Howard, Frank J.
Football
b. March 25, 1909, Barlow Bend, AL
Howard played guard at the University of Alabama in 1929 and 1930 and was called by his coach, Wallace Wade, "a great competitor and fine player all around." The team was known as the "Herd of Red Elephants" because of its overall size; Howard, at only 180 pounds, was called the "Little Giant."
After graduating in 1931, he became an assistant coach at Clemson and took over as head coach in 1940. He spent 30 years at Clemson, winning 165 games, losing 118, and tying 12. His 1948 team won all 10 of its regular season games and beat Missouri 24-23 in the Gator Bowl. Howard's 1950 team won 8 of 9, tying the other, and won the Orange Bowl 15-14 over Miami of Florida.
Howard retired after the 1969 season but remained as athletic director until 1972. A homespun humorist much in demand as a speaker, he pretended to be something of a country bumpkin but was, in fact, a Phi Beta Kappa.