Solid Gold

The Original Golden Chiefs

By Charlie Barnes

There is a lovely, lonely road through farms and across gentle hills between Beachton and Cairo, Georgia. On this clear February day, balmy but not quite yet spring, I drove to the small town of Cairo to deliver the eulogy for one of the last of our original Golden Chiefs.

The drive is only a little more than 13 miles, but travelers on that quiet road might be forgiven for losing track of time. Twenty years … 30? Fifty years? What does it matter? That road remains the same, unmarked by the passage of decades.

Frankie Strickland and her engineer husband "Strick" Strickland were among the original band of Golden Chiefs in 1976, and they were heart's loyal Seminoles. Theirs was just one vehicle in the stream of Seminole fans driving the country road toward Tallahassee from Cairo to Beachton. There, they melded in with streams of cars driving south from Thomasville, Valdosta, Albany, Moultrie and Bainbridge down toward Doak Campbell Stadium on game day.

The title of this essay refers to the "Original Golden Chiefs," and that requires a bit of explanation. There exists a large, heavy cast-bronze plate with raised lettering that presents nineteen names of the "Charter Members." With Golden Chief and Florida State logos at the top, the text reads: "The Golden Chiefs. A distinctive organization of alumni and friends whose individual loyalty and devotion has been expressed by a history of outstanding generosity to the Florida State University."

That is all well and good, and quite true. The first donors are listed correctly, but the bright explosion of pure energy that overtook Florida State with the concurrent founding of the Chiefs and the arrival of Bobby Bowden brought a clamor of more new names and more new donors almost immediately.

Within a year, familiar names from Cairo and Thomasville such as the Strickands, Col. Sam and Betty Dyke, and John and Beth Wight became Golden Chiefs. The nationally prominent Miami attorney Andy Haggard who would serve as national Booster Chairman in 1988 was joined in Golden Chief membership by engineer Wayne Colony, and attorneys John Miller, Ron Moore and John Quinn, banker Harold Taylor and Ms. Frances Fountain, the first woman Golden Chief. Even Burt Reynolds signed up to join the club.

Aside from Burt and Andy Haggard, all the rest on that list are deceased. The list of new Golden Chiefs stretched beyond those mentioned, and more kept coming.

So, yes we have a legitimate list of the 19 Charter Members. But it would not be inappropriate to also provide an umbrella title of sorts for the late additions within that first year. Call them the "Original Golden Chiefs."

Their ranks of the first Chiefs are spare now, but a few loyalists remain from that small, spirited original corps. Five thousand is a lot of money today, and five thousand was worth a lot more 43 years ago. That original seed money was even more valuable because it was hard to come by, especially after only four wins total in the previous three seasons.

These pioneer Golden Chiefs made their commitments to give $5,000 a year, and their investment set the stage for everything you see around you now on game days: the magnificent stadium, the giant scoreboard, three national championships, CollegeTown, 100 skyboxes, the Dunlap Champions Club, the two- story Varsity Club, the covered practice field, and all of the other, first-class facilities for varsity sports.

It all began one evening over a meal and drinks at the old Silver Slipper restaurant. George Langford had accepted University President Stanley Marshall's challenge to raise the money necessary "to prevent the school from regressing to small-time status."

Langford, now 95, was one of those tough boys from Thomasville. He hit the beach at Normandy in the second wave on D-Day and drove a tank across Europe until the war was over. After law school he founded the Municipal Code Corporation which has become possibly America's signature publisher of legal documents for local governments.

Langford's charisma and drive was the spark that lit the fire. His partner in creating this new program was Clearwater businessman Bill Parker, founder of Crest Products, a supplier to military PX installations.

Langford told the story to former Sports Information Director Bill Bunker. "We had a meeting at the Silver Slipper to pitch Booster membership, and after the meeting, a gentleman came up to me and said, 'I'm Gil Pirrung from Bainbridge, Georgia. You're doing a good job, but why don't you really raise some money? If you get this going, I'll give you some real money.' I said 'Let's get after it right now!' The next Monday we started the Golden Chiefs, and I called on him. He was the first one to write a check for $5,000. He was the first Golden Chief, and I wrote a check to become number two."

Langford believed that people willing to keep writing big checks deserved special consideration. Part of the sales pitch to potential Golden Chiefs was a package that included a pair of seats in the FSU President's Box, season ticket priority, the best parking, and a handsome gold blazer complete with the Golden Chief escutcheon on the breast pocket.

And the most special benefit of all was the railroad car. In those days the Seaboard Coastline Railroad maintained a set of tracks directly behind Doak Campbell Stadium. Always the salesman, Langford called the President of Seaboard Coastline and convinced him to construct a 100-foot section of track on the crest of a rise overlooking the stadium. A giant railroad crane was employed to hoist an immaculately restored 1905 luxury railroad car ("The Savannah") onto the rails, and the whole was then surrounded in front with a capacious wooden deck.

Game day for the Golden Chiefs and their friends became quite the tailgating experience. Guests could choose to lounge within the air-conditioned interior, or socialize on the deck attended to by various caterers and bartenders.

A donor prospect asked Langford, "How does someone go about getting a drink up there in your club house?" George smiled and said, "The first drink will cost you $5,000. Then everything else is free."

The first Seminole Boosters organization had operated from 1951 through about 1970, when University administration replaced it with something called the National Seminole Club. Langford insisted that Marshall agree to reinstate Seminole Boosters, Inc. as the official fundraising arm and take it out from under the Athletics Department.

The old Seminole Boosters organization had never employed an executive fundraiser. Langford and newly installed Booster Chairman Doyle Pope interviewed appropriate candidates for the new position. In a bold move that might rank as one of the most important and most fortuitous in Seminole history, they decided to place the entire athletic fundraising apparatus in the hands of young Andy Miller, who had graduated from FSU only two years prior.

