Re: Hill Watch...94 days!!!

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94 Seasons Ago Clemson Football Finished 1-6-2 in 1931

May 28, 2025, 12:01 AM

Yep, the Josh Cody era has definitely ended.
- And here we are!

Coach Jess Neely’s tenure at Clemson started slowly. However, Clemson stayed with him and he ultimately enjoyed some success!

Overview:

According to Wikipedia:

“In their first season under head coach Jess Neely, the Tigers compiled a 1–6–2 record (1–4 against conference opponents), finished 20th in the conference, and was outscored by a total of 164 to 19. D. Fordham was the team captain.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1931_Clemson_Tigers_football_team

Head Coach Jess Neely:

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jess_Neely)

Worthy of Note:

According to ClemsonTigers.com:

“Jan. 17, 1931 – Jess Neely was named head football coach at Clemson. He was the second consecutive Vanderbilt graduate to coach the Tigers. Cody was a 1917 graduate of Vanderbilt and Neely graduated in 1923. In fact, eight of the nine Clemson head football coaches between 1931-98 were graduates of current SEC schools.

Oct. 16, 1931 – Clemson suffered a surprising 6-0 loss against The Citadel in a game played in Florence, S.C. After the game, Neely, Captain Frank Jervey and others met in a car outside the stadium to discuss ways Clemson could help its football program get back on track. The meeting started the ball rolling towards the establishment of the IPTAY Foundation. Clemson would score just three touchdowns and win one game during the 1931 season.”

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

According to Wikipedia:

In referencing new Head Coach Jess Neely, Wikipedia states that “Neely coached the Tigers during what is known as the "Seven Lean Years", and helped start the first booster club.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jess_Neely

Those “Seven Lean Years” started this season in 1931. However, after the Seven Lean Years, Clemson’s fortunes under Coach Neely would improve significantly. Neely ultimately led some very good Clemson teams! (Just not yet!)

Also of Note:

In 1931 Clemson hired Assistant Coach (Line Coach) Frank Howard! According to ClemsonTigers.com:

“Howard stepped onto the rolling hills of Clemson in 1931 fresh from the varsity football ranks at the University of Alabama where he was a first stringer on Wallace Wade’s 1930 team that drubbed Washington State, 24-0, in the 1931 Rose Bowl. Howard was known as the “Little Giant” of the Tide’s “Herd of Red Elephants.”

The bald veteran came to his first coaching post under Jess Neely as a line tutor. “At least that was my title,” Howard recalls.

“Actually, I also coached track, was ticket manager, recruited players and had charge of football equipment. In my spare time I cut grass, lined tennis courts and operated the canteen while the regular man was out to lunch.”

https://clemsontigers.com/frank-howard/#:~:text=Howard%20stepped%20onto%20the%20rolling,in%20the%201931%20Rose%20Bowl.

Results:

September 25 Presbyterian* T 0–0
October 3 at Tennessee L 0–44
October 10 vs. NC State W 6–0
October 16 vs. The Citadel* (Florence) L 0–6
October 22 at South Carolina L 0–21
October 31 Oglethorpe* L 0–12
November 7 vs. VMI (Norfolk) L 6–7
November 14 at Alabama L 7–74
November 26 at Furman* T 0–0

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1931_Clemson_Tigers_football_team

- 19 points in 9 games? Ouch
- Clemson lost 74-7 at Bama? Ouch!
- Clemson lost 44-0 at Tennessee? Ouch!

Clemson’s loss to the Citadel was the last time Citadel has beaten Clemson. According to ClemsonTigers.com:

“The Citadel defeated the Tigers 6-0 at Florence Memorial Stadium in front of a crowd of 6,000 fans. It was the last time The Citadel beat Clemson and it was the 100th win in Bulldog history. It was shocking at the time because Clemson was coming off three straight eight-win seasons and a 24-8 record the previous three years.”

https://clemsontigers.com/the-1931-citadel-game-2024-program-story/

The good news was that the loss led to the initial meetings for developing IPTAY.

And with the loss to the Gamechickens, Clemson’s record vs the Chickens fell to 19-9-1.

Also in 1931:

The losing record had to be miserable for the team and the fans. But off the field some important events were occurring. As stated above, the initial steps began in a car that ultimately would lead to the creation of IPTAY. According to ClemsonTigers.com:

“Clemson ended that 1931 season with only one victory and three total touchdowns.

Neely and Clemson administrators had expected much more, so a meeting was held after the game in an automobile in a parking lot outside the stadium. The group in the car included Neely, Ends Coach Joe Davis, Captain Frank Jervey and Captain Pete Hefner.

Clemson was a military school at the time, and Hefner and Jervey were military staff members at Clemson and were keenly interested in its athletic programs. Hefner also assisted Neely in coaching the team in his spare time.

The meeting centered around what it was going to take to bring Clemson back to a winning level. Neely was only 33 at the time and had come to Clemson the previous winter after three seasons as an assistant coach under Head Coach Wallace Wade at Alabama.

Neely learned enough from Wade and the Alabama program to know that infrastructure and financial support were at the forefront of importance in building a winner. Some things never change.

At one point in the postgame meeting, the others asked Neely how much money it would take to allow him to field a winning team. Neely responded that he thought $10,000 a year would allow Clemson to turn out a winning team on a regular basis. (It should be noted that $10,000 in 1931 would be worth over $200,000 today.)

Clemson administrators began by trying to ask supporters for $50 a year, but that ended up being too high for the times, as the country was still in the middle of an economic depression.

https://clemsontigers.com/the-1931-citadel-game-2024-program-story/#:~:text=Clemson%20ended%20that%201931%20season,parking%20lot%20outside%20the%20stadium.

It would take a few more years – but IPTAY was also on the way!

Also in 1931 Clemson’s baseball season was cut short:

1931 – Clemson’s season was cut short due to an outbreak of meningitis on campus in April. Clemson finished the season with a 6-2 record.

https://clemsontigers.com/clemson-baseball-timeline/

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Hill Watch...94 days!!!