Gamecock history question

[uscfreek88]

hey, i was talkin to a friend the other day and we were wondering if black has always been a school color and if it hasnt when was it introduced, im kinda ashamed to have to ask this question b/c i am a diehard gamecock and go to USC but im only like 19 years old and i really have no clue what the answer is to this question

[truckingcock]

I can tell you as far back as the 50's yes, further not sure.

[gamecockgal]

hey, i was talkin to a friend the other day and we were wondering if black has always been a school color and if it hasnt when was it introduced, im kinda ashamed to have to ask this question b/c i am a diehard gamecock and go to USC but im only like 19 years old and i really have no clue what the answer is to this question



Back in the 1890's we used to be the Carolina Jaguars. I am pretty sure that we had different colors then, but I am not sure what they were.

Then one of the local newspapers said that we "fought like a bunch of Game Cocks" and it stuck. That is when we adopted the colors and mascot. I think it was around our thrid season or so, so about 1894 or so maybe?

I am not 100% sure about all of these facts. I am at work now, but in a little over an hour I will be home, and I will TRY to remember to check my history books to double check.

I kinda want to say that we may have started with orange and blue colors, but again I am not sure. I will check.

[Cockholio]

School Colors
Garnet and Black were adopted near the turn of the century as the official colors of the University of South Carolina athletic teams. The colors are the dominant ones on the gamecock, which is the University's official mascot for its athletic teams.


BTW, always feel free to ask questions and never apologize for being young. Many of us are envious of your position, 19 and in school. Good luck!

[onegamecock]

My father played football at Carolina from 1932-35 and he had a Gamecock pennant from that period and it was black. It had white Gamecock on the wide end and spelled out Carolina in garnet.

[gamecockgal]

Directly from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Carolina_Gamecocks


The official school colors are garnet and black. However, some officially licensed merchandise also contain gold, which represents the spurs historically worn by gamecocks in cockfights. The colors of garnet and black were chosen by the family of Dr. J. William Flinn when they presented a banner composed of those colors to the football team in November of 1895. There was no definite act of adoption of the colors, but an unsuccessful attempt was made shortly after 1900 to change the colors



I still cant find any information online about before then, but I hope I can find it when I get home in a little while.. I will keep searching!

[uscfreek88]

hey yall, thanks so much for all the help

[gamecockgal]

Okay I got the official answer:

Our colors were garnet and black since the beginning (1892) but it was 1902 that the Jaguars became the Gamecocks.


There ya go.

[Flameout12]

And best colors on the planet IMO. :football:

[uscfreek88]

Okay I got the official answer:

Our colors were garnet and black since the beginning (1892) but it was 1902 that the Jaguars became the Gamecocks.


There ya go.

woot woot thanks for the hardcore reseach :) points for you

[A-rod]

Why did they choose Gamecocks

[gamecockgal]

Why did they choose Gamecocks



Because someone in the local paper said after one of the football games that I think we had lost after a long fight that they fought like Game Cocks, referring to the fighting bird, as well a possible reference to Thomas Sumter, who was called the Fighting Gamecock. He is a local South Carolina historical figure, known for his toughness during the revolutionary war.

[hardcock2]

Many of us are envious of your position, 19 and in school.

No kidding!!....I know I am.:spurrier:

[NastyNash]

Because someone in the local paper said after one of the football games that I think we had lost after a long fight that they fought like Game Cocks, referring to the fighting bird, as well a possible reference to Thomas Sumter, who was called the Fighting Gamecock. He is a local South Carolina historical figure, known for his toughness during the revolutionary war.


I thought it was because of general Sumter nick name or something like that

[COCKDIESEL]

GamecockGal where are you getting references to the Jaguars. When I was in school I remember that a group of supposedly alumni were pushing for a return to the original mascot of the Jaguar to eliminate the "Chicken Curse". But it was pretty much debunked as a prank by some over zealous clemson pranksters and If I remember correctly they The Gamecock ran a story that showed that the team was never refered to as the Jaguars and that a picture the group had come up with was an excellent touch up on an old photo. They described the situation just as you have saying that the Gamecock name came from the newpaper guy saying they fought like Gamecocks, but said that before then the teams were just refered to as South Carolina, Carolina, etc. In the early days of intercollegiate athletics most teams were simply known as Texas, Oklahoma, etc. mascot did not come around till later. (I have know idea when mascots came around but schools were not always associated with them). So I was wondering where the info on the Jaguars came from because I had always heard it was a prank or myth or something but never that it was the truth.

