'Mud, Sweat and Cheers' exhibit examines Palmetto State football

COLUMBIA — The brief and undistinguished history of the College of Charleston football program contains the following episode:

In an 11-0 victory against The Citadel in 1910, freshman phenom Alex Pregnall resorted to a bit of mischievous gamesmanship. He tucked the ball under his jersey and ran for 60 yards before being tackled just shy of the goal line.

Pregnall's dash might stand as the program's crowning highlight. After an 0-8 showing two years later, trustees disbanded the team.

Conversely, Newberry and Presbyterian have enjoyed long, storied traditions, and a rivalry stoked by a stolen hat. A Newberry student took the derby from one of his Presbyterian contemporaries during a basketball game in 1947, and the schools, trying to allay the students, had the hat returned and bronzed at a local jewelry store.

Hence, the beginning of the colleges' famed "Bronze Derby" contests, a rite that concluded in 2006 with Presbyterian's jump to a higher division.

Those tales — football fables, if you may — can be retold and relived in fuller detail at the South Carolina State Museum exhibit, "Mud, Sweat and Cheers," on display through Feb. 8. The piece covers football in the Palmetto State, beginning with the first recorded game between Wofford and Furman in 1889, up to 2000. The dates allow for fudging (Harry Carson's 2002 College of Fame award is shown), though the exhibit largely confines itself to that period, focusing on high school, college and professional materials.

The museum approached colleges, high schools and former players for items, many on loan from other museums, schools and private collections.

The Charleston Museum lent a maroon jersey thought worn by college players in 1910. Likely modified at home, the jersey shoulders are hand-stitched, padding added.

Summerville High's John McKissick, the famed coach with more wins than anyone else, loaned his red letterman sweater and leather helmet from his playing days in Kingstree.

An assortment of other photographs, trophies, postcards, tickets and unusual memorabilia give scope.

Example: A copy of the Miami Herald, mailed to the wife of Clemson icon Frank Howard following his team's Orange Bowl triumph in 1951.

"It's never been unwrapped," says museum chief curator of history Fritz Hamer.

South Carolina diehards might recognize one of coach Paul Dietzel's "Black Hats," or black helmets awarded to seniors such as lineman Mike McCabe. But they might not remember the Gamecock statuettes: doll-like figurines of football players Dietzel gave to some team members.

The exhibit also recounts, notably, high school football before integration. Blacks and whites went to separate schools and played in separate leagues. Much of the history is forgotten, the records lost, Hamer explains, as schools combined and black schools closed or became schools for lower grades.

Fortunately, Sims High School in Union is remembered. Sims won 96 consecutive games, beginning in September 1946, good for third all-time nationally. Carver in Spartanburg finally stopped the streak, winning 20-12 in September 1954.

"The story of that is pretty much lost except for the alumni and a few children of some of these alumni," Hamer says.

The exhibition even takes fans into consideration, creating a tailgating space to show off a large, 5-foot circular peanut roaster used during Carolina games in the '30s and '40s.

Green indoor/outdoor carpeting covers some of the exhibit space, and chain link cordons off a few pieces, including a pair of Summerville state championship trophies.

"What we're really trying to do is give you the impression that you're going to a football game," says Jake Brown, exhibit designer.

And you can, actually. Seated on wooden bleachers, fans can watch 10- to 15-minute clips from several significant games. Choose from Wofford's loss to Florida State in the 1950 Shrine Bowl, Summerville's state title win against Saluda in 1956 or Carolina's upset of Texas a year later.

Also playing: Clemson's 1982 Orange Bowl victory to clinch the national title, and the 1978 Gator Bowl, made famous when Ohio State coach Woody Hayes slugged a Clemson player near game's end.

Mud, sweat, cheers, jeers, black hats and a punch or two: Palmetto State football at its finest.

Reach Rob Young at 937-5518 and ryoung@postandcourier.com.