Replies: 19
| visibility 1
|
All-In [27437]
TigerPulse: 100%
Posts: 31859
Joined: 8/19/03
|
I don’t believe a single Clemson fan would disagree with me
Jul 6, 2020, 4:27 PM
|
|
If I suggested that some kind of memorial be established within the athletic department honoring Herman McGee. I suspect that some things have been done to keep his memory alive at Clemson because he truly was a great Tiger. I’ve been a Clemson man involved with the athletic program for more than fifty years and I have never heard an unkind word about that great Clemson man. Truly loved by everyone who came in contact with him. Coach Howard would be the first to cast the vote for a monument of some kind honoring this black gentleman who loved Clemson more than anyone.
A lot of folks forget about these days at Clemson when the world was much different than it is now. Mr. McGee made up for every fault that Tillman or Calhoun may have had in earlier times. And we love him for it,
Go Tige
|
|
|
|
CU Medallion [53808]
TigerPulse: 100%
Posts: 23188
Joined: 10/10/11
|
Re: I don’t believe a single Clemson fan would disagree with me
Jul 6, 2020, 4:39 PM
|
|
I would like to see that happen.
|
|
|
|
|
110%er [9110]
TigerPulse: 94%
Posts: 13832
Joined: 7/1/02
|
I agree 100% - knew a number of guys.....
Jul 6, 2020, 4:40 PM
|
|
who played football at Clemson when I was in school. Everything they and others who knew Herman McGee said he was a fine man with class who represented Clemson University well.
|
|
|
|
|
Orange Blooded [3195]
TigerPulse: 100%
Posts: 3256
Joined: 10/19/08
|
100% agree***
Jul 6, 2020, 4:43 PM
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Orange Blooded [2952]
TigerPulse: 100%
Posts: 2399
Joined: 1/7/18
|
Re: I don’t believe a single Clemson fan would disagree with me
Jul 6, 2020, 4:45 PM
|
|
I would donate to a memorial if needed.
|
|
|
|
|
Orange Blooded [3230]
TigerPulse: 100%
Posts: 1048
Joined: 1/12/12
|
Start the petition!
Jul 6, 2020, 4:59 PM
|
|
Everyone of that era understands the value this man was to our football program. Ask any player!
Go, Tigers! BYOG!
|
|
|
|
|
CU Medallion [68587]
TigerPulse: 100%
Posts: 115740
Joined: 11/30/98
|
Re: I don’t believe a single Clemson fan would disagree with me
Jul 6, 2020, 5:00 PM
|
|
I agree and I guess I thought something had been done to name a training room or something after him previously. If it hasnt it is overdue
|
|
|
|
|
All-In [27437]
TigerPulse: 100%
Posts: 31859
Joined: 8/19/03
|
Re: I don’t believe a single Clemson fan would disagree with me
Jul 6, 2020, 5:06 PM
|
|
I think that this has been done but few outside of the Clemson family will ever see or know of this. I think that something within the stadium would have more meaning.
|
|
|
|
|
Legend [16631]
TigerPulse: 100%
Posts: 14956
Joined: 1/26/99
|
I disagree
Jul 6, 2020, 5:01 PM
|
|
with anyone who disagrees with this
|
|
|
|
|
All-TigerNet [10888]
TigerPulse: 100%
Posts: 9396
Joined: 12/29/06
|
Re: I don’t believe a single Clemson fan would disagree with me
Jul 6, 2020, 5:41 PM
|
|
I'll donate to it. Herman was as fine a man as ever set foot on the Clemson campus!
|
|
|
|
|
All-In [26290]
TigerPulse: 100%
Posts: 20776
Joined: 7/31/07
|
Re: I don’t believe a single Clemson fan would disagree with me
Jul 6, 2020, 6:12 PM
|
|
I'm pretty sure something has been done to honor him. I have a relative that played Tiger baseball and he received a letter requesting donations for a bust or something to remember him. Don't know if they received enough to do something but he should be honored. He advised a lot of homesick white boys at the time.
|
|
|
|
|
All-In [27437]
TigerPulse: 100%
Posts: 31859
Joined: 8/19/03
|
Re: I don’t believe a single Clemson fan would disagree with me
Jul 6, 2020, 7:31 PM
|
|
Thanks for the favorable and well thought out responses.
|
|
|
|
|
All-In [27366]
TigerPulse: 100%
Posts: 26233
Joined: 9/19/11
|
You'd have some fans disagree with you, FT, if you said
Jul 6, 2020, 7:45 PM
|
|
something unarguable like "ETN's a great running back."
