Celebrating 70 Seminole Seasons

From MacLean to Cook

By Charlie Barnes

Seventy seasons have come and gone since that chilly October night in 1947 when Florida State football was reborn as more than 7,000 fans crowded old Centennial Field to witness Florida State University's first game of the new era.

Fans recognize all the names and personalities who populated the Seminole football landscape from 1947 through 2016. Their legends and stories live on and continue to delight us.

Here are a few highlights from seven Seminole decades.

1947-1956

His record was 90 yards on the ground and it still stands after 73 years. In 1944, University of Florida freshman running back Ken MacLean scored the longest Gator touchdown run from scrimmage against Georgia in the rivalry that spans more than a century.

After World War II, Marianna native MacLean returned to finish his education at Florida State; he is generally credited with being the most prominent student voice pushing FSU to field a varsity football team.

On Oct. 18, 1947, FSU quarterback Don Grant launched the first pass, and Ken MacLean came down with it. MacLean became Florida State's leading receiver and ground-gainer those first two seasons, 1947 and 1948. Last year, Ken MacLean donated a special football to Florida State athletics. It is shriveled, but white paint clearly marks it as the 1948 Homecoming ball game, presented to MacLean following the 33-12 Seminole victory over the University of Tampa.

That first season's schedule was an ad-hoc affair cobbled together by the program's only two coaches, Head Coach Ed Williamson and Assistant Jack Haskins. Williamson served without pay. Haskins coached the University's gymnastics team and created the FSU Flying High Circus the same year.

In 1948 the Seminoles hired former Indiana football star Don Veller as head coach. Florida State had joined the Dixie Conference, a league comprised of FSU, Howard College, Millsaps, Mississippi College, Stetson and the University of Tampa. During the next three years the Seminoles never lost a league game. Veller's three year record was 24-2 including a victory over Wofford in the 1950 Cigar Bowl. In 1951, the Dixie Conference voted to disband, perhaps having grown tired of shipping all the championship hardware to Tallahassee every year. The night that new Doak Campbell Stadium was dedicated in 1950, Little All-American quarterback Bobby Bowden led the opposing Howard Bulldogs.

As the decade progressed, names on the Seminoles schedule become more familiar to college football fans. Georgia, Georgia Tech, Miami, Louisville and Auburn replaced Erskine, Sewanee, Cumberland and Randolph-Macon.

To attack this enhanced schedule, FSU hired Tom Nugent as both head coach and director of athletics. Nugent was a brilliant innovator and created football's I-formation while coaching Virginia Military in 1950. Also a high-energy recruiter, Nugent won the battle for coveted running back Burt Reynolds in 1954.

The 1955 Sun Bowl vs. Texas Western (now UTEP) should have been a Seminole victory, but Reynolds was held to 35 yards on seven carries, and back Lee Corso was injured and carried off the field. It was rumored and never entirely denied that on the night before the game, bon vivants Reynolds and Corso led teammates across the border into Juarez, Mexico for an international adventure.

Reynolds was badly injured in spring practice and never recovered, but he has remained a loyal Seminole. Corso held the Seminole record for career interceptions (14) until it was broken by Monk Bonasorte in 1980.

1957-1966

Even now, the graying men who played for Florida State in the 1950s call themselves "Nugent's Boys." Nugent departed for Maryland after six years, but his final 1958 season may have provided his most memorable achievements for FSU.

The Seminoles had never beaten an SEC team and we travelled to play the Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville at the end of October. The Knoxville newspaper was especially nasty, knowing that FSU had a member of the famed Majors family on our squad. Seminole Joe Majors was kin to Tennessee's great tailback Billy Majors and All-American Johnny Majors. On game day, the paper sniffed, "The fact is, Billy Majors is a first class player on a first class team, and Joe Majors is a second class player on a second class team."

Led by quarterback Vic Prinzi, halfback Bobby Renn and end Tony Romeo the Seminoles not only beat Tennessee, they shut them out on their home field 10-0. Until we met again in 1998 in the Fiesta Bowl, it was said that FSU athletic directors could not even get the courtesy of a reply to inquiries about future games vs. Tennessee.

