Sept. 11, 2000
Bios compiled by Bernie Merritt Student Assistant Sports Info.
Dr. I.M. Ibrahim Men’s Soccer Coach, 1967-94 When anyone mentions the Clemson men’s soccer team, almost 100 percent of the time the name I.M. Ibrahim will be spoken. The man who brought Clemson into national prominence will forever be known for his colorful personality, his unrelenting desire to win and his unsurpassed coaching skills in the ACC and the rest of the nation for that matter.
It was in the late 1960s that Clemson first became familiar with Dr. Ibrahim. He was already a highly respected chemistry professor at the university, when the school began thinking of forming a varsity soccer team to compete at the intercollegiate level. Thanks to Dr. Ibrahim, what originally was just a club sport turned out to be a producer of some of the best Clemson athletic squads of the1970s and ’80s. His 1984 and 1987 teams won the National Championship, giving Clemson three national team titles in the 1980s (football, 1981).
Dr. Ibrahim started the program in 1967 and was the only men’s soccer coach Clemson had ever known until he retired in 1994. During his tenure, Clemson established itself as the ACC leader in men’s soccer as well as a national force. He coached 16 Tigers that landed 24 All-America honors and 51 Tigers were named to the All-ACC first-team 92 times. Coach Ibrahim also led Clemson to the NCAA Tournament 17 times and a Clemson coaching record six NCAA Final Four appearances.
Eighteen of his players earned ACC-Player-of-the-Year awards 12 times. During his 36 years with the Tigers, Dr. Ibrahim coached Clemson to 11 ACC Championships, 13 regular season titles and finished in the top 20 for 18 seasons. He finished with an overall record of 388-100-31. He coached three U.S. Olympians and retired as the nation’s fifth winningest coach.
Not many coaches in today’s sports world have stayed as long at any one school as Dr. Ibrahim. Nor have many coaches today been around since the inception of their respective sport. It is for those reasons though that the name Dr. I.M. Ibrahim is still mentioned in the same sentence as Clemson men’s soccer even today.
Elden Campbell Men’s Basketball, 1986-90 Who is the only common denominator between Clemson’s winningest men’s basketball teams in school history, 25-6 in 1986-87 and 24-8 in 1989-90?
Don’t know? Here are a few hints. He is the only men’s basketball player in Clemson history to record more than 100 blocked shots, steals and assists in a career. He is also the school’s career leader in field goals. Still having trouble? All right, one last clue. He just so happens to be the career scoring leader and is currently playing on the NBA as a Charlotte Hornet.
Know the answer now? None other than Clemson basketball great Elden Campbell. Clemson has had great players over the years in men’s basketball. Starting with Tree Rollins and Larry Nance, all the way up to Dale Davis, Sharone Wright and Greg Buckner, Clemson has had some outstanding talent. But, none of the previously mentioned players has done what Elden Campbell has done for Clemson men’s basketball.
In his four years here, Campbell made quite a name for himself as a scorer, shot blocker and steal artist. He played in more wins than any other Tiger in history (84). He also appeared in more wins during ACC matches than any other Tiger (32). Campbell was also a first-team All-ACC selection in 1989-90 as voted by the Atlantic Coast Sportswriters Association and the UPI. As a Tiger, he was voted honorable mention All-American by the AP, UPI and The Sporting News.
Campbell is the school’s career scoring leader with 1,880 points. He had a streak of 36 straight ACC games in which he scored double figures and is tied for first for the Clemson career lead in double figure-scoring games with 97. He also led the 1989-90 Clemson team that won the school’s only ACC title, winning the regular season championship.
After Clemson, Campbell still continued to shine with the Los Angeles Lakers, a team that made him a first round draft pick in 1990. He is the franchise’s #2 shot blocker in its history with 1,006. At one time he had at least 100 blocks in seven straight years.
So the next time someone asks, who led Clemson in scoring, blocked shots and field goals during the championship season of 1989-90, the answer should be clear: Number 41, the great Elden Campbell.
Michael Dean Perry Football, 1984-87 Every school has them. Some famous, Some not so famous, Some play different sports, some participate in the same, Some are separated by many years, Some play three or four years together. Whatever the case is, no other sibling pair will ever have the recognition that William and his little brother Michael Dean Perry had while at Clemson.