It's just the way some people are. So don't expect a unanimous opinion on something much more subjective.
To your point, Herman McGee was GREAT guy and deserves recognition somewhere.
|
|
|
|
|
All-In [48078]
TigerPulse: 100%
Posts: 49059
Joined: 5/16/04
|
Re: I don’t believe a single Clemson fan would disagree with me
Jul 6, 2020, 7:51 PM
|
|
Who is he and what's his story?
|
|
|
|
|
Orange Blooded [3339]
TigerPulse: 100%
Posts: 2266
Joined: 1/3/11
|
Good write-up (link)
Jul 6, 2020, 8:13 PM
|
|
https://clemsontigers.com/clemson-vault-herman-mcgee-everyones-friend/Clemson Vault: Herman McGee, Everyone’s Friend. by Sam Blackman Although he never scored a touchdown or pitched a strike for Clemson, for scores of Clemson student-athletes and coaches he was just as important. This key person in the Clemson athletic department was Herman McGee. McGee was the long-tenured athletic trainer/equipment manager, counselor, confidant, and everybody's pal who served Clemson for 46 years. Frank Howard once said about McGee during his retirement years, "when former athletes come back to visit, I'm not the first person they look for, they want to know, where's Herman?" Football great Joel Wells echoed this in a 1976 interview. "Anytime I go back to Clemson, I check and see if Coach Howard is around and then I check and see if Herman's around, too. I just wouldn't feel that I'd been back to Clemson if I didn't see them." McGee meant a great deal to many student-athletes at Clemson. From massaging a bruise, taping an ankle, or talking to a student-athlete and sharing words of encouragement, McGee was there, giving his whole-hearted effort to help the Tigers attain success. Herman first started working for Clemson in an unofficial capacity when he was just a small fellow. Jess Neely was the athletic director and head football coach, and Howard was one of his assistants. Bert Johnson, Herman's stepfather, worked at Clemson and also served as a groundskeeper for the athletic department. Each afternoon a group of young fellows helped him work on the fields. "They'd cut grass and picked up rocks, and we paid them off in old baseballs, footballs and sweatshirts," Howard said. "Herman was always in the crowd, and he would catch your eye because the little fellow worked so hard, a lot harder than the others. I guess I first met Herman when he was six-years old." "When his stepfather died, I had become the athletic director and head coach and I gave Herman his job. He was 16 years old when we officially put him to work." Except for a stint in the Army during World War II, he proudly worked for Clemson. Little did McGee know that in March 1934 when they put him on the payroll at the young age of 16 that he had found a home. At that time the athletic department was operating out of a small cramped area in the basement of Godfrey Hall (old textile building). "We had an infra-red light and a hot plate which heated water in a big galvanized tube where we kept our hot towels," McGee said. "About every second or third towel you'd take out you'd get the full force of 110 volts where that tub was touching that hot plate." "We just taped the ones who really needed it," said McGee. "If they could walk, we sent them on out to the practice field." Back in those days the practice field and the playing field were at Historic Riggs Field. McGee remembers the mode of transportation in the late 30s and early 40s. "It was either by bus or by train. I remember the first flying trip I went on. People saw us off in Anderson and wished us well. But it wasn't too long until we were back on the ground in Anderson with a dead engine. While most people thought we were at our destination, we were sitting at the Calhoun Hotel (Downtown Anderson) eating and waiting for another plane to arrive." McGee once said in an interview that he helped take 18 sections of bleachers down to Columbia for the Big Thursday game with South Carolina in Columbia each year for the Clemson fans to use. McGee was part of the growth of Clemson athletics. He recalled when the athletic department moved into the front part of Fike Field House. A year later the first game was played in Memorial Stadium. He said those were big events for Clemson. The native of Pendleton, SC was always out there on the field when Clemson athletes were on the field in practice or at games. But his work wasn't always done when the games or practices were over. When student-athletes had athletic problems, school problems, or personal problems, many called Herman up in the night and had conversations with him. "Through the years, our athletes have told Herman things, have shared problems with him that they wouldn't be about to share with anybody else," Howard said. He was just about as good at helping solve problems and making people feel better mentally, as he was in curing their physical ailments. What was his secret?