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The Sylvania Times - SPORTS Section B
Wednesday, August 30, 2023 - Page 3
THE SHORT-LIVED TENURE
OF BILL FULCHER BEGINS
SCHS ATHLETICS 1960-61 PARTI
By Burton Kemp, Sports Editor
for
'll 11 ; Sylvania Times
Sandy Hershey left
SCHS in late July 1960
for the “greener” pastures
of Sumter SC. A local
publication for some reason
said that he was getting “a
deserved promotion.” His
new bunch of Gamecocks in
Sumter had won five games
the previous three seasons
including winless records in
both 1957 and 1958. After
Charles Mussellwhite was
given Hershey’s job, he
resigned that same SCHS
position a week later, headed
for Presbyterian College.
Next Bill Fulcher was
named the Head Coach and
Athletic Director effective
August 8. Now comes
the proverbial “the rest is
history” statement, for two
years at least. Fulcher was
a graduate of Richmond
Academy and Georgia
Tech, an outstanding athlete
at both. He was twice a
member of the Washington
Redskins and a member of
the British Columbia Lions
of the fledgling CFL as well
as an assistant coach at his
high school alma mater
ARC. Finding a quality
head coach in August is
tough, but Fulcher’s final
knee injury made continuing
his professional career
impossible and he was
looking. Another new face
on the SCHS campus was
band director Paul Holmes.
Now with over 100
members the Gamecock
Athletic Booster Club was
a growing force within the
athletic department. That
would become painfully
evident all too soon. The
newly elected officers for the
1960-61 athletic year were
Alex Boyer president, Tom
Black vice president, and
George Jarrard secretary/
treasurer (a position held by
the SCHS Principal since the
club’s inception). The Board
of Directors included Joseph
C. Smith, Dave Reed, W.
E. Pace, John Fitzner, Asa
High, Jimmy Harper, and
James Rooks. Bill Fulcher
spoke to the group telling
them, “It is hard to follow
a successful coach...”. He
went through the athletic
department finances saying
the total program had cost
$8,434.71 for the 1959-60
year. Games had brought in
$3,709.50 and the Boosters
had raised $2,407.13. His
explanation for where the
other $2,000+ came from
was not recorded. He also
told the Boosters a 50-50
record “will be good.” It
was also announced that the
Lions Club would handle
concessions at the home
games, the last season at
Cail Field. John Fitzner and
Sheriff Don Jamerson were
in charge.
On August 4 UGA bound
Richard Boykin rushed for
51 yards on five carries,
made several tackles, and
returned a punt for 35 yards
as the South beat the North
27-0 in the annual GACAA11
Star game. The Savannah
Morning News called
Boykin the Screven County
“will o’ the wisp.” Bill
Fulcher’s Gamecocks met
for physicians on August 11
and went to PC for camp on
the 14th. While football was
at camp in Clinton SC, the
cheerleaders were at camp at
Rock Eagle. They were Jane
Anderson, Dale Miller, Caye
Miller, Rhetta Carter, Nancy
Simmons, Chrissy Boykin,
Mary Mobley, and Carolyn
Stuart. Also at camp were
Judy Gonya and Frances
Barlow.
Starters for Bill Fulcher’s
first game were Glenn
Pierce at quarterback, Jerry
Black, Warren Norman,
and Gene Boddiford in the
backfield, with a line of
ends Robert Clifton and
John Horton, tackles Bill
Pace and Jerry Parker,
guards James Brower and
Ralph Daniels, and center
Tommy Sowell. Others on
the published roster were
Ben Boyer, Jerry Black,
Ray Thompson, Rupert
Aaron, Louis Johnson, Jody
Smith, Cliff Bazemore, Ed
Boddiford, Albert Boyd,
Claude Royal, Ernest
Hancock, Dewall Waters,
Joe Landrum, Charles Reed,
Alan McElveen, Ted Evans,
James Rooks, Howard
Vam, Charles cleland,
Marion Griffin, James
Robert Williams, Tommy
Horton, Dean Taylor, Jimmy
Nunnally, Elliot Hagan,
Wayne Moore, and Bill
Bazemore. Jack Hobbs was
the new Assistant Head
Football coach and Athletic
Director.
Unfortunately, there was
limited success in the early
going for Bill Fulcher’s
1960 Roosters, especially on
offense. Shut out losses to
Groves (18-0) and Allendale
(19-0) began his tenure.
Warren Norman’s nine yard
TD run in the second quarter
of the third game produced
the team’s first points of the
season, but Jenkins County
tied the game in the fourth
quarter and 6-6 was the final.