While the Clemson football team has had brothers play together or a few years apart, none are remembered more than the Perrys. There is Jeff and Joe Bostic, Gary and O.J. Childress, and Andy and Peter Ford, but still none of them made the big time quite like William and Michael Dean.
It was William that came to Clemson first proving himself to be an almost unstoppable force on the defensive line before taking the world by storm as a member of the great Chicago Bears teams of the 1980’s, forever to be remembered as “the Refrigerator.” But it was Micheal Dean that probably had the most success at the collegiate and professional levels.
Micheal Dean was a freshman in 1984, positioned right next to big brother. He played on two ACC Championship teams in 1986 and 1987. He also was a starter on defense for the ’86 Gator Bowl squad and the ’87 Citrus Bowl squad. Michael Dean led the Tigers with 15 tackles for loss and nine sacks in 1986 and 24 tackles for loss and 10 sacks in 1987. For his career, Micheal Dean had 61 tackles for loss, one more than William. He also has 28 career sacks, while William has 27. His totals for sacks and tackles for loss are Clemson records.
During his junior and senior seasons, Micheal Dean was voted to the All-ACC first-team and was a first-team All-American in 1987. He was one of three finalists for the Outland Trophy in 1987 while leading Clemson to a 10-2 overall record, 6-1 in the ACC. Also in his phenomenal senior season of 1987, Micheal Dean was voted ACC Player-of-the-Year, a rare distinction for a defensive player.
After Clemson, he went on to participate in six Pro Bowls with the Cleveland Browns and Denver Broncos, more than any other former Tiger. Recently, Micheal Dean was voted as the 10th greatest Clemson football player of the 20th century. In 1996 he was also voted to the Clemson Centennial Team.
There are only a few siblings that can lay claim to the likes of William and Michael Dean.
Jessica Barr-Dennis Women’s Basketball, 1992-94 When coming to Clemson to play women’s basketball, a player will undoubtedly be told of the great scoring and rebounding machine Barbara Kennedy. Her scoring titles and rebounding crowns will almost certainly be noted every time someone mentions her name as well as the fact that her number is one of just a handful of retired numbers in all of Clemson athletics. Trying not to be overwhelmed or overshadowed by all the greatness that surrounds the Lady Tiger program would be hard on anyone. It would even be next to impossible for someone to come along and make just as big a name for herself as Kennedy did years earlier. Don’t dare tell that to Jessica Barr though.
Barr came to Clemson in 1992 and played only two seasons for Jim Davis’ Lady Tiger program. However, she wasted no time making a name for herself. In 1993-94, Barr became only the third player in Clemson history to lead the team in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage. The only other two players to accomplish this feat are Kennedy (1982) and Shandy Bryan a year earlier than Barr, in 1993. She was also named a Kodak All-American and a Basketball-America All-American in her second and final year as a Lady Tiger in 1993-94.
Barr also became the first Lady Tiger ever to win the ACC Player-of-the-Year award for her outstanding play during the 1993-94 season in which she lead the ACC with 19.8 points per game and averaged 8.5 rebounds. She was nominated first-team All-ACC and ACC All-Tournament. Barr received District III Kodak All-American Team honors as well.
Her awards went well beyond the NCAA and the ACC after being named the state of South Carolina’s Female Amateur Athlete-of-the-Year. During her two years she was named MVP of the Hilton Head women’s basketball tournaments and was voted to the UNLV Tournament All-Tournament team in 1993-94. Her 594 points rank fourth in Clemson history for most points in a single season.
While Barbara Kennedy may be the first Lady Tiger someone speaks of, Jessica Barr made sure that she wasn’t the only Lady Tiger, to make a name for Clemson on the national scene.
Chris Patton Men’s Golf, 1986-90 Golf is a game of talent, skill, patience and practice. It is an age old sport that has only recently started to flourish again. It is a sport though in which few people in the world play well on a consistent basis. There are the few who do make it to the PGA and of course there is some guy named Tiger who is doing fairly well. But overall it is a sport only a few can excel in. Clemson Tiger Chris Patton just happens to be one of the few.
