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YOUR BALANCE
1977 Gator Bowl
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1977 Gator Bowl


Nov 30, 2018, 6:13 PM

I know we owe Pitt for the game they won in DV our National Championship year (2016), but if you talk to any old-timers who attended the only other game in which the Tigers played Pitt--the 1977 Gator Bowl-- we still owe them BIG-TIME for that embarrassment. Pitt had won the 1976 National Championship behind the running of some guy named Tony Dorsett.....and Dorsett was about the only player they lost off that team when Clemson was chosen to line-up against the Panthers in the 1977 Gator Bowl.

It had been a while since Clemson had been selected to play in a post-season game and the fans were truly excited especially after Steve Fuller had tossed "The Catch" to Jerry Butler against the chickens just a few weeks prior. ...... The faithful arrived in Jacksonville in droves beginning what would become a successful relationship with the Gator Bowl folks for many years....but the Panthers behind the generalship of Matt Cavanaugh made it clear from the first drive that the Tigers were out matched. It got ugly quick

Cavanaugh set a new Gator Bowl record for passing (300 yds give or take) while Clemson's only score came off the foot of Obed Ariri---a 49 yarder in the 2nd quarter that was also a Gator Bowl record.

But that game kinda signaled the end of some dismal times for the Tigers and the start of a new era that included lots of post season play.

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The Catch was what first got my attention for Clemson


Nov 30, 2018, 6:26 PM

I was 9. I suffered through the 1977 Gator, but became a full fledged fan the following year, and have been ever since. I still remember where I was when The Catch was made. Also of interest, following that 1978 Gator Bowl (a memorable game against an opponent who has never beaten US), I wrote a poem I have referenced many teams on this board.

One line was “Orange is the team that won the Gator; the Orange team won because they were greater.” Several other memorablelines, but no need to post them again.

Good times, and great memories of a young Tiger fan.

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Re: The Catch was what first got my attention for Clemson


Nov 30, 2018, 7:47 PM

I'm pretty sure that was the last time I got pukin drunk .

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Going to the Gator Bowl in 1977 was almost as.........


Nov 30, 2018, 6:30 PM

exciting for that time as going to the National Championship game is for us now (everything is relative).

You had to be around at that time like us "old timers" were. We hadn't been to a bowl game since the late 50s first of all. And in those days, you didn't have too many bowl games like there are now. Going to a bowl game in 1977 was a real honor you had to have an extra-special season to earn.

Yeah, Pitt kicked us around but we didn't know what to expect. But it was a big deal anyway.

The next year in the Gator Bowl is when we beat Ohio State - now THAT was a big deal!!

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Re: 1977 Gator Bowl


Nov 30, 2018, 6:35 PM

Thanks to Obed we did not get shutout that night.

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Re: 1977 Gator Bowl


Nov 30, 2018, 6:36 PM

I was there and I agree. Never got over it. The whole story is I was born and raised A Gamecock Fan. I Was at "The Catch" wearing Gamecock colors sitting with my Wife. Afterwards I truly was concerned the way the Fans were talking to my Wife. The cussing and threats were bad and I, dressed was a Gamecock but that made no difference. When we finally got to the Car, I old my Wife I would never pull for those ***holes again. We went to the Gator Bowl with Her parents. So my first game as a Full Tiger Fan was a loss. Yes I want revenge! My Wife was an IPTAY member then. We added my name and still are Members! So it's Go Tigers and Beat the He** out of Pitt!

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Re: 1977 Gator Bowl


Nov 30, 2018, 6:59 PM

Great story! My wife was a Gamecock fan from the time we married in 1973. I really didn't try to change her, but by the time of the '&& Coot game she had been to way more Clemson games than Scar games. When the Coots scored and took the lead and were showing their "No More Cigars" tee shirts, my wife started crying, and I then knew she had turned!

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Re: 1977 Gator Bowl


Nov 30, 2018, 6:38 PM

Sitting on the third row from the top I could see during warm ups we were in trouble. Also, froze my #### off. I thought we were going to sunny Florida.

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I remember a Pitt player taunting one of our guys...


Nov 30, 2018, 6:40 PM

holding the ball out in front of him as he crossed the goal line.

Classless. Let's STOMP their asssses tomorrow night!

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Oh, but remember Steve Fuller & Boys were fighting the Flu


Nov 30, 2018, 6:43 PM

or some bug and weak as water..plus this was Clemson’s 1st bowl in ?17 years and they were in awe, imho.

