We bit on the halfback pass a couple of times***

1967 Clemson vs Alabama

tigerlex24® · 2025-07-20T17:00:11.293Z

A short clip of the '67 Clemson/ Bama game narrated by Bear Bryant Bear is highly complimentary of Clemson and Frank Howard Check out this video from this search, bear bryant narrates clemson game https://g.co/kgs/GCNbSNe May have to turn the volume on on the clip Message was edited by: tigerlex24®

was packed out. You can see the huge crowd on the hill.

Danny Ford was on the Bama sideline as a player. After the game Coach Bryant actually walked over to our sideline, and I overhead joking between him and Coach Howard. Howard said if he had Bryant's team, he would have won that game by four TD's. Bryant quipped if he had Howard's team, they'd be national champions!

By the way, that was the year, when during our first home game in September, that touching Howard's Rock became a tradition, and I was lucky to be on the hill that day.

Home games like that vs Bama, Georgia or South Carolina were big deals, as typically over 40,000 fans would fill DV, plus the CDA usually had big name bands for our Saturday night dances. During the games any hill sliding by kids was to the left of the north stands, as the eastf98 hill would be full. There would be a large number of folks standing due to sold out seats, but tailgating wasn't much of a deal in those days.

As a cheerleader, I always ate an early, huge breakfast, but never lunch, as I knew we'd be active on the sidelines the entire game, often running around the stadium to each side. We would pop salt tablets and drink water from the players' supplies. Since our dates usually stayed with professors' or administrators' families, wonderful folks like the Dr. J.B. Whitneys or Luke Hamiltons had spreads to feast on after games. Then, off to the dances dressed up, we went.

Message was edited by: hartins®

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had to look up the story on Howard and Peahead after what the Bear said.

Jul 21, 2025, 10:14 AM

Peahead and the Baron

By Jim Roberts

Douglas Clyde Walker and Frank Howard were both native Alabamians. Walker, the “city slicker” from Birmingham, and Howard, the “county bumpkin” from Barlow Bend were close friends and two of the most colorful characters in college football history. Howard tallied 165 victories at Clemson where he spent his entire head coaching career. That win total is still among the top forty in the history of the college game (tied with Bobby Dodd of Georgia Tech). Walker won 77 games at Wake Forest before resigning over a salary dispute with the athletic administration there. He is tied with Jim Grobe for the most wins in Deacon history.

These two great coaches were tough, “old school” types who were sometimes controversial and profane. They were always hilariously comical on the “banquet circuit”, especially when they appeared together.

Clemson and Wake met 13 times during Walker’s career at the school (1937-50) with Walker holding a 7-6 edge in games won. Probably aided by Clemson’s depleted rosters during World War II Peahead beat the “Baron of Barlow Bend” four out of six encounters from 1940-45. Clemson, of course, was an all military college in those days and sent more future officers into the conflict than any other school in America, including West Point.

The on-field rivalry ended when Walker left Wake Forest in 1950. He later became a very successful head coach of the Montreal Alouettes. While the Baron never faced Peahead again across the gridiron their off-field comical rivalry shifted into high gear.

Prior to his exit from Wake Forest Peahead and his boys came down to play Clemson in the 1940’s. Coach Howard arranged for a highway patrolman to get on the team bus when it parked near the stadium and arrest Coach Walker based allegedly on his resemblance to a fugitive who was being pursued in South Carolina. The patrolman handcuffed Peahead to a telephone pole and told him he would come back shortly with a witness to make an identification. The team didn’t know what to make of this and stayed on the bus. A few minutes later Walker was “released” and he and the team went to the old Fike Fieldhouse to dress for the game. The team and other coaches went through the gate onto the field to warm up, but in the confusion, Peahead had lost his sideline pass. The security guard at the gate would not let him into the stadium. The guard then agreed to let Peahead through the gate if the team captain came up and identified him. As Howard put it, “Ole Peahead was beside himself!” After being identified by his captain Walker was allowed to enter so he could join his team on the sideline.

Peahead got his revenge on the Baron several years later when Howard came to Canada for the first time to help his friend prepare the Alouettes for the upcoming season. The Baron came to Montreal several years in early summer to assist Peahead in pre-season workouts. (The Canadian Football League began play in July.) This was Howard’s first such trip.

Security was much more relaxed at airports in the 1950’s and Walker was able to convince a security officer to get Howard back for the practical joke at Clemson a few years earlier.

When the Baron entered the terminal a security officer with the Canadian Immigration Authority approached him. After asking his name he asked Howard what his occupation was. Howard, of course, replied that he was a football coach. After being told he didn’t look like a football coach, the officer then asked if he spoke French. Howard replied that he did not and was advised the he could not come into Canada if he could not speak French. The Baron was completely befuddled. About that time Peahead came from behind a curtain laughing uncontrollably.

Years later when Peahead told the story at a banquet where they were both speaking, Howard turned the story around on him: “Peahead, why don’t you tell the truth about that conversation. When that fellow asked me what my occupation was and I told him I was a football coach, the man said, ‘Welcome to Canada. That fella we got up here sure ain’t one!’” [Quoted from Frank Howard’s autobiography Howard – The Clemson Legend, copyright @ 1990 by Frank Howard, Bob Bradley, Virgil Parker]

There are many other stories about these two legendary figures. Frank Howard, along with Bear Bryant, Oklahoma’s Bud Wilkinson and Maryland’s Jim Tatum were among the pallbearers at Douglas Clyde Walker’s funeral. It is doubtful we will ever see again the camaraderie in the college coaching profession that existed in those days.

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1967 Clemson vs Alabama

Re: 1967 Clemson vs Alabama

Re: Gotta appreciate his compliments and candor. Really liked .....

Re: Gotta appreciate his compliments and candor. Really liked .....

Re: 1967 Clemson vs Alabama

Re: 1967 Clemson vs Alabama

Re: 1967 Clemson vs Alabama

Re: 1967 Clemson vs Alabama

Re: 1967 Clemson vs Alabama

Re: 1967 Clemson vs Alabama

My parents let me get out of school with a friend

Re: My parents let me get out of school with a friend

Re: 1967 Clemson vs Alabama

Re: 1967 Clemson vs Alabama

Didn't we also play them in the Valley in '69 and got beat like 45-0?***

Re: 1967 Clemson vs Alabama

Was there too..just 1 year after graduationing

Re: 1967 Clemson vs Alabama

Was on our sideline for that game, as a Clemson cheerleader, and DV

Re: 1967 Clemson vs Alabama

Re: 1967 Clemson vs Alabama

Re: 1967 Clemson vs Alabama

had to look up the story on Howard and Peahead after what the Bear said.

Dang Wild Hogg..knew you were #2 QB but

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