Overview
For fans that bleed garnet and black
Most South Carolina football fans have attended a game at Williams-Brice Stadium, seen highlights of a young George Rogers, and can recite memorable quotes from the team’s “Head Ball Coach,” Steve Spurrier. But only real fans know the history of the team’s alternate black uniforms, remember when Cocky first appeared as the team’s mascot, or know all the lyrics to “The Fighting Gamecocks Lead the Way.” 100 Things South Carolina Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die reveals the most critical moments and important facts about past and present players, coaches, and teams that are part of the storied history that is South Carolina football. Scattered throughout the pages, are pep talks, records, and Gamecocks lore to test fans’ knowledge, including the formative years of South Carolina football, from its origins in the 1800s to Paul Dietzel’s tenure in the 1960s and 1970s; George Rogers’ unforgettable 1980 Heisman Trophy season, including South Carolina’s upset of Bo Schembechler’s favored Michigan team in Ann Arbor; South Carolina’s entrance into the SEC in 1992 and Lou Holtz’s memorable tenure as Gamecocks head coach before Spurrier arrived in Columbia; and profiles of memorable Gamecocks figures such as Joe Morrison, Rogers, Dietzel, Jim Carlen, and recent stars Marcus Lattimore and Jadeveon Clowney. Die-hard fans from the days of George Rogers as well as new supporters of head coach Spurrier’s squad will enjoy this guide to everything Gamecocks fans should know, see, and do in their lifetime.
Author Biography
Josh Kendall covers South Carolina football for the State newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, and has written about SEC football for more than 15 years. He lives in Lexington, South Carolina. Don Barton is a former sports information director for the University of South Carolina and an athletics department historian. He lives in Forest Hills, South Carolina.
Press Releases
100 Things South Carolina Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die
By Josh Kendall | Foreword by Don Barton
MEDIA CONTACT: Bill Ames ∙ Triumph Books ∙ 312.676.4256 ∙ b.ames@triumphbooks.com
Most South Carolina fans have cheered along to "2001" as the players enter the field in a cloud of smoke, know about The Prank and believe in the Chicken Curse, but only real fans remember when Williams-Brice Stadium started to sway, can differentiate between Gerald Dixon Jr. and Gerald Gervais Dixon and tailgate at the Cockaboose railroad.
100 Things South Carolina Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die (Triumph Books, October 2013) by long-time South Carolina football journalist Josh Kendall with a foreword by University of South Carolina athletics department historian Don Barton reveals the most critical moments and important facts about past and present players, games and seasons that are part of the storied history that is South Carolina football. Page through the collection of anecdotes, legends and behind-the-scenes stories to discover:
- The meaning behind the Gamecock mascot
- The legacies left by coaches Rex Enright, Paul Dietzel, Jim Carlen, Lou Holtz and Steve Spurrier
- How the 1984 team earned the nickname "Black Magic," and why fans threw oranges at opposing teams
- The history of Big Thursday and the Carolina-Clemson rivalry.
Whether you're a die-hard fan from the days of George Rogers, Steve Wadiak and Lou Sossamon or a newer supporter of the Marcus Lattimore and Jadeveon "The Hitman" Clowney era, 100 Things South Carolina Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die will satisfy the appetite of the most zealous Gamecocks supporters.
About the Author:
Josh Kendall covers South Carolina football for The State newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, and has written about SEC football for more than 15 years. He lives in Lexington, South Carolina.
Don Barton is a former sports information director for the University of South Carolina and an athletics department historian. He lives in Forest Hills, South Carolina.
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