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Re: I remember a Pitt player taunting one of our guys...


Nov 30, 2018, 6:51 PM [ in reply to I remember a Pitt player taunting one of our guys... ]

He waived goodbye at the Clemson player on a long TD run.
He was flagged. Probably our biggest cheer of the night.

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Re: I remember a Pitt player taunting one of our guys...


Nov 30, 2018, 7:53 PM [ in reply to I remember a Pitt player taunting one of our guys... ]

You are correct. I was 14 at the time, and sat in the endzone corner where that taunting took place. I took some blurry pictures that night and somewhere I have one of that play with him holding the ball out as he crossed the goal line.

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Re: I remember a Pitt player taunting one of our guys...


Dec 1, 2018, 4:12 AM [ in reply to I remember a Pitt player taunting one of our guys... ]

me too and I agree

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Re: I remember a Pitt player taunting one of our guys...


Dec 1, 2018, 9:25 AM [ in reply to I remember a Pitt player taunting one of our guys... ]

I remember that too. The Pitt player taunting Clemson holding the ball out that way as he scored. They called a penalty on it.

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I remember the game, was 10 at the time


Nov 30, 2018, 6:42 PM

but my first bowl game was the '79 Peach Bowl at Fulton County Stadium. In my memory it was -40 degrees and the game lasted about 17 hours.

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“poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids.”


Re: I remember the game, was 10 at the time


Nov 30, 2018, 6:50 PM

Cold and wet. Buffs got us that night.

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Or the Bears


Nov 30, 2018, 6:52 PM

Miserable game.

Mike Singletary played for Baylor

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Re: Or the Bears


Nov 30, 2018, 7:06 PM

My bad. It was the bears from Baylor.

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Yep. I was there. Coldest I've ever been.


Nov 30, 2018, 6:52 PM [ in reply to I remember the game, was 10 at the time ]

And I've lived in Minnesota.

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Re: Yep. I was there. Coldest I've ever been.


Nov 30, 2018, 7:02 PM

Here's the game, almost hard to make out the players the video is so dated.

THEY HAD TWO REAL BEARS THERE

Those were the days....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mq-qhi9OZ_o

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“poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids.”


Re: I remember the game, was 10 at the time


Nov 30, 2018, 7:02 PM [ in reply to I remember the game, was 10 at the time ]

Most miserable game I have ever been to .... before or since. Cold as all get-out and the wind was whipping through the portals in Fulton County Stadium like a gale. I still remember the refs calling intentional grounding on Billy Lott when he threw the ball into the stands just trying to stop the clock at the end of the game.

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Re: I remember the game, was 10 at the time


Nov 30, 2018, 7:11 PM

Just watched the end and they did call intentional grounding with 12 seconds left. Probably didn't make any difference anyway.

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Re: I remember the game, was 10 at the time


Nov 30, 2018, 7:26 PM

funny that Lott went over to the Ref and the ref says "There was nobody over there son!"

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“poor kids are just as bright and just as talented as white kids.”


Re: I remember the game, was 10 at the time


Nov 30, 2018, 7:37 PM [ in reply to I remember the game, was 10 at the time ]

I thought the "79 Peach Bowl was very cold but the temperature was about 40 F. I had two tickets but needed two more. A friend of mine was on the Peach Bowl Board. I called his office but he was out. I told his secretary to have him call me but I never mentioned I needed tickets. He didn't call for a couple of days and in the meantime I was wondering if he got my message. When he did call, the first thing he said was, "I've got your four tickets and they are with me. We went down to Florida for Christmas and drove from Gainesville, FL. to Atlanta the day of the game. When we went to our seats, we were on the 50 yard line. My friend had a jug if hot coffee, another with hot chocolate and enough food to feed 12 people. But I still felt like I was freezing to death. That was the coldest 40 F. I've ever felt.

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Re: 1977 Gator Bowl


Nov 30, 2018, 6:46 PM

I was there as a kid and the Gator Bowl was a big deal back then. My grandfather was a huge UGA fan so the year before we were at the 1976 UGA/Pitt Sugar Bowl. I think the combined score of those two games was something like 67-3 Pitt. Back then Pitt was a powerhouse.
As good as the Gator Bowl was, Clemson played it safe by doing to the 1978 Gator Bowl ( the woody game) fearing if they didn’t take a Gator Bowl bid they’d be shut out by the Big Four then (Sugar, Orange, Cotton & Rose). Keep in mind all those four had conference tie ins except 3 slots. Clemson beat Ohio St & finished #4 in the country.