Patton is almost certainly one of the great Clemson golfers to ever tackle the links. He was on the Tiger golf team from 1986-90, yet 10 years later he still ranks second in school history in rounds in the 60s with 30 and rounds at par or better (70). He is also the third-ranked career stroke average leader with 72.72 strokes per round. Patton’s 73.55 average in the 1986-87 season as a freshman is still good enough for fourth on the Tiger top freshman seasons list.
He had 21 top 10 finishes, fourth best for the Tigers. His five tournament wins as a Clemson golfer are more than any other Tiger golfer in history. His win at the 1989 U.S. Amateur, makes him the only Clemson Tiger to win that event. Patton was a three-time All-American, a first-team selection as a junior and senior. He was just the second three-time All-American in Clemson history. Patton was named to the All-ACC first-team three years in a row as well.
During his sophomore campaign, he had a 71.85 stroke average, still fifth best in team history. He had seven top 10 finishes in just nine tournaments during that year also. He finished his career at Clemson in 1990 by winning the Frank Howard Award.
Patton was one of the exceptions who made it to the PGA tour, getting to play in the 1990 Masters, U.S. Open and British Open by virtue of his win at the 1989 U.S. Amateur. He finished the 1990 Masters 39th, the lowest score for an amateur though. He won the 1992 Australia PGA Championship and a NIKE Tour event in New Mexico in 1993. He continued to win at the 1992 Manitoba Open on the Canadian Tour and the 1991 Australia Match Play event.
James Trapp Men’s Track, 1990-92, Football, 1989-92 Most people find it hard to excel at any one sport. There just does not seem to be any way possible to become as good as the great athletes of each generation. It just takes so much practice and patience that it just seems pointless after a while. Now imagine though if someone tried to excel at two sports. Think that would be a piece of cake. Well, that is how it seemed for track & field extraordinaire and football letterman James Trapp.
Playing at the collegiate level is a hard task to accomplish. But when James Trapp stepped foot on the Clemson campus in 1990 he planned on participating in more than just one sport. It is for his excellent performances on the track though that has won him the right to join the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame.
Trapp was a 10-time All-American as he burned up the tracks at Clemson. He won 12 ACC titles, six individual titles and six titles as part of a relay team. He was the ACC Outdoor Meet MVP in 1990 and 1992. Trapp was also the 1992 200m Indoor National Champion. In 1993, he was the U.S. and the World Champion in the 200m indoor. Trapp holds the Clemson record in the 200m indoors and is also a member of the Clemson mile relay team that holds the Clemson indoor record.
He is one of just a few Tiger Olympians, having traveled to Barcelona in 1992 to compete in the U.S. 4x100m relay team in the 1992 Olympic Games.
Trapp was a member of six conference championship teams at Clemson. Three consecutive with indoor track, two with outdoor track and one with football in 1991. He ranked in the top 20 in the world in the 100m in 1992 and in the top 10 in the U.S.
Besides all the accolades won on the track, Trapp proved he could play another sport as well. He was a four-year letterman for the Clemson football team and was a starter on the 1992 squad. Few will forget his thrilling 39-yard interception return for a touchdown against Florida State on national television (ESPN) in 1992.
He has gone from two-sport star to be one of the fastest and most successful players in the NFL. He is currently playing with the Baltimore Ravens.
Rodney Williams Football, 1985-88 For some people Clemson football is just a game. For others, it is a serious sport. But for some, Clemson football is more than just a game or just another sport. It is a way of life for some including Tiger quarterback great Rodney Williams.
Williams came to the Clemson campus in 1985 and was immediately thrown into the mix making nine starts as a freshman for the Tigers. During his freshman year, he helped the Tigers win six games and earn a berth in the Independence Bowl. Clemson lost though, but for the next four years, Clemson would enjoy great success with Williams at the helm.
In the 1986 season Williams made great strides leading Clemson to an ACC Championship and a Gator Bowl berth. He completed 8-of-11 first half passes and executed the option to a tee, leading the Tigers to a 27-0 half-time lead against Standford. The Tigers held on to win 27-21, giving Williams his first bowl win and his first of two bowl game MVP awards.
The next season, Williams led Clemson to a 10-2 record, its second consecutive ACC title and another bowl game. The Tigers took on Penn State in the Citrus Bowl and won 35-10, still the largest victory margin in a bowl game against a Joe Paterno-coached team. As a senior, he led Clemson to another ACC Championship and a bowl game. The Tigers made their second straight trip to the Citrus Bowl and again Williams would lead the Tigers to victory (against Oklahoma) and along the way help himself win another bowl MVP award.
