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Howard's Rock and Clemson vs Virginia 1966
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Howard's Rock and Clemson vs Virginia 1966


Aug 13, 2020, 10:00 AM

You never know who you will run into in Clemson. As I have mentioned before, Nikki has been on the same phone call at Clemson since mid-June, and there are times I have to get Eli out of the house. We've also run out of places to go and things to do, so one day earlier this week we drove out to the Walker Course and parked near the 18th green so we could walk down the ####.

I was getting Eli out of the car when a man sitting in a golf cart called me over. A big group had just finished golfing and they were trading out their dollar bills (high stakes), and the man who called me over was none other than Jackie Jackson, who played for Frank Howard in the mid-60's.

They have a group that plays each week (dollar a round, he said, because they are all on fixed incomes). We were talking football and he told me about the 1966 game against Virginia. Remember, this is the first game with Howard's Rock. It had been placed on a peach box, according to Jackson, by Gene Willimon and they were hoping it would bring them some luck.

The Tigers lost five fumbles and gave up 429 yards of total offense to the Cavs and found themselves down by 18 points. At one point Jackson dropped a punt but managed to recover it. He told me he was never good at catching the darn things, but could always jump on the fumble. He managed to barely get this one back, and Coach Howard told him if he hadn't recovered it "I would have thrown that rock in the middle of Lake Hartwell and no one would have ever seen it again."

Edgar McGee, Phil Rogers and Wayne Bell caught key passes to bring Clemson to a 35-33 deficit with about three minutes to play. Faced with a third down and short-yardage on Clemson's 25-yard line, the Tigers were driving for the go-ahead score. Jackson, who had run from his tailback position down the left sideline, made a beautiful catch behind the cornerback and out-ran the safety to the end zone. That gave the Tigers a 40-35 advantage with 3:49 left and proved to be the winning touchdown.

Eli was tossing around a golf ball that Jackson had given him, and I sat on the fence and just soaked in the stories. And just think, without Jackson, we might not have Howard's Rock!!

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Walk down the WHAT***


Aug 13, 2020, 10:06 AM



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There's something in these hills.


dock?


Aug 13, 2020, 10:23 AM

.

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Why do dogs always race to the door when the doorbell rings? It's almost never for them.


Re: Walk down the WHAT***


Aug 13, 2020, 11:40 PM [ in reply to Walk down the WHAT*** ]

I presume it is d-i-k-e.

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Re: Howard's Rock and Clemson vs Virginia 1966


Aug 13, 2020, 10:17 AM

I know Jackie well! It's good he told you a "repeatable in public" story!!

I grew up in Clemson and my mother still has a picture from the paper from that game which shows Jackie running for the winning touchdown. The picture was taken from the hill side towards the West End Zone. At that time, there was a small fence at the back of the end zone. Myself along with several friends/teammates were dressed in our football uniforms and lined up behind the fence. We were around 8 years old. My mother has our names written above each of us. She actually pulled it out to show Jackie when he was over at their house several years ago!

The other important fact was that this kept the UVA "white meat" streak alive until Hatfield messed it all up!

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Re: Howard's Rock and Clemson vs Virginia 1966


Aug 13, 2020, 10:22 AM

I was a senior in high school and as a part of visitation saturday my parents and i went to that game. I remember that last reception. That Saturday played a big part in my deciding to go to Clemson. That was a big deal since I was originally from Roanoke VA. Tiger forever.

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Class of ‘71. Went through “rat season” and glad I did.


Re: Howard's Rock and Clemson vs Virginia 1966


Aug 13, 2020, 10:36 AM

And don't forget the Physical Plant set off the sirens blasting that sounded like the Russians had Atomic Bombs INCOMING!!!

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Re: Howard's Rock and Clemson vs Virginia 1966


Aug 13, 2020, 10:37 AM

Thanks for the story. I just love a good Frank Howard yarn.

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"If a pig had a better personality, he would cease to be a filthy animal."


Jackie Jackson was my tutor for reading


Aug 13, 2020, 11:12 AM

when I was in the 1st grade. He was from my home town, nice guy.

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Re: Howard's Rock and Clemson vs Virginia 1966


Aug 13, 2020, 11:29 AM

At Phil Rodgers funeral, the kicker (I'll leave him nameless) that missed 2 or 3 short field goals against Alabama in 1967 (13-10 loss) came up to coach Howard and said "Coach you probably don't remember me?"Coach Howard responded "Son, how can I ever forget you?"

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Attended that game at last moment with F-I-Law..


Aug 13, 2020, 5:26 PM

and we yelled & hollered together and bonded that day even though he really didn’t like me.

Ha...

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Re: Howard's Rock and Clemson vs Virginia 1966


Aug 13, 2020, 11:37 PM

Nikki has been on the same phone call at Clemson since mid-June? That is one heck of a long call.

;)


Thanks for passing along the story. Great read.

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