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| Frank Howard |
| An era at Clemson University ended June 30, 1974, when Frank Howard officially retired from the payroll. Another era ended January 28, 1996, when Howard died at the age of 86 and forever silenced a voice that had been synonymous with Clemson for nearly 65 years. He was the school's best known ambassador. Although he retired from all official duties in 1974, he never quit coming to the office and he never stopped representing Clemson in a manner which continued to win friends for the place that was so dear to his heart. Howard retired from coaching December 10, 1969, after 39 years on the Clemson coaching staff, 30 of which were as head coach. He was also athletic director during this time and he kept this position until February 4, 1971, when he was named assistant to the vice president at the university, the post he held when the mandatory retirement age of 65 rolled around. Shortly after his retirement the Clemson Board of Trustees named the playing surface of Memorial Stadium as "Frank Howard Field" in honor of his long service to the university. It was only the third time that a building or installation had been named by the trustees for a living person. Over the years, Howard has been inducted into the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame and the Clemson Hall of Fame (charter member in both), as well as the Helms Athletic Hall of Fame and the State of Alabama Hall of Fame. On December 5,1989 he joined an elite group in the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame. The ceremonies took place in the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. He joined former Clemson mentors John Heisman and Jess Neely in the membership. Howard was also honored in December,1981, when he was inducted into the Orange Bowl Hall of Honor along with former Alabama coach, Paul "Bear" Bryant, and Tommy McDonald, a former Oklahoma star. In the summer of 1990 he was inducted into the Gator Bowl Hall of Fame. 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:' Howard was not only track coach from 1931-39, but served as baseball coach in 1943 and his 12-3 record that year is still among the best percent ages for a season in Clemson history. Howard held the line coaching post until Neely went to Rice University as head coach in 1940. When the Clemson Athletic Council met to name a successor to Neely, Prof. Sam Rhodes, a council member, nominated Howard to be the new head coach. Howard, standing in the back of the room listening to the discussion, said; "I second the nomination." He got the job and never left. When he retired as head coach following the 1969 season, he was the nation's dean of coaches, having been a head football coach at a major institution longer than anyone else in the United states. When he retired, he was one of five active coaches with 150 or more victories. |
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