The day after the tie with
Jenkins County, Saturday,
September 17, the opening
day of the 1960 collegiate
season, the UGA Bulldogs
were on national tv from
Legion Field in Birmingham
AL. UGA was the defending
SEC champion and ranked
number 13. In Sylvania
the big news was that
sophomore Dan Davis was
the number two halfback
for the game. UGA lost the
game to the Crimson Tide
21-6 but the points for the
Red and Black came from
a Fran Tarkenton scoring
pass to Davis. He scored a
touchdown for UGA in the
first game in which he was
eligible to play. At that point
in history freshmen were not
allowed to play in varsity
games.
A trip to Macon on
September 23 for a date with
Dudley Hughes Vocational
left its mark on the SCHS
single game record book
and provided Bill Fulcher
with his first win as a head
coach. The game was also
the first Region 2-A contest
of the season. According
to Bill Fulcher the Macon
Telegraph said “Dudley
Hughes should have a much
easier time of it this week
when they host Screven
County, a team from
Sylvania, Georgia...” Taking
but 20 players to Macon,
Fulcher played everyone
possible in the 72-0 victory.
The score was just 6-0 into
the second quarter. While
the home team totaled -39
yards the Roosters scored
11 touchdowns, only four
extra points, and a safety.
Gene Boddiford rushed
for 201 yards and Warren
Norman 199. Boddiford,
Norman, Glenn Pierce, Jerry
Black, and Ray Thompson
had two touchdowns each.
John Horton added the other
with a scoring reception.
Boddiford had four extra
points. With only ten players
on the field SCHS scored
twice in a six minute span.
Hughes Vocational, which
just four years before (1957)
had gone 8-2 and finished
with a number six ranking
in Class C, forfeited its
final game of that 1960
season and never fielded
a football team again. Its
last coach, Goot Steiner,
moved to Lanier Macon
which became Central
Macon in 1970 and won
three region championships,
being ousted from the state
playoffs by eventual state
champion Valdosta in both
1968 and 1969.
After the win in Macon
SCHS defeated region
foes Cochran 14-12 and
Washington County 7-0.
In between was a 7-7 tie
with nonregion Camden
County. With the victory
over Washington County on
October 14 the Gamecocks
stood at 3-0 in region
play. Statesboro, eventual
state champion Dublin,
and Swainsboro were all
2- 1. Hope began to swell.
Things did not end so well
for the Red and White as
there were losses to each
of the then 2-1 teams -
Statesboro 27-13, Dublin
21-0, and Swainsboro 25-
14 at Homecoming. That
Homecoming loss was the
last SCHS football game
ever played at Cail Field.
Baseball continued there
into the 21st century. The
final record for 1960 was
3- 5-2, representing the
fewest wins ever at SCHS
to that point. The team’s
3- 3 region record was good
enough for a fourth place
finish, the program’s fourth
in five years. Once again
Region 2-A produced the
state champion, the fifth time
in seven years. A footnote,
new to the SCHS coaching
staff in 1960-61 was John
Boykin. He came to SCHS
from Camden County High
School where, among other
things, he had been the
Head Baseball Coach. In
a ceremony at the October
17 SCHS-CCHS contest in
Camden Boykin received
the 1959-60 GACA Baseball
Coach of the Year. His
Camden team had been the
Region 1-B champion. They
were ousted from the state
playoffs by eventual state
champion Dudley Hughes
Vocational of Macon.
Two other former
Gamecocks were also in the
news in the late fall. Rookie
Robert Waters (the number
two quarterback behind
John Brodie on this day)
came off the bench with
less than two minutes to go
and the 49ers trailing the
defending NFL champion
Baltimore Colts 22-20. He
completed two passes, the
final for the winning score.
Waters was on all special
teams and also played in
the secondary. Freshman
Richard Boykin caught a 52
yard scoring pass to help the
UGA freshmen tie Georgia
Tech.
At the season ending
football banquet Warren
Norman was named the
Most Valuable Back,
Tommy Sowell the Most
Valuable Lineman, Ralph
Daniel the Best Downfield
Blocker and Ernie Hancock
the Best All Around. Charles
Britt, former UGA Bulldog
and then a member of the
Los Angeles Rams, was
the guest speaker. Robert
Waters was also there.
During the disappointing
4- 6 season for UGA Dan
Davis eventually carried the
ball 17 times for 59 yards
and caught three passes
for 19 yards. At the end
of spring practice in 1961,
Davis was the number one
halfback.
1960 Cheerleader Captain
Nancy Simmons
1960 Cheerleader Captain
Chrissy Boykin
1960 Football Captain
James Brower
1960 Football Co-Captain
Jerry Black
1960 Most Valuable Back
Warren Norman
1960 Most Valuable Lineman
Tommy Sowell
One of the few things to go right for the Dirty Bird defense Friday night was a fumble recovery in the fourth
quarter. It was caused by Rodney Beckwith and recovered by Kashard Prescott (photo by Donetta Priest)