7, 1937: In a speech underscoring a perceived need for Lebensraum (living space), Adolf Hitler claims that Nazi Germany "is too small to guarantee an undisturbed, assured, and permanent food supply."

December 1937: Japanese troops pillage the Chinese Nationalist capital of Nanking, murdering tens of thousands of civilians, in what will become known as the "Rape of Nanking."

https://history.howstuffworks.com/world-war-ii/buildup-to-world-war-27.htm

The horror is just beginning!!

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Clemson: Academic Excellence! Athletic Excellence!

Hill Watch...88 days!!!