On November 7, 1958 FSU beat Miami 17-6 for the first win in that series. The first-ever game against Florida was next.

The University of Florida saw no advantage to ever playing the Seminoles, but politics forced the issue and Florida relented, as long as all future games would be played in Gainesville and only SEC officials would be employed. The inaugural game took place on Nov. 22, 1958. Florida won the game, 21-7, but we got our licks in first, scoring the first points in the series on Florida State's first possession.

A forgettable Bluegrass Bowl game vs. Oklahoma State at the end of 1958 was the first national broadcast of any FSU football game. It was also the debut of a then-unknown announcer named Howard Cosell.

Coach Bill Peterson came aboard in 1960 and was a beloved Seminole fixture for the next 11 years. Like Tom Nugent, Peterson was an innovator. His pro passing offense at FSU flummoxed opponents and caught the college football world by surprise. Based on a chance conversation about the passing game at a coaching clinic, Peterson hired young Bobby Bowden to be his receivers coach. Bowden had at his disposal the legendary Fred Biletnikoff, along with Red Dawson, TK Wetherell and, later, the great Ron Sellers.

The Peterson era was one of great optimism, excitement and achievement. The "Sod Game" tradition was born following the 1961 shutout victory over Georgia, the first of four wins in a row over the Bulldogs. Another highlight of 1961 was the 3-3 tie with Florida. Gator Head Coach Ray Graves said "it was like a death in the family."

The 1964 season was remarkable, due in no small part to the "Seven Magnificents" - the extraordinary defensive line. Seminole defenders shut out the season's first three opponents, including Miami. Then, fourth-ranked Kentucky came to Tallahassee. The Seminoles decimated the Wildcats 48-7. The story is told that the FSU defender who allowed the lone Kentucky touchdown feared going to the Seminoles locker room after the game.

The University of Florida had resisted all calls to play home and home. They demanded something they believed FSU could not accomplish - increase the capacity of Doak Campbell Stadium to 40,000. FSU had been planning the expansion for some time and the announcement left Florida with no choice but to come to Tallahassee for the first time.

Florida players wore shirts proclaiming "Never, FSU, Never."

Steve Tensi and Fred Biletnikoff worked their magic and the final score was 16-7 with the Seminoles on top. The Seminoles would go on to dismantle Oklahoma in the Gator Bowl.

1967-1976

The genius of Peterson's passing scheme made an unexpected and dramatic appearance on Sept. 23, 1967. Top-ranked Alabama hosted the 0-1 Seminoles at Legion Field for what should have been the routine dismissal of an overmatched opponent. Hammond and Sellers, Larry Green and Bill Moremen and the Seminole offense racked up over 400 yards against the No. 1 defensive team in the nation and scored 37 points, a number equal to the total points scored against the Crimson Tide in the entire 1965 season.

ABC was on hand filming a documentary about the great Bear Bryant. The finished production included film of Bryant storming up and down the sidelines during the FSU game yelling "What the hell is going on out there?"

The Seminoles won six more in a row going into Gainesville for the season finale in front of the largest crowd ever to see a game at Florida Field to that point. Kim Hammond went to the locker room with a head injury before halftime. In the fourth quarter, Hammond shook off the daze and found the old magic connection with Ron Sellers. FSU won their first victory on Florida's turf, 21-16.

Joe Paterno was in his second year as head coach of the Nittany Lions when Penn State played FSU in the 1967 Gator Bowl. PSU led 17-0 at the half, but FSU stormed back to shut the Lions out in the second half as Hammond and Sellers each set Gator Bowl records on offense. The game ended in a 17-17 tie.

After Bill Peterson departed in 1970 for Rice and then the Houston Oilers, the Seminole skyline began to darken. New Head Coach Larry Jones had a good first year,with the Seminoles playing in the Fiesta Bowl at the end of 1971.A considerable amount of player talent included Heisman candidate Gary Huff and 1973 first round NFL draft pick Barry Smith. But Jones' hold on the program began to unravel after a disappointing 7-4 mark in 1972 when all four losses came in the last seven games. Both Jones' career and Seminole fortunes crashed in the winless 1973 season.