[willy]

I can tell you as far back as the 50's yes, further not sure.



It was back when we were the Jaguars in the 1890's.

[uscfreek88]

No kidding!!....I know I am.:spurrier:

lol thanks yall, but yea i love history stuff like this so if anyone else has any really cool stuff to share, please feel free

[cockyhoskins]

Okay I got the official answer:

Our colors were garnet and black since the beginning (1892) but it was 1902 that the Jaguars became the Gamecocks.


There ya go.

Not sure if it was 1902 but we definitely were originally the Jaguars.

USC athletic teams were called the Carolina Jaguars, later changed to the Game Cocks and still later to the Gamecocks

[cockyhoskins]

The colors of garnet and black were chosen by the family of Dr. J. William Flinn when they presented a banner composed of those colors to the football team in November of 1895. There was no definite act of adoption of the colors, but an unsuccessful attempt was made shortly after 1900 to change the colors.[ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Carolina_Gamecocks#_note-1)

This is in the book A History of the University of South Carolina.

[The Dude]

I thought it was because of general Sumter nick name or something like that

The mascot did not ORIGINATE with Sumter, but it is derived in a loose way...

Saying that someone fought like a gamecock (as was referenced by gamecockgal...the Clemson boys did indeed claim our boys fought like a bunch of gamecocks) is only an applicable nickname due to the nickname that had been attributed to Thomas Sumter by the British.

Long story short- had General Thomas Sumter never been referred to as the fighting gamecock, the Clemson boys probably never would have used such a term to refer to our boys.

So, indirectly- our mascot is linked back to Sumter.

That being said- I wish USC would put up a statue of General Thomas Sumter on the horseshoe as the centerpiece. Hell...the Horseshoe (the original campus of the school) was built on Sumter Street...that along with our nickname is reason enough to lay claim to our historical roots!!!

[doccock]

GamecockGal where are you getting references to the Jaguars. When I was in school I remember that a group of supposedly alumni were pushing for a return to the original mascot of the Jaguar to eliminate the "Chicken Curse". But it was pretty much debunked as a prank by some over zealous clemson pranksters and If I remember correctly they The Gamecock ran a story that showed that the team was never refered to as the Jaguars and that a picture the group had come up with was an excellent touch up on an old photo. They described the situation just as you have saying that the Gamecock name came from the newpaper guy saying they fought like Gamecocks, but said that before then the teams were just refered to as South Carolina, Carolina, etc. In the early days of intercollegiate athletics most teams were simply known as Texas, Oklahoma, etc. mascot did not come around till later. (I have know idea when mascots came around but schools were not always associated with them). So I was wondering where the info on the Jaguars came from because I had always heard it was a prank or myth or something but never that it was the truth.

We indeed were the jaguars until 1902. From The Encyclopedia of Gamecock Football:

In 1892, just before our first game against the Furman Mountaineers:

"by popular vote of the student body, our colors would be garnet and Black and our nickname would be the Jaguars."

In 1902, which BTW was our best season ever % wise, we adopted the gamecock name. Again from the Encyclopedia of Gamecock Football:

"This was also the year that we abandoned our Jaguar nickname and adopted the feisty gamecock as our mascot, thanks to a Columbia tobacco merchant."

It happened after the Clemson game on Big Thursday. We won and the tobacco merchant put a big painting in his store window depicting a gamecock riding a tiger. Our students took it and paraded around the fairgrounds and main street. Following this was the famous armed showdown that very nearly caused a riot.

doc

[LurchCock]

USC's colors were only black and white back in the 1890's...from all the pictures I've seen anyway.

[Gamecock History]

This is a team photo from sometime between 1910-1920.

I will bust out my programs from the early 1900's and see if I can add any more definitive answers to this discussion.

[JAYBEZ]

The mascot did not ORIGINATE with Sumter, but it is derived in a loose way...

Saying that someone fought like a gamecock (as was referenced by gamecockgal...the Clemson boys did indeed claim our boys fought like a bunch of gamecocks) is only an applicable nickname due to the nickname that had been attributed to Thomas Sumter by the British.

Long story short- had General Thomas Sumter never been referred to as the fighting gamecock, the Clemson boys probably never would have used such a term to refer to our boys.

So, indirectly- our mascot is linked back to Sumter.