--a dose of sympathy and understanding. His door and heart were always open. "If anybody loved Clemson, then Herman loved them," said former Tiger baseball coach Bill Wilhelm. He was also the trainer for Tiger baseball through out much of his career. There were two things Herman refused to do-to name his favorite sport and his favorite athlete. "I like whatever sport is in season. I love everyone who played or coached here at Clemson," McGee once said. He did say in an interview that the play that stands out in his mind the most was in the 1951 Orange Bowl. Against Miami, the Tigers' Sterling Smith tackled Frank Smith of the Hurricanes for a safety giving the Tigers a 15-14 victory. "I'll never forget that one," said McGee. He was inducted into the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame in 1976. In June 1965, McGee was recognized by the National Athletic Trainers Association for "twenty-five or more years of meritorious services in the field of athletic training." McGee died suddenly on March 9, 1980 at the age of 62. "I never heard anyone say anything bad about Herman," said Wilhelm. "That's a pretty high tribute to a man." The impact that McGee had on Clemson and the student-athletes he helped will never be registered on a scoreboard, in a record book, or on a stat sheet, but more importantly the countless Tiger coaches and athletes he touched are winners for having known him.
|
|
|
|
|
All-In [48078]
TigerPulse: 100%
Posts: 49059
Joined: 5/16/04
|
Re: Good write-up (link)
Jul 6, 2020, 8:22 PM
|
|
Sounds like an amazing person.
|
|
|
|
|
Orange Blooded [2951]
TigerPulse: 100%
Posts: 1196
Joined: 10/1/11
|
Re: I don’t believe a single Clemson fan would disagree with me
Jul 6, 2020, 8:16 PM
|
|
I think you did find something that everyone would agree on.....
Does anyone know how to kick start something like this? GoFundMe? Through IPTAY?
|
|
|
|
|
All-In [27437]
TigerPulse: 100%
Posts: 31859
Joined: 8/19/03
|
Re: I don’t believe a single Clemson fan would disagree with me
Jul 6, 2020, 8:58 PM
|
|
If the opportunity presents itself I’ll mention it at an Iptay meeting. It’s amazing that things like this are NEVER mentioned during critical times like we heard after the shooting that captured all the headlines. It’s great that the Tigers had the “togetherness parade” but Clemson has been together for a long time! imo
When I was a student in the early 60s Herman and his staff were a common sight on campus. One of his assistants taped an ankle for me in Redfern one rainy morning after I took a hard spill running to class. I could see why the players held him in such high esteem.
Back in those days most of the ladies who worked in the dining hall were local black girls. Never in my years at Clemson did I ever hear an unkind word of any kind said to those girls. We all got to know them on a first name basis and they looked out for the cadets. It was a big moment then to be away from home and Mama for the first time just like it is now. Clemson had a lot of special people make it a lot easier. Like these ladies. I wish I had told them how important they were. Life is good... at Clemson
|
|
|
|
|
1st Rounder [600]
TigerPulse: 80%
Posts: 307
Joined: 1/5/09
|
Re: I don’t believe a single Clemson fan would disagree with me
Jul 6, 2020, 9:10 PM
|
|
There is a large mural honoring our man Herman just outside of the locker/ training room in the stadium, but not available to the public to see and admire. I agree something more visible and public would be appropriate!
|
|
|
|
|
All-In [25467]
TigerPulse: 100%
Posts: 14722
Joined: 11/3/11
|
I actually met him before Coach Howard and
Jul 7, 2020, 7:03 AM
|
|
instantly developed a great respect for his knowledge and ways of accomplishing things. And I made a point of seeking him out to say goodbye when I graduated.
When he died in 1980, the news struck fairly hard, as his death was unexpected, and I thought then he deserved a special recognition.
Thus, FT, of course, I agree with you. He should be so honored.
|
|
|
|
Replies: 19
| visibility 1
|
|
|