Frank Howard (American football)

For other people named Frank Howard, see Frank Howard (disambiguation).

Frank J. Howard (March 25, 1909 – January 26, 1996) was an American college football player and coach. He played college football for Alabama. After a career-ending injury, Howard joined the staff at Clemson College and became head coach in 1940. Howard coached the Clemson Tigers for 30 years, amassing the 15th most wins of any college football coach. He led Clemson to ten bowl games, an undefeated season in 1948, and several top-20 rankings during his tenure as head coach. During his stay at Clemson, Howard also oversaw the athletic department, ticket sales, and was an assistant coach for the baseball team. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, the South Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and the Clemson Ring of Honor. The playing surface at Clemson's Memorial Stadium is named after him.

Frank Howard

Howard in 1955
Biographical details
Born	(1909-03-25)March 25, 1909 Barlow Bend, Alabama, U.S.
Died	January 26, 1996(1996-01-26) (aged 86) Clemson, South Carolina, U.S.
Playing career
Football
1928–1930	Alabama
Position(s)	Guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1931–1939	Clemson (line)
1940–1969	Clemson
Baseball
1943	Clemson
Track & field
1931–1939	Clemson
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1940–1971	Clemson
Head coaching record
Overall	165–118–12 (football) 12–3 (baseball)
Bowls	3–3
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
As coach: 2× SoCon (1940, 1948) 6× ACC (1956, 1958–1959, 1965–1967) As player: National (1930)
Awards
2× ACC Coach of the Year (1958, 1966)
College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 1989 (profile)

Coaching career

In 1963, after Maryland announced that African-American wide receiver Daryyl Hill was to play, Clemson threatened to leave the conference. Howard vowed that his team would not allow any black to play in their stadium, although Hill did end up playing in the scheduled game.

In the early 1960s,however, Howard allegedly showed compassion to the local community including those at segregated African-American school that he could not recruit. One of the football players was future Michigan State University All American and All Pro George Webster. As a junior at Westside High in Anderson, S.C. Webster suffered a knee injury. The injury could have spelled the end of his career, but then-Clemson coach Frank Howard helped Webster. Michigan State teammate Jim Summers of Orangeville, S.C., tells the story.

“Frank Howard made sure that operation at Clemson University’s medical facility,” Summers said. “George was probably the first black person to spend any sustained time on that campus. If it wasn’t for segregation, George probably would have gone to Clemson, Frank treated him so well.” George Webster was drafted 3rd in the 1967 NFL draft after winning two national championships.

Head coaching record

Football

Year	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Bowl/playoffs	Coaches#	AP°
Clemson Tigers (Southern Conference) (1940–1951)
1940	Clemson	6–2–1	6–0	1st
1941	Clemson	7–2	5–1	3rd
1942	Clemson	3–6–1	2–3–1	9th
1943	Clemson	2–6	2–3	T–7th
1944	Clemson	4–5	3–1	3rd
1945	Clemson	6–3–1	2–1–1	4th
1946	Clemson	4–5	2–3	T–10th
1947	Clemson	4–5	1–3	12th
1948	Clemson	11–0	5–0	1st	W Gator		11
1949	Clemson	4–4–2	2–2	T–7th
1950	Clemson	9–0–1	3–0–1	2nd	W Orange	12	10
1951	Clemson	7–3	3–1	5th	L Gator		20
Clemson Tigers (Independent) (1952)
1952	Clemson	2–6–1
Clemson Tigers (Atlantic Coast Conference) (1953–1969)
1953	Clemson	3–5–1	1–2	6th
1954	Clemson	5–5	1–2	5th
1955	Clemson	7–3	3–1	3rd
1956	Clemson	7–2–2	4–0–1	1st	L Orange		19
1957	Clemson	7–3	4–3	T–3rd		18
1958	Clemson	8–3	5–1	1st	L Sugar	13	12
1959	Clemson	9–2	6–1	1st	W Bluebonnet	11	11
1960	Clemson	6–4	4–2	4th
1961	Clemson	5–5	3–3	T–3rd
1962	Clemson	6–4	5–1	2nd
1963	Clemson	5–4–1	5–2	T–3rd
1964	Clemson	3–7	2–4	7th
1965	Clemson	5–5	4–3	T–1st
1966	Clemson	6–4	6–1	1st
1967	Clemson	6–4	6–0	1st
1968	Clemson	4–5–1	4–1–1	2nd
1969	Clemson	4–6	3–3	T–3rd
Clemson:		165–118–12	102–48–5
Total:		165–118–12
National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth
#Rankings from final Coaches Poll. °Rankings from final AP Poll.

External links

• Frank Howard at the College Football Hall of Fame
• Frank Howard at Find a Grave