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Re: 1977 Gator Bowl


Nov 30, 2018, 6:48 PM

Think Hugh Green was playing that night as well.

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Re: 1977 Gator Bowl


Nov 30, 2018, 6:53 PM

I was 13 and went with my family. It was Clemson’s first bowl game in my lifetime! Imagine that today folks. Inconceivable!

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Re: 1977 Gator Bowl


Nov 30, 2018, 6:56 PM

Charley Pell had no answers that night. About 12 months later we had a new coach: Danny Ford :)

The rest is history!

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Re: 1977 Gator Bowl


Nov 30, 2018, 7:13 PM

The 77 Gator was the first bowl we went to because it was a new deal for Clemson. There are 2 memories that stand out from that night. The first was it was a rainy night and as we came through the portal, a huge majority of fans were decked out in orange jackets or rain suits and C-L-E-M-S-O-N was spelled out around the stadium and I remember the chills I got. The other memory was the Pitt quarterbacks threw from their knees and watching Matt Cavanaugh throw also gave me chills and not in a good way. He was awesome and of course went on to play for years in the pros.

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Re: 1977 Gator Bowl


Nov 30, 2018, 7:39 PM

We were there too, brother. My wife was so upset after we lost she wanted to fight a Pitt fan who was rubbing it in as we left the stadium.

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YeP..those Pitt Yankees gave us fits too outside stadium.


Nov 30, 2018, 8:16 PM

Jyst looked at them since a Chicken!

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Re: 1977 Gator Bowl


Nov 30, 2018, 8:17 PM

Yea I was there in 77 and 78. That Pitt Game was a disaster but the Woodie Incident with OSU the next year made up for it.

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Re: 1977 Gator Bowl


Nov 30, 2018, 8:41 PM

I was there . I was 16 years old. 34 to 3 Pitt. I was back the next year when Woody Hayes punched Charlie Bauman. 17 to 15 Tigers over the Bucknuts.

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Re: 1977 Gator Bowl


Nov 30, 2018, 10:12 PM

I was there. I had also gone to "The Catch" game. I was in the corner of the roach with the rest of the Clemson faithful when someone came out and announced that we had been invited to the Gator Bowl. The cigars were especially good that night. I went to Jax with 4 of my buds and my Clemson wife of 6 months. We spent all day Sat driving around Jax exploring. We had a few brews, too many cigars, and spent over $50 on tolls and ferry boats. The game ended up as a tough loss, but we were there to support our Tigers and we did that very well. One sidenote is that there was very few cigars left in Jax by the time we got back to our motel.

I was back in Jax the next year and had a much better experience. I was at the team motel and witnessed IPTAY giving Danny a brand new Jag. The story was that it was bought to give to Pell, but he left Clemson in the middle of the night. Good times! Good times!!

3 years later I was 450 plus miles South of Jax to see my Tigers play again in Florida.

GO TIGERS!!!!!


Be legendary and make more great memories for an old Tiger.

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Was there for "The Catch", the Pitt Bowl, the Woody Bowl,


Dec 1, 2018, 7:16 AM

the Baylor Bowl, and the '81 Championship. It's time to settle the score with Pitt.

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Re: 1977 Gator Bowl


Dec 1, 2018, 7:46 AM [ in reply to Re: 1977 Gator Bowl ]

Thanks for the cool memories! Hard to picture Danny Ford driving a Jag. They should have traded it for an F350!

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Class of '87


Re: 1977 Gator Bowl


Nov 30, 2018, 11:47 PM

I was there in those white overalls. About 10 of us were together. Clover, Newberry, and Lancaster folks and CU students.

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Re: 1977 Gator Bowl


Dec 1, 2018, 9:02 AM

Was thinking Pitt was also picked to win the 1977 National Championship but a major player was injured during a lot of the year but back for Gator... Maybe not remembering correctly?

From comments on here looks like several fans approaching Anniversary No. 50 as I am also -:). One last comment - it is so awesome to have a wife who loves football - especially Clemson Tiger football!!

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If people were as good as their obituary - and products were as good as advertised - this would truly be a wonderful world !!


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