Howard's Rock

Either in 1964 or 1965, S.C. Jones, a member of the Clemson class of 1919, made a trip to California. He stopped at a spot in Death Valley, CA, and picked up this white flint rock. He presented it to Coach Frank Howard as being from Death Valley, CA, to "Death Valley, South Carolina." One day Howard was cleaning up his office and he told Gene Willimon to, "take this rock and throw it over the fence, or out in the ditch...do something with it, but get it out of my office." Willimon didn't think that was the way a rock should be treated. Instead, the rock was mounted on a pedestal at the top of the hill. It was unveiled in 1966, against Virginia. The Tigers were down 18 points and came back to win. Team members started rubbing the rock prior to running down the hill in 1967, a day when Clemson beat Wake Forest, 23-6. Prior to running down the hill that day, Howard told his players: "If you're going to give me 110%, you can rub that rock. If you're not, keep your filthy hands off it."

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