Bobby Bowden had been considered as a candidate for the FSU job in 1971 after Bill Peterson left, but he decided to remain at West Virginia. Now Bowden returned to Tallahassee where he had worked under Peterson helping direct Seminole offensive glories in the 1960s. His first season was a losing one, 5-6 in 1976. But the next four years put FSU on the major college map and established Bowden's reputation as the "riverboat gambler."

1977-1986

The Seminoles had not defeated the Gators since 1967, but now Bowden ran off four victories in a row between 1977 and 1980. Songs were written about it; "When he came to Tallahassee, the only good thing was the band…"

On Sept. 16, 1978 the figures of Chief Osceola and Renegade made their first appearances. Jim Kidder would play the role for three years under the tutelage of Tallahassee businessman Bill Durham.

Bowden's signature win in his first five seasons was the 18-14 upset victory over Nebraska in 1980. Until then, Florida State was viewed as a regional team with no conference affiliation. The Nebraska win did much to establish FSU as a player on the national stage.

One week later, the third-ranked Pittsburgh Panthers and Dan Marino fell in Tallahassee 36-22. The Seminoles had never been to a New Year's Day Bowl; now the Orange Bowl invited us twice, back-to-back in 1980 and 1981.

In the early 1970s AD Clay Stapleton had raised desperately needed funds by selling away games to schools with no expectation of a return game in Tallahassee. This practice found its most horrendous end result in the infamous "Octoberfest" of 1981. In addition to the regular schedule featuring Miami and Florida, the Seminoles would also play Nebraska, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Pitt and LSU in a row with all of the games on the road.

As every student of Seminole history knows, FSU beat three of those five October opponents: Ohio State, Notre Dame and LSU. National sports media crowned Bowden "King of the Road." Later, he said the 19-13 victory over the Irish in South bend was his favorite win of his career.

The October, 1982, the Seminoles returned to Columbus to take on the Buckeyes again, and beat them again, 34-17, marking Ohio State's first home losses to the same non-conference opponent in back-to-back seasons since 1904.

1987-1996

This was the sunrise of Bowden Dynasty glory, the stuff of college football legends. Beginning in 1987, Seminole teams finished in the top four teams in the country every year for a decade and won at least 10 games every season. Seminole fans saw their teams bathed in the national spotlights of three Orange Bowls, two Fiesta Bowls, two Sugar Bowls and a Cotton Bowl. And of course, the 1993 National Championship.

The Miami Hurricanes continued to vex the Seminoles; a pair of "wide-right" last-second losses highlighted the frustration. However, the old ghosts of Florida and Auburn were put to rest. In this decade the Tribe was 3-1 over the Tigers and 8-3-1 against the Gators.

We played 12 games against Florida in that 10-year span. The 31-31 tie in Tallahassee in 1994 was followed by a Seminole win in the Sugar Bowl re-match, dubbed the "Fifth Quarter in the French Quarter." A second bowl re-match came after the 1996 season.

Great Seminole players on the national stage became so familiar to college fans they could be identified by first names only: Charlie, Casey, Warrick, Derrick, Deion and Shade Tree. Everyone knew who they were. Hardware overflowed the trophy cases. Charlie Ward won the Heisman and Casey Weldon was runner-up. Deion Sanders and Terrell Buckley each won the Thorpe; Derrick Brooks made 1st Team All-American at linebacker and 1st Team Academic All-American. Paul McGowan won the Butkus. Marvin Jones won both the Butkus and the Lombardi in 1992. Jones, Ward, Brooks, Leroy Butler, Terrell Buckley, Corey Sawyer, Clifton Abraham and Clay Shiver were all Consensus All-Americans.

