The Clemson Insider went back and ranked Clemson’s 25 best teams of all-time.
What classifies a certain team as one of the best? Of course winning a championship—national or conference—will be the first qualification. The other qualifications are overall record, national ranking and where they fell in the conference standings.
We continue our rankings with the No. 17 team on our list:
The 1959 Tigers (9-2, 6-1 ACC, ACC Champions, Final ranking No. 11)
In the Palmetto State, 1959 is mostly remembered as the year “Big Thursday” died. For the youngsters out there, “Big Thursday” was when Clemson and South Carolina played every year on the last Thursday in October.
The annual battle for bragging rights was always played during the State Fair in Columbia. From 1896-1959, with the exception when the rivalry was suspended for seven years from 1902-’09, the Tigers and their fans had to travel to Columbia every year to play the Gamecocks.
By the way, the Tigers pummeled South Carolina, 27-0, to kiss “Big Thursday” good bye.
However, because of the Death of “Big Thursday” people have forgotten how good of a team Clemson had in 1959. The Tigers became the first ACC team in history to repeat as outright conference champions. They finished 11th in the final Associated Press Poll and had one of the best defenses in the country.
Clemson had six players earn All-ACC status that year, including running back Bill Mathis, who nine years later was a running back for the New York Jets in the greatest upset in pro football history when the Jets beat the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III. Joining Mathis was All-American tackle Lou Cordileone.
Like most great Clemson teams, the Tigers were led by their defense in 1959. Clemson recorded five shutouts and held seven of their 11 opponents to 7 points or less. At one stretch, the Tigers recorded four straight shutouts against NC State, South Carolina, Rice and Duke. They also shut out Virginia, 47-0, and held Furman to three points in a 56-3 victory to close the regular season.
Clemson’s opponents averaged just 193.6 yards and 9.4 points per game in 1959.
The Tigers opened the year by winning six of their first seven games, five of which were shutouts. They also beat North Carolina, 20-18, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina to open the season in a battle of top 20 teams. Clemson was ranked 18th and the Tar Heels were No. 12 at the time.
As a matter of fact, Clemson played five of its first six games away from Death Valley and went 5-1 in those six games.
As mentioned above, the Tigers beat rival South Carolina in the last “Big Thursday” Game. Quarterback Harvey White completed 9 of 10 passes for 162 yards and two scores in the 27-0 victory. The Gamecocks finished the season 6-4.
Clemson clinched its second straight ACC Championship on November 21, 1959 thanks to George Usry’s one-yard touchdown with 4:24 to play in a come-from-behind 33-31 victory over Wake Forest.
The Tigers concluded the season with a dominating 23-7 victory over No. 7 TCU in the Bluebonnet Bowl in Houston, Texas. Clemson entered the final quarter trailing 7-3 to Bob Lilly’s Horned Frogs.
Lilly was an All-American defensive tackle at TCU, who went onto to have a Hall of Fame career with the Dallas Cowboys. He is known as Mr. Cowboy.
But early in the fourth quarter White hit Gary Barnes with a 68-yard touchdown pass to give the Tigers a 10-7 lead. Lon Armstrong then intercepted a TCU pass and returned it to the Horned Frogs’ 27. Three plays later, Lowndes Shingler found Tommy King open over the middle for a 23-yard touchdown. Just like that Clemson extend its lead to 16-7 with 7:32 to play.
Clemson put the game away with less than three minutes to go when Ron Scrudato capped a 63-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown. The Tigers held TCU’s vaunted rushing attack to 89 yards and to just 159 total yards of offense.
— Above photo was taken by the Columbia State Record Newspaper of Clemson head coach Frank Howard blowing a kiss good bye to the Big Thursday Game in Columbia in 1959. Clemson won the game 27-0. (photo courtesy of Clemson Athletic Communications)
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