Note: The following appears in the Boston College gameday football program.
College football recruiting is now a season into itself. Most fans have an idea who their favorite team is interested in well before a young man has reached his senior year of high school. With the way college football is today, most Tiger fans would not believe the narrative of how Clemson Hall of Famer Jimmy Addison, who today receives the Bond Distinguished Athletes Award, found his way to Tigertown.
Addison, a native of Fairfax, Ala., had an outstanding high school career, but at the time of his high school graduation, he weighed only 135 pounds. The plan was to attend junior college with the hopes of playing college basketball as his small frame added weight. All that changed when he returned home late one evening from an American Legion baseball contest.
“I was playing with the Auburn American Legion team and we had a game in northern Alabama. When I got home, the light in the living room was on. In my house, if a light was on that time of the night, someone had died.”
But that was not the case that evening. Unbeknownst to him, another Alabama great with Clemson ties had spent the day in Fairfax. Fred Cone, former Tiger great (Clemson Ring of Honor member) was an assistant for Frank Howard. Cone was watching tape at the local high school when Addison’s play stood out.
As the day progressed, Cone became more and more interested in the small quarterback who would go on to be nicknamed “The Needle.” Cone was surprised that Addison had not decided on a college destination and was still on the market. He then spent several hours with Addison’s parents (Virginia, Bill). A scholarship had been agreed to in the living room before Addison had even returned home.
“When I walked in the living room, Coach Fred Cone was there with my mom and dad,” recalled Addison. “They had already accepted a scholarship. It was fortuitous that I was not there. Coach Cone told me later that if he had seen me, I would not have been at Clemson. It is hard to play football when you are only 135 pounds.”
There were other hurdles for Addison to clear. Early the next morning, Cone and Addison made their way to Clemson. Practice had already been going on for four weeks and school had been in session for two weeks. Addison had taken the ACT in high school, but Clemson required an SAT score for admission.
Less than 48 hours from playing an American Legion game in Alabama, he had taken the SAT, was enrolled at Clemson and was the ninth quarterback on the roster.
“You could certainly say it was one of the most unusual set of circumstances that one could contrive. But looking back on it, it was like leaving one great family for another one. I knew no one when I came to Clemson, but my best friends today come from my college days and will remain that way for the rest of my life.”