That being said- I wish USC would put up a statue of General Thomas Sumter on the horseshoe as the centerpiece. Hell...the Horseshoe (the original campus of the school) was built on Sumter Street...that along with our nickname is reason enough to lay claim to our historical roots!!!

You want to erect a statue because sumter has an thin thread of a connection to something someone may have said a hundred years ago about our players that was then twisted to change our mascot to the gamecock...

I think that may be a bit much. The plaque below it certainly would be a discredit to his historical imact. Typically, buildings and such on campus are named for those that have contibuted greatly to the betterment of the University... you know, presidents and such.

Not sure the obscure reference above warrants a statue. Probably better to argue his historical presence overall.

[gamecockgal]

We indeed were the jaguars until 1902. From The Encyclopedia of Gamecock Football:

In 1892, just before our first game against the Furman Mountaineers:

"by popular vote of the student body, our colors would be garnet and Black and our nickname would be the Jaguars."

In 1902, which BTW was our best season ever % wise, we adopted the gamecock name. Again from the Encyclopedia of Gamecock Football:

"This was also the year that we abandoned our Jaguar nickname and adopted the feisty gamecock as our mascot, thanks to a Columbia tobacco merchant."

It happened after the Clemson game on Big Thursday. We won and the tobacco merchant put a big painting in his store window depicting a gamecock riding a tiger. Our students took it and paraded around the fairgrounds and main street. Following this was the famous armed showdown that very nearly caused a riot.

doc



I think that is where I got my information as well. I actually checked in two books. One was the that encyclopedia, the other I think was my copy of 100 Years of Gamecock Football. I also had two other books I checked, one was on the Carolina/Clemson rivalry, and the other was a book of stories and ancedotes, but neither of them had any information. The information was cooberated in both books.
I also did some research online yesterday and very surprisingly came up with nothing at all, so I have to assume that both of those books are correct.

:football:

[The Dude]

You want to erect a statue because sumter has an thin thread of a connection to something someone may have said a hundred years ago about our players that was then twisted to change our mascot to the gamecock...

I think that may be a bit much. The plaque below it certainly would be a discredit to his historical imact. Typically, buildings and such on campus are named for those that have contibuted greatly to the betterment of the University... you know, presidents and such.

Not sure the obscure reference above warrants a statue. Probably better to argue his historical presence overall.

So, who do you think Sumter street was named after?
Many people have completely lost sight of the significance that SC heros such as Sumter have had in our past, and something like I have suggested is much needed.

Or heck...maybe we can just put up another new-age art statue...that'd be more appropriate.

[dan.man.44]

Im 53 and I only remember the Gamecocks having only black trim, either on the pants stripe or maybe on the jerseys around the numbers. Dietzel let the seniors wear a black helmet their last game. I went to a couple of USC-Clemson games in the late 60's when they were doing this. Didnt look too good.

[yazoo]

Back in the 1890's we used to be the Carolina Jaguars. I am pretty sure that we had different colors then, but I am not sure what they were.

I kinda want to say that we may have started with orange and blue colors, but again I am not sure. I will check.

Here is a link to a piece on the Transparency Incident of 1902. It explains it all in extreme detail.

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=92946918&blogID=279657041&Mytoken=268301F5-1CFD-4B48-8F97CCE6A14D5C4720470667

[doccock]

Clemson's President Mell stated in his letter that the image on the transparency was "too much for them to bear," meaning the Clemson cadets. He argued the violent actions of the Cadets were justified because the City of Columbia had refused to prohibit the Carolina students from displaying the offensive Gamecock symbol in the parade. Therefore, President Mell wrote, the city, "assumed responsibility for the transparency, its intended insult and the results occurring therefrom."
The failure to acknowledge responsibility and recognize that the Clemson cadets had acted lawlessly and breached the peace of the City, provoked a strong and direct response by the Editor of The State, A. E. Gonzales. Gonzales specifically blamed Lt. Sirmyer for the incident. He stated that President Mell should immediately dismiss Lt. Sirmyer as the Commandant of Clemson's Corp of Cadets. "One judges a tree by its fruit," wrote Gonzales. "The fruits of Lt. Sirmyer's actions have been lawlessness and provocation of domestic war."

Anyone surprised that even then the Clemtech leaders couldn't take responsibility for anything?
doc

[uscfreek88]

im not surprise doc, but man i cant wait to tell this to everyone that i went to high school with who went to clemson, i cant believe their skin was so thin back then....all i got to say is get over it