During his four years at Clemson, Williams posted some impressive numbers and still holds the school record for games won by a quarterback (32). He set Clemson career records for most pass completions (333) and most yards passing (4,647). He also set career records for most consecutive passes thrown without interception (122), consecutive games completing a pass (46) and most games started as a quarterback (44). As a starter, he led Clemson to four straight bowl games, three straight ACC Championships and three bowl victories in a row. He is the only quarterback to ever do this.
Clemson football has continued to be part of Williams’ life. He joins the Clemson Tiger Network along with Clemson Hall of Famer Jim Phillips “the Voice of the Clemson Tigers” and another Clemson Hall of Fame quarterback, Mike Epply.
Ute Jamrozy Women’s Track, 1986-88 Ute Jamrozy set the standard for not only Clemson women’s track athletes, but also for all ACC women’s track athletes. Nearly five year’s after starting competition in women’s outdoor track and field, the ACC began indoor competition for women.
At the first ACC indoor meet in 1987, Ute Jamrozy became the first Lady Tiger to win an ACC women’s indoor track and field title when she claimed the conference championship in the two-mile run. This was her second ACC championship, putting it with her 10,000m title from the 1986 outdoor meet.
But Jamrozy was not just known for her exploits on the track. She was also a pretty good all-terrain competitor. In 1986, she was an All-American in cross country based on her fourth-place finish at the NCAA Championship in Tucson, AZ. It is still the highest finish ever attained by a Clemson Tiger at the national meet.
Jamrozy’s name is still prevalent in the school record books. She remains the Tiger record holder in the two-mile run and is also the top Tiger in the indoor 3,000m run with a time of 9:15.04. She also has the school’s top mark in the 10,000m run outdoors with a time of 33:14.83. In 1987, she recorded the second-fastest time in the outdoor 3,000m, going 9:12.12. The time is currently third on the all-time list. She also ranks third in the 5,000m (16:20.91).
Sam Henson Wrestling, 1992-94 Wrestling is first thought of as something violent something seen on cable television with men or women wearing spandex suits and body and face paint. Very rarely is it seen in the sense the first Olympians saw when they competed in Greece in the first Olympics. Collegiate wrestling is a sport of skill and practice and power as well as thinking and maneuvering. It does not involve weird nicknames or crazy hand gestures. Clemson wrestling great Sam Henson performed it as an art.
One of the most decorated athletes at Clemson history is Sam Henson. He was a two-time NCAA Champion in the 118-pound class, winning titles in 1993 and 1994, becoming the second Clemson wrestler to win a national championship. He won the Frank Howard Award in 1994 after posting record numbers and being named the ACC wrestling MVP. Henson had an incredible 71-0 career record on the mats at Clemson, going 34-0 in 1993 and 37-0 in 1994. He was the ACC Champion in 1993 and 1994 in the 118-pound class. Even after collegiate wrestling Henson continued to win. In 1998 he was crowned World Champion in the 119 pound category. He will be competing in Australia in the Olympics this year.
Dr. Jud Hair Team Physician, 1957-85 Most fans do not see a lot that goes on in Clemson athletics because they are concentrated on what is going on between the sidelines. They don’t see the equipment managers sort and fold and dry and clean and paint and sew. They certainly don’t always see the trainers and physicians take care of the student-athletes day in and day out.
So, Clemson fans probably missed the action in a game when Hair was put on end on the sideline by a Clemson fullback running out of bounds. “We couldn’t see anything but the whites of his eyes,” recalled Dr. Byron Harder. “But like a pin ball machine, his pupils came back around. When he came to, he asked if anyone had gotten the license plate of the truck that had just hit him.”
Hair was in charge of student health services at Clemson for 28 years (1957-85) and served as the team physician for Clemson Athletics during much of that time.
Hair, who had a laugh you could hear “all over the building,” was honest and was a man of integrity, Harder said.” He taught me a lot about being honest with the kids from the start of an injury because it is a situation that is very serious to them.”
And for that honesty, Hair was respected by all student-athletes and his peers, like Harder, who learned a lot-the most important lesson: to back away from the sidelines when the ball carrier or receiver is coming your way.
April 18, 2024
