1990

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1990 in Clemson history

Notable Alumni

  • Maj. Gary R. Fullerton - U.S. Marine Corps reservist, killed in mid-air collision of two F/A-18 Hornets over the Columbia River, Oregon, July 21, 2004.


Events that occurred in 1990

  • "Howard" by Frank Howard, Bob Bradley, Virgil Parker, is published by a printing house in Lincoln, Nebraska, softback, with ISBN 0-934904-22-7.
  • Winter: "VISIONSĀ : Clemson's Yesteryears, 1880s-1960s" by History professor Dr. Alan Schaffer, is published by Harmony House Publishers, Louisville, Kentucky, (ISBN 0-916509-55-9).
  • The City of Clemson dedicates a new City Hall building on Tiger Boulevard.
  • Musical group Sunbrain is formed in Clemson.
  • January: Eddie Smith joins the Clemson faculty.
  • January: "Because it's the Centennial Class, the Class of 1989 was able to revive for one time only a Clemson tradition that died in the 1960s - the senior sidewalk. Close to 3,000 students made a minimum donation of $10 each for the priviledge of having their names imprinted on a sidewalk that runs through the historic heart of campus near the Calhoun mansion. In the process, almost 100 percent of the class members became donors to the Loyalty Fund, the academic annual fund, as opposed to only 7 percent of the class of '88. Work began on the sidewalk in mid-January and was scheduled to be completed in April. Using 'movable type' - individual letters in a specially designed form - each name was spelled out and imprinted by hand. Kennemore Brick and Construction Co. got the contract to do the work. Both both the contractor and the facilities, maintenance and operations department (the P-Plant) have said 'Never again.' It's a slow and painstaking process, and there are not enough miles of sidewalk that need to be built or renovated to continue the practice. The administration is looking at other alternatives, such as bronze plaques on retaining walls, if future classes want to do a names project as a senior project." ("News Front", Clemson World, Spring 1990, Volume 43, Number 1, page 7.)
  • January 4: The Sheep Barn is placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
  • January 5: The N.C.A.A. outlines rules violations made by the Clemson Football program. The N.C.A.A. said a Clemson coach gave a player up to $150 on two occasions and told him to distribute the money to selected players. Six coaches were also accused of recruiting violations. Clemson officials have refused to say how many coaches named in the 15-page N.C.A.A. report were still employed. Rumours of Danny Ford's resignation begin to circulate. (Associated Press, "Clemson Drops Ford With $1 Million Deal", New York Times, January 19, 1990.)
  • January 9: Clemson reveals that it is under NCAA investigation: "The Clemson University football program is being accused by the National Collegiate Athletic Association of more than a dozen illegal recruiting contacts and of giving players up to $150 in cash from 1984 to 1988, an NCAA report released today said. / In the most damaging recruiting allegation, the NCAA says that from November 1984 to September 1987, six coaches made 11 illegal recruiting contacts, which included meeting with four high school juniors and one sophomore. The NCAA does not allow college coaches to recruit players in person until after the players are no longer juniors."
  • January 11: The USA Today quotes Danny Ford as saying that "one of my unhappiest moments" occurred when the school decided "to spend $2.5 million on a learning center, and [they] could have put all of that into an athletic dorm." (Source: Sperber, Murray, College Sports Inc. - The Athletic Department vs. The University, Henry Holt and Company, New York, 1990, ISBN 0-8050-1445-4, pages 264, 390.)
  • January 18: Danny Ford resigns as head coach after eleven seasons. He finishes his Tiger career tied for first in the ACC with 96 victories, and second in winning percentage. He was 96-29-4 overall for a .760 percentage. In 11 years as a coach, Ford had the third-best winning percentage among active coaches, behind Tom Osborne of Nebraska and Joe Paterno of Penn State, with a 96-29-4 record, including 6-2 in bowl games, and the 1981 unofficial national championship. Ford will receive $190,000 a year for the next three years and possibly five years if he does not accept another head-coaching job. The university also agreed to pay $13,000 in interest on Ford's farm and the balance of the mortgage -$100,000 - by Jan. 2, 1991, allowing Ford full ownership. Ford will also receive six Clemson football season tickets for the next three to five years.
Athletic Director Bobby Robinson praised Ford for his accomplishments but said there had been some conflicts.
"We have honest differences of opinion on certain basic aspects of the football program," Robinson said. "A separation under any terms would be difficult. An amicable parting is certainly less painful for all involved. That is why we felt it was in the university's best interests to agree to a fair settlement under the terms of Ford's contract and bring the matter to a close." (Associated Press, "Clemson Drops Ford With $1 Million Deal", New York Times, January 19, 1990.) Coverage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=3HS_ST7Nz8U
  • February: First woman to serve as president of the student body is Tracy Malcolm, who assumes the position when the elected male president resigns.
  • February 11: Nelson Mandela is released from Victor Verster Prison, near Cape Town, South Africa, after 27 years behind bars.
  • March 9: The Buzzard is published with alleged Volume 83.69, Number 16.123, Supplemental B. Lead headline is "President's mansion really a 'Ho House'".
