Re: Hill Watch79 days!!!

CBProf®

Tiger Titan [49004]

TigerPulse: 100%

Posts: 1905

Joined: 2017

79 Seasons Ago Clemson Football Finished 4-5 in 1946

Jun 12, 2025, 12:00 AM

Clemson RB Bobby Gage becomes a true football legend!

Overview:

According to Wikipedia:

“The 1946 Clemson Tigers football team was an American football team that represented Clemson College during the 1946 college football season. In its seventh season under head coach Frank Howard, the team compiled a 4–5 record (2–3 against conference opponents), tied for 10th place in the conference, and were outscored by a total of 174 to 147.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1946_Clemson_Tigers_football_team

Worthy of Note:

According to ClemsonTigers.com:

“Oct. 24, 1946 – The Clemson vs. South Carolina game was played under unusual circumstances. Counterfeit tickets had been printed and 10,000 more people than the capacity showed up for the game. Fans stormed the gates and stood on the sidelines, even on the field at the opposite end of the field when the game action was taking place. Coach Howard recalled fans standing next to him on the sideline telling him what plays to run. South Carolina won on this bizarre day, 26-14.”

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

Wikipedia adds the following:

“Left end Chip Clark was the team captain. The team's statistical leaders included tailback Dutch Leverman with 501 passing yards, tailback Bobby Gage with 264 rushing yards, and Leverman and Clark with 24 points scored (4 touchdowns each).

Three Clemson players were selected as first-team players on the 1946 All-South Carolina football team: end Chip Clark; guard Frank Gillespie; and tailback Bobby Gage.
Clemson was ranked at No. 80 in the final Litkenhous Difference by Score System rankings for 1946.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1946_Clemson_Tigers_football_team

Regarding RB Bobby Gage:
According to Wikipedia:

Gage was selected sixth overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1949 NFL draft. He was also selected by the Baltimore Colts of the All-America Football Conference.

He played two seasons for the Steelers at tailback, quarterback and defensive back. In the penultimate game of the 1949 season, Gage set a franchise record which still stands with a 97-yard run on a fake punt. This run also tied the league record at the time which was held by the Green Bay Packers' Andy Uram. The record stood until 1982, when Tony Dorsett scored from 99 yards out.

Gage retired from football after two seasons to devote more time to his family and his off-season job as an executive at a South Carolina textile firm.

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

Gage was elected into the Clemson Hall of Fame in 1976.

Bobby Gage:

(https://clemsontigers.com/clemson-football-legend-bobby-gage-passes/)

Results:
September 21: Presbyterian* W 39–0
September 27: at Georgia* L 12–35
October 5: NC State L 7–14
October 12: at Wake Forest L 7–19
October 24: at South Carolina L 14–26
November 2: at VPI W 14–7
November 9: at Tulane* L 13–54
November 16: Furman W 20–6
November 23: at Auburn* (Montgomery) W 21–13

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1946_Clemson_Tigers_football_team

The season got off to a slow start at 1-4. But it improved as the season continued by winning three of the final four games. Finishing the season with the win over Auburn was certainly a good ending.

The loss to the Gamechickens dropped Clemson’s record against the Chickens to 28-14-2. To their credit, the Chickens finally reached a winning percentage of 33% against Clemson.

There might have been counterfeit tickets to the Clemson-Gamechicken game, but at least a program only cost 25 cents:

Clemson vs South Carolina Program 1946:

(Image from: https://digital.tcl.sc.edu/digital/collection/SCFP/id/71/)

Also in 1946:

According to ClemsonWiki:

Summer: The first Pre-fabs, pre-fabricated buildings, go up on campus, in two styles, the single-family United Kingdom type, and a two-family model. These are needed to accomodate the crush of returning servicemen to school after their military duty in World War II. Fall enrollment for the 1946-1947 year sets a new record of 2,750, up from 2,300 in 1940-1941.

…

August 10: The Chemistry Building (later named Hardin Hall) burns at dusk and the gabled roof is replaced with a flat one during rebuilding in the fall.

https://clemsonwiki.com/wiki/1946

And in 1946, Clemson baseball earns Another No-Hitter! This no-hitter is Clemson’s fifth no-hitter in its history. The first occurred in 1913. The most recent prior to this one occurred in 1924.

According to ClemsonTigers.com:

March 29, 1946 – Joe Landrum pitched a no-hitter in a 6-0 win over Erskine.

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

flag link

military_tech

thumb_down

thumb_up

Clemson: Academic Excellence! Athletic Excellence!

There is no #79 on this years roster so I’m going back to the players with a higher number.

Todays player spotlight is #89 Jack Smith. He is a redshirt junior punter for the 2025 Clemson Tigers.

He has played as Clemson’s back up punter for the last 3 years but this year he is expected to be the starting punter for the tigers. He has only punted 5 times over the past 3 seasons though. So he has much to prove this upcoming season.

A fun fact I found out about Jack Smith is that he was a reserve QB in high school. He wasn’t half bad either. He “completed 17-of-21 passes for 186 yards and had 264 rushing yards and a touchdown in just 27 attempts” as a back up QB in high school. So if the worst happens this season and all our other quarterbacks are down. Then who knows we may see Jack as our back up QB. Or we could see a fake punt with Jack throwing or running the ball for a first down.

Here is his bio: https://clemsontigers.com/sports/football/roster/season/2025/jack-smith/

Hill Watch79 days!!!