The Seminoles' first national title in 1993 came three years prior to Florida's. As tens of thousands of Seminole and Gator fans made their way down I-10 to the New Orleans for the re-match in 1994, Florida fans were not amused by printed signs in car windows saying: "The Defending National Champions Welcome the Florida Gators to the Sugar Bowl." Our Seminoles won, but the Gators would have their revenge in due course.

FSU's first-ever New Year's Day Bowl win came vs. Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl after the 1987 season. The next season brought what Beano Cook called "the greatest play since 'My Fair Lady.'" Bowden called the "puntrooskie" at Clemson, in the rain for a 24-21 win. And in 1991 the Seminoles travelled to Michigan and handed the Wolverines their worst home defeat in history, 51-31. The Seminoles played in two National Championship games, winning against Nebraska in the Orange Bowl in 1993 and losing to Florida in the Sugar Bowl in 1996.

In 1991 Florida State joined the Atlantic Coast Conference and began playing league games in 1992. After four seasons the Seminoles finally lost a conference game, losing to Virginia at the end of 1995 on a controversial call on the last play of the game. Virginia and FSU shared the Conference title. Such was the state of the ACC that a sportswriter for the "Raleigh News & Observer" speculated, "Virginia players will proudly wear the championship rings that Seminole players will probably never take out of the box."

In the 1990s Coach Bowden dubbed it the "Big Florida Conference." The trio of FSU, Miami and Florida stood blocking the way of any college program dreaming of a national title. The Bowden-Spurrier clashes delighted sportswriters and fans across America. Gators and Seminoles took turns breaking each other's hearts. In 1996, the two clashed in yet another "Game of the Century" in Tallahassee. The No. 2 ranked Seminoles finished an undefeated regular season by beating the No. 1 ranked Gators 24-21. However, due to an unfortunate combination of upsets plus some back-door maneuvering by the SEC, the Seminoles found themselves in another rematch in the Sugar Bowl. This time the National Championship was at stake, and this time the Gators put an exclamation point next to their trophy.

1997-2006

In the final four seasons of The Dynasty - 1997 through 2000 - the Seminole record was 45-5. We won one National Championship in 1999 and played for two more, one against Tennessee in 1998 and the last against Oklahoma in 2000. The national title game in the Orange Bowl against Oklahoma on Jan. 3, 2001 marked the end of the fabulous 14 year Bowden Dynasty.

Steve Spurrier never coached his team to a win in Tallahassee. Some would say he never won here as a player either, given the Lane Fenner touchdown controversy in 1966. Even though Spurrier had a losing record against Coach Bowden, he did live up to his billing as a lethal adversary, especially when defending the field he christened The Swamp. In 1997, the Seminoles were undefeated and headed for a national championship game, but Gator Fred Taylor's long run with less than two minutes in the game sealed the Seminoles' fate.

In 1998, the Gators were convinced Spurrier surely would find a victory in Tallahassee. Sophomore Chris Weinke was actually the Seminoles' second-string quarterback, winning the starting job after Dan Kendra's career-ending injuries. Now, two weeks before the Florida game Weinke was struck down by a devastating neck injury against Virginia.

The game matched No. 5 FSU against No. 4 Florida, but at quarterback the Seminoles were now led by the third man on the depth chart, walk-on sophomore Marcus Outzen, who had played sparingly but did have game experience. Florida Gator players who has played alongside or against Outzen at Fort Walton Beach tried to tell their teammates that the red-headed white kid nicknamed "Rooster" could play, but Gator defenders were too caught up imagining what the scoreboard in Doak Campbell would look like at the end.

It was one of the greatest games in FSU history, preserving the win streak and launching the Seminoles into the 1998 national title game. Florida fell 23-12. Flanker Peter Warrick threw a touchdown pass. In the post-game locker room Bobby Bowden was so happy he entertained players and reporters by singing a song from his high school days about a "Rooster."

