[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 170 (Monday, November 5, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2319-E2320]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    TRIBUTE TO SOUTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY BULLDOG FOOTBALL TEAM

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, November 5, 2007

  Mr. CLYBURN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the South 
Carolina State University Bulldog football team. This season the 
Bulldogs celebrate 100 years of play on the gridiron, and what a 
tremendous century it has been.
  In 1907, what was then South Carolina State Agricultural and 
Mechanical College played its first game against Georgia State in 
Savannah. Just 3 years later, SC State became a charter member of the 
Georgia (GA)-South Carolina (SC) Athletic Association, which eventually 
changed its name to the South Atlantic Association.
  In 1919, South Carolina State College won its first GA-SC 
Intercollegiate Association Championship. The Bulldogs were on their 
way to building a tremendous legacy.
  Just 4 years later in 1923, SC State lost an important rivalry game 
with Tuskegee College, 13-6, in Orangeburg. However, the loss fueled 
the fire in the Bulldogs, and they went on 4 years later to a perfect 
7-0 conference record and to capture their second South Atlantic 
Conference title. That season the team racked up six shutouts and lost 
only one game. This began the Bulldogs' reputation as a powerhouse in 
the South Atlantic Conference.
  Oliver C. Dawson was named the Bulldogs' head football coach in 1937, 
marking the beginning of a new era. Coach Dawson was a beloved leader 
on campus--teaching classes and coaching multiple sports. During his 
tenure, the football team took a 2-year hiatus due to World War II, but 
they came back full of passion. In 1947, they went undefeated in 
regular season play and took on Shaw University for the Black National 
Championship in Washington, DC. Although SC State lost that game 8-0, 
the Bulldogs showed the tenacity for which they have become famous. 
Coach Dawson left such a legacy at SC State that the current football 
stadium bears his name.
  Many trying years followed the 1947 successful season. The team 
struggled to regain its elite status, and then in 1965 tragedy struck. 
Player John Devlin of Greenwood was stricken while on the field and 
died. This sudden loss of a player and teammate revived the Bulldog 
spirit and the team went on to an 8-1-0 record that season under the 
leadership of Coach Oree Banks. Devlin's #31 jersey became the first 
ever retired in SC State athletic history. That same season, several 
Bulldog players received All-Conference honors, and Coach Banks was 
named SIAC and NAIA District 6 Coach of the Year.
  In 1970, SC State President Maceo Nance led the school to become a 
charter member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). This 
transition was followed by the need to find a new head football coach. 
In 1973, SC State tapped alumnus Willie Jeffries to lead the Bulldogs. 
Prior to Coach Jeffries' arrival, the Bulldogs had posted a dismal 1-9 
season. He followed that with a 7-3-1 record, which was just the 
beginning of a tremendous era in Bulldog football history.
  Under Coach Jeffries, the SC State Bulldogs built a record of 50-13-4 
in just six seasons, and won its first of eleven MEAC titles. In 1976, 
the team captured its first Black National Championship in a 26-10 win 
over Norfolk State.
  Due to his great success, other football programs sought Coach 
Jeffries' leadership. In 1978, he left to make history as the first 
African American head coach at a majority white university at Wichita 
State.
  The Bulldogs rallied under the helm of its former Assistant Coach 
Bill Davis, who led SC State to its second National Black Championship, 
and the first of two straight invitations to the prestigious Division 
IAAA playoffs. Coach Davis led the Bulldogs to dominate the MEAC in the 
1980s with back-to-back, 10-game seasons in 1980 and 1981.
  Coach Davis was succeeded by Dennis Thomas in 1985, who coached the 
Bulldogs for three seasons. Then in 1989, the Bulldogs' favorite son, 
Willie Jeffries, returned as head coach.
  In his second stint, Coach Jeffries produced seven winning teams. In 
1994, he led the Bulldogs to a 10-2 season, again winning the MEAC 
championship. Coach Jeffries ended his career as the Bulldogs head 
football coach in 2002, and he was succeeded by another SC State 
alumnus.
  Coach Buddy Pough left his assistant coaching job at the University 
of South Carolina to return to Orangeburg to lead the team he loved. 
His passion for the team and the players showed, as he orchestrated a 
new era of Bulldog dominance. In 2004, SC State compiled a 9-2 record 
and the Bulldogs once again were at the top of the MEAC conference. 
That season, the team ranked number two in the final polls of both the 
Sheridan Broadcasting Network and the American Sports Wire. They earned 
a Top 25 Division I-AA poll ranking from both the Sports Network and 
USA Today/ESPN. Today, Buddy Pough continues to lead the Bulldogs with 
the same tenacity.
  The South Carolina State Bulldog football team has compiled a vibrant 
100-year history. Over the century, the Bulldogs have won eleven MEAC 
titles. They have three National Black Championships in 1976, 1981, and 
1994, and earned NCAA Division I-AA berths in 1981 and 1982. Three of 
its players have been enshrined in the prestigious Pro Football Hall of 
Fame in Canton, Ohio--Marion Motley (Cleveland Browns, 1965), David 
``Deacon'' Jones (Los Angeles Rams, 1980) and Harry Carson (New York 
Giants, 2006). In addition to retiring #31 John Devlin's jersey, four 
other Bulldog standouts have had their jerseys retired--#66 Deacon 
Jones, #75 Harry Carson, #90 Donnie Shell, and #94 Robert Porcher.

  Madam Speaker, I invite you and my colleagues to join me in 
celebrating the extraordinary 100-year history of the South Carolina 
State University football team. As an SC State alumnus and football fan 
who spent my entire

[[Page E2320]]

life enjoying the talented and tenacious Bulldog teams, I commend the 
coaches and players who have contributed to this program's tremendous 
success. Go Bulldogs!

                          ____________________