  • April 22: Dr. Bruce F. Cook retires from the Clemson University Department of the Perfoming Arts after many years leading the Clemson bands, following a final directorial appearance with the Clemson University Symphonic Band in Tillman Auditorium on Sunday, April 22, at 3 p.m. Selections include A Copland Portrait, adapted by Clare Grundman, Robert Russell Bennett's Suite of Old American Dances, John Barnes Chance's Incantation and Dance, William Schuman's When Jesus Wept and Chester, Clemson Department of the Performing Arts Professor Edwin A, Freeman's Lydian Song, John Williams: Evening at Pops, arranged by John Higgins, and John Philip Sousa's El Capitan March
  • May 31: The NCAA places the Clemson football program on one year's probation after an investigation finds that two players received money, but the Tigers dodge serious sanctions that could have included a ban on postseason play and television. "We're glad to get it behind us," athletic director Bobby Robinson said. "It's been tough on a lot of people." The NCAA Committee on Infractions found that on at least two occasions in the fall of 1985, an athlete received and distributed cash payments of $50 and $70 to a teammate. (Associated Press, "Clemson on probation", The Journal-News, Seneca, South Carolina, Friday 1 June 1990, page D3.)
  • July 26: U.S. President George H. W. Bush signs the Americans with Disabilities Act, designed to protect disabled Americans from discrimination.
  • September 1: Famed football coach George Allen (long-time Washington Redskins leader), coaches his last season, leading Long Beach State in opener against tenth-ranked Clemson, but falls, 59-0. He suffers a heart attack and dies on December 31.
  • September 8: Fourteenth-ranked Virginia finally snaps ninth-ranked Clemson's 29-0 record over the Cavaliers with a 7-20 beating of the Tigers in Charlottesville. ClemsonWiki administrator Mark Sublette finds Virginia-color balloons staked in his front yard in Falls Church, Virginia, planted by the Cavalier Mom across the street. Ah well, it was fun while it lasted!
  • September 15: The tenth-ranked Tigers play Maryland in Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland, winning, 18-17.
  • September 22: Clemson, ranked seventeenth, hosts Appalachian State, wipes Frank Howard Field with them, 48-0. Poll voters are unimpressed.
  • September 23-September 27: Ken Burns' acclaimed documentary, "The Civil War" is first broadcast on PBS on five consecutive nights from Sunday to Thursday. Forty million viewers watch it during its initial broadcast, making it the most watched program ever to air on PBS, and to this day remaining one of the most popular shows broadcast by PBS.
  • September 29: Nineteenth-ranked Tigers play Duke in Death Valley, win, 26-7.
  • October 3: East Germany and West Germany unify into a single Germany.
  • October 6: Clemson, sixteenth in the A.P. poll, plays unranked Georgia in Memorial Stadium, defeats the Dawgs, 34-3.
  • October 13: Ranked fifteenth, the Tigers travel to the big city and play eighteenth-ranked Georgia Tech, with bad result, 19-21. The Jackets will go 11-0-1, and are 1st and 2nd in the final polls. DeChane Cameron makes Clemson assistant band director, Mark Greer, an instant celebrity with a pass well out of bounds. "CNN's Play of the Day and ESPN's catch of the week showed Greer, dressed in a suit and a tie, snare the pass on the track next to the stands. 'I had to dodge my companion, fade back and jump for it,' Greer said. 'It was a good throw.' Greer held the ball aloft as he high-stepped a quick circle. He then flipped the ball to an official before exchanging a high-five with someone nearby. Greer said he opted for the high-five because of his last catch, which came in the end zone when he was at Arizona State in 1985. 'I spiked the ball and got reprimanded by the referee,' he said. Cameron saw the catch and celebration on replay. 'I cussed him out,' he said with a laugh. It was Greer's second reception in 10 years but his first at Clemson." (McCallum, Mark R., "Tigers not cashing in on opportunities", The State, Columbia, S.C., Friday 19 October 1990, page 6-C.)
  • October 20: Clemson, ranked twenty-second in the A.P. poll, plays N.C. State in Raleigh, winning, 24-17.
  • October 27:The nineteenth-ranked Tigers defeat the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, 24-6, for Clemson's 500th victory.
  • November 3: The Tigers, ranked eighteenth, host the twenty-fourth-ranked Tarheels, defeating them, 20-3. A Frank Howard Reunion is held, with an introduction by Bob Bradley, invocation by Charlie Bussey, Senator Strom Thurmond as emcee, and speeches offered by Tom Barton, Marshall Walker, Charlie Bussey, Edgar McGee and Phil Prince. Jim Boyle is the portrait artist, a video movie, the "Frank Howard Era" by John Ballinger is shown, with remarks by the guest of honor, the Bashful Baron of Barlow Bend, Frank Howard himself. (Source: Reunion program.)
  • November 16: Barnyard Burn II pep rally held. Tee-shirts with classic old-school Phil Neel design are sold by Bi-Lo.
  • November 17: The Gamecocks are defeated in Death Valley, 24-15, as the seventeenth-ranked Tigers conclude a 9-2 regular season. Clemson is 5-2 in conference play, tied for second place in the ACC. Eight key players from this season's team are selected in the NFL draft. (Source: The Sporting News College Football Yearbook, The Sporting News Publishing Co., St. Louis, Missouri, 1991, page 67.)
  • November 30-December 2: The Peace Center for the Performing Arts opens in Greenville.
  • December 31: Long Beach State Coach George Allen dies, from ventricular fibrillation, in his home in Palos Verdes Estates, California, at the age of 72. Shortly before his death, Allen noted that he had not been completely healthy since some of his Long Beach State players dumped a Gatorade bucket filled with water on him following a season-ending victory over the University of Nevada, Las Vegas on November 17, 1990, when the air temperature was 50 degrees, with a biting wind.



1989 The 1990's 1991