The 1999 Seminole team was the first Division I college team ever to go No. 1 pre-season to post-season. Some said that the Seminoles had stockpiled the greatest collection of football talent in history. Between 1997 and 2000, these men were awarded the rare title of Consensus All-American: end Peter Boulware, end Reinard Wilson, linebacker Sam Cowart, end Andre Wadsworth, kicker Sebastian Janikowski, flanker Peter Warrick, nose guard Corey Simon, guard Jason Whitaker, corner Tay Cody, flanker Snoop Minnis and end Jamal Reynolds. And Chris Weinke won the Heisman Trophy in 2000.

One more player would add his name to that distinguished list as FSU moved through the early years of the decade: tackle Alex Barron became a two-time Consensus All-American (2003, 2004).

The 2005 college football season opened on Labor Day weekend with FSU and Miami playing the most-watched television broadcast of that year.After so many games-gone-wrong against Miami because of kicking, FSU won on a muffed Miami kick attempt at the end.

The first ACC Championship Game was played in Jacksonville on Dec. 3, 2005, following the Conference's expansion to 12 teams. It did not escape notice within the ACC that both Virginia Tech and Florida State were among the "new" arrivals in the League. Florida State won 27-22.

The thrilling January, 2006 Orange Bowl battle went to three overtimes with Penn State finally prevailing 26-23. Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno were inducted together into the College Football Hall of Fame, becoming the first and only candidates inducted while active coaches. At the time, Bowden and Paterno were just a few games apart as they raced to see who would be the all-time winningest coach in major college history.

2007-2016

On Sept. 29, 2007, the Seminoles took on and beat first year Head Coach Nick Saban's Alabama team in Jacksonville, 21-14. The game drew tremendous media hype. Bobby Bowden's life-long dream was to coach Alabama where he signed as a freshman in 1948, and Seminole Defensive Coordinator Mickey Andrews was a star for the 1964 Alabama National Champions. Alabama's Defensive Coordinator Kevin Steele had been an FSU Assistant until this season.

Coach Bowden's final season was 2009 and his final game was a Gator Bowl win against West Virginia. Bowden's 34-year record at FSU included 33 consecutive winning seasons and 32 bowl games, 27 consecutive bowls after 1981.

The Jimbo Fisher Era really began with his arrival as Offensive Coordinator in 2007 and his subsequent assignment by President T.K. Wetherell as head-coach-in-waiting. Jimbo's first game as Seminole Head Coach was against his alma mater, Samford, to open the 2010 season. That season, Consensus All-American Rodney Hudson became the most decorated offensive lineman in ACC history, All-ACC four years in a row and winner of the Jacobs Blocking Trophy as a junior and again his senior year.

In seven seasons Fisher's teams played in four ACC Championship games, winning three consecutive titles. Fisher's Seminoles also played in back-to-back National Championship games, winning the title with a victory over Auburn in 2013 and losing to Oregon in 2014. Both games were played in the Rose Bowl stadium. The 2013 Championship was the last of the BCS, and the 2014 game was the first of the modern playoff (CFP) era.

Of greatest significance to Seminole fans is Fisher's record against our biggest rivals. After seven years as our Head Coach, Jimbo is perfect (7-0) against Miami, 6-1 over Florida, and 4-3 over a resurgent Clemson program. Add a pair of victories over sometime ACC member Notre Dame.

Florida State is rich with talent in the seventh decade. In 2013 Jameis Winston became our third Heisman winner the same year his center Bryan Stork won the Rimington Trophy. The rare Consensus All-American designation was awarded to punter Shawn Powell, end Bjorn Werner, corner Lamarcus Joyner, kicker Roberto Aguayo, guard Tre Jackson, tight end Nick O'Leary and DB Jalen Ramsey.

At the end of the 2016 regular season, Dalvin Cook became FSU's all-time leading rusher. All-American Roderick Johnson was Cook's lead blocker for their entire career together, winning the Jacob's Blocking Trophy in 2016. Corner Tavarus McFadden won the Jack Tatum Award as best defensive back in America; he led the nation in interceptions. ACC Defensive Player of the year Demarcus Walker led the nation in sacks, and redshirt freshman quarterback Deondre Francios was named ACC Rookie of the Year.