Andy Miller has been CEO of the organization for 43 years, and is now the respected senior icon among collegiate athletics fundraisers.

Here are the names on the cast bronze plate recognizing the Golden Chief Charter Members. If you are a Seminole fan of some years and experience, many of these names will be familiar to you.

C. Dubose "Duby" Ausley has been profiled in Forbes Magazine and has been a powerful presence across Florida's political landscape for two generations. He served on Florida's Board of Regents 1978-1994 (Chairman, 1981-83). The Tallahassee lawyer also chaired the Florida Commission on Ethics.

Rod Brim (deceased) was a Tallahassee businessman, an executive with Genuine Auto Parts.

Herb Chandler (deceased) owned all the Ramada Inns in Tallahassee.

J.M Duval (deceased) built the downtown Hotel Duval in 1950.

Don Grant (deceased) was FSU's first quarterback; he threw the first touchdown pass in the first game, October 18, 1947. Don owned Perry Auto Supply in Taylor County.

Carl C. Howell (deceased) was a prominent Polk County businessman.

Tom Humphress (deceased) was a popular figure as president of the old Barnett Bank in Tallahassee.

George Langford founder of Municipal Code Corporation, served as Boosters' National Chairman three terms: 1976, 1977 and again in 1985. His son Lawton Langford served as Chairman in 1994.

Claude Locklin (deceased) and his brother Jack were in the "oil bidness" in Milton, Florida.

Dellwood McDonald (deceased) owned a Shasta Beverages distributorship in central Florida.

William Bill Parker was the Seminoles' first three-letter man with awards in football, basketball and baseball. Parker created Crest Products, Inc., primarily involving sales to military PX installations. A Clearwater native, Bill is recognized as the first National Boosters Chairman from outside the Tallahassee area (1986). He also served as National Chairman of the FSU Alumni Association in 1990-91.

Gil Pirrung (deceased) was a Yale graduate who wrote the first check to become a Golden Chief.

Walter Revell is a prominent south Florida entrepreneur who served as Florida's Secretary of Transportation under Gov. Rubin Askew, and Chairman of the Florida Chamber of Commerce. He was also Chairman of Norwegian Cruise Lines.

H.E. 'Sam' Shovlain (deceased) owned Courtesy Oldsmobile. His General Manager Barbie Jordan gave up a career selling shoes to become the first woman to sell cars in Tallahassee.

Godfrey Smith (deceased), legendary scion of the 123-year-old Capital City Bank Group who served as Booster Chairman in 1960, helped negotiate the hiring of Coach Bill Peterson. Godfrey was technically a Gator, but loyal to Florida State and his two sons are Seminoles.

James 'Jim' Smith was the youngest of the Golden Chief Charter Members. The 1962 FSU graduate was appointed to the Florida Board of Regents in 1977 and later served as Chairman of the FSU Board of Trustees. He was National Chairman of the FSU Alumni Association in 1976-77. Twice elected Florida's Attorney General, Smith also served in Governor Askew's Cabinet as Secretary of State.

Bill Sutton Past President of Lewis State Bank is a bon vivant and a cheery addition to any social gathering of the Chiefs.

The Tallahassee Democrat has always been a strong supporter of the Seminoles, aside from the occasional but blessedly brief dalliance with a caustic sportswriter or two.

J. Edwin White (deceased) founded Tallahassee Federal Savings & Loan Association.

There are many good stories about those days.

As a very young Seminole volunteer, future Attorney General and Cabinet member Jim Smith was tasked with raising the $68,000 required to buy out the contract of the coach prior to Bobby Bowden. "I raised a lot of money in politics," he laughed, "but that was the easiest $68,000 I ever raised."

Around 1978 or '79 there was a momentary impulse to form the Golden Chiefs into their own donor club, complete with officers and an eye toward exercising some influence over dispensation of the funds. There was a dinner and an election one night, again, at the Silver Slipper. The two fellows who ran for President of the Golden Chiefs were banker Harold Taylor and hotelier Herb Chandler.

As the two men stood side by side the view was striking. They were nearly identical in appearance; tall, thin with almost exactly the same facial features and hair. The laughter was not disrespectful and was no doubt colored by the camaraderie of the evening. Finally, someone said, "Oh hell, let's just let both of them be president and then if we can't reach one, we'll be able to call the other." Hearty rows of hands were raised, and so the first and only meeting of the Golden Chiefs as a self-contained organization ended, and both men ably and happily served out that year as co-presidents.

If I could tell only one story to describe the mischievous character and good humor, the passion for life, football and Florida State of the Original Golden Chiefs, it would be this one.

It was the year of the so-called "Oktoberfest," 1981. Our Seminoles had to play five major college powers over five weeks. The sheer brutality of the schedule was breathtaking: Nebraska, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Pittsburg and LSU, one right after the other, all in a row and all on the road.

But by the end of October, the Seminoles had miraculously managed to whip three of the five and arrived at Halloween as the 17th-ranked team in the nation. However, hope for a great finish would prove to be a beautiful illusion. We lost at home to Miami, and then to Florida on a day when the NCAA later said the other team was capturing electronic signals from the Seminoles' coaches' box.

That season, 36 years ago turned out to be the last time FSU did not receive an invitation to play in a bowl.

But that's not the story. On that Halloween afternoon, 1981, we welcomed the Western Carolina Catamounts to Doak Campbell Stadium. FSU players and coaches were relieved to be done with the brutal Oktoberfest and prepared to hand Western what became their seventh and worst loss of the season.

But the Western Head Coach was a man named