1958

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1958 in Clemson History

Notable Alumni

Events in 1958

  • In the 1958-1959 recession, the Southern Railway eliminates green and white paint for black and white on its locomotives as an economy move.
  • South Carolina Botanical Garden's Arboretum is created.
  • The President's Mansion is constructed.
  • The Pratt Read Company of Ivorytown, Connecticut, maker of piano keyboards and actions, moves its Piano Action Division to Central.
  • Lee Hall is constructed.
  • The number of women faculty stands at eight. (Reel, Jerome V., Jr., "Women & Clemson University: Excellence - Yesterday and Today", Clemson University Digital Press, 2006, ISBN 0-9771263-6-6, page 13.)
  • Chemical Engineering professor William B. Barlage, Jr. joins the faculty. He will become head of the department in November 1975.
  • March 15: In preparation for launching a closed-circuit radio station, The Clemson Agricultural College is granted Conditional membership in the Intercollegiate Broadcasting System, founded at Brown University on February 18, 1940. (Original document, WSBF-FM station archives.)
  • May 1: WSBF begins as a closed circuit broadcasting facility transmitting through the electrical wiring of the dormitories.
  • June 6: President Robert Franklin Poole dies unexpectedly after suffering a heart attack during an alumni reunion weekend.
  • June 8: At a meeting of the Board of Trustees, Robert Cook Edwards is announced as the new acting president.
  • September 20: Eighteenth-ranked Tigers open home season with a 20-15 win over Virginia.
  • September 26: Women arrive in town and on campus for the "Rat Hop" weekend. Clemson's own Jungaleers perform at the Friday night formal dance during which the freshmen and their dates form a grand march and a beauty contest. Nancy Bonette, a Clemson co-ed, is chosen as Rat Queen to reign over the weekend festivities. (TAPS 1959, page 110.)
  • September 27: Coach Frank Howard gets his 100th win at Clemson as the Tigers down North Carolina, 26-21. A new scoreboard above the hill is used for the first time, featuring a tiger that wags his tail when Clemson scores. Informal dance held afterwards with music provided by the Gladiolas, a rhythm and blues quartet. (TAPS 1959, page 111.)
  • October 4: Tenth-ranked Tigers defeat Maryland, 8-0, in College Park.
  • October 11: Ranked eighth, Clemson plays night game at Vanderbilt, wins, 12-7.
  • October 21: Freshman begin beating drum for 24 hours over the cadence of "Beat Carolina." The Rev. Gator Farr delivers his customary funeral eulogy for the Gamecock in a pep rally held in the Amphitheatre, saying "I come to bury this damn chicken, not to praise him.". (TAPS 1959, pages 112-113.)
  • October 22: Clemson cadre relocates to Columbia for "Big Thursday" eve - Blue Key sponsors dance featuring the music of rhythm and blues quartet, the Gladiolas. (TAPS 1959, page 112.)
  • October 23: Tenth-ranked Clemson plays South Carolina in Columbia, losing, 6-26. "'Big Thursday' was football for everyone. The Tigers failed to exceed Carolina's score, creating the upset of the season; however, Clemson spirit was not dampened. The men of Calhoun took the defeat as true sportsmen and the students continued to show their revelry following the game. They attended numerous parties, climaxed by a party in the Mehl-Ruhjan Room. Here the Clemson students partied, danced, and were heard using Carolina's coined phrase, 'Wait 'til next year.'" (TAPS 1959, page 112.)
  • October 31: Second-ever Tigerama is held with 10,000 in attendence. Central Dance Association holds dance afterwards featuring Ralph Marterie on the bandstand. Miss "Tootsie" Dennis is selected as Homecoming Queen. "After the dance a large number of students headed to the mountains and elsewhere for private parties." (TAPS 1959, page 116.)
  • November 1: Nineteenth-ranked Tigers defeat Wake Forest in Death Valley, 14-12. Dr. Wright Bryan crowns the Homecoming Queen, Miss "Tootsie" Dennis, at Halftime. (TAPS 1959, page 116.) Post-game dance is also provided music by Ralph Marterie and his band. "Then, as the night wore on, the end of a perfect dance drew near, and the beginning of a wild series of 'afterwards parties' loomed into sight." (TAPS 1959, page 118.)
  • November 8: Ranked seventeenth, Clemson travels to Georgia Tech, is shut out, 0-13.
  • November 15: A Clemson regular season football game is broadcast for the first time, by NBC, the team's second-ever telecast game. The Tigers beat the N.C. State Wolfpack, 13-6.
  • November 22: The Tigers, ranked sixteenth, host Boston College, winning, 34-12.
  • November 29: Twelfth-ranked Clemson wraps 8-3 season with 36-19 victory over Furman in Death Valley. Tigers are 5-0 in conference, for first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
  • The Clemson football team ends the season ranked twelfth in the Associated Press poll and 13th in the United Press International poll.
  • December 1: A tragic fire at the Our Lady of the Angels elementary school in Chicago kills 92 pupils and three nuns, leading to fire safety code changes nationwide.
  • December 24: It is announced that the Clemson rug used for running down the hill will accompany the team to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans - all 527 pounds of it.
  • December 25: Announcers for the upcoming 25th annual Sugar Bowl Classic are announced - Lindsey Nelson and Red Grange will call the game between number one-ranked Louisiana State University, coached by "Pepsodent Paul" Dietzel, and twelfth-ranked Clemson.
  • Late December: Tiger Band travels from the Clemson depot to New Orleans on the Southern Railway.


1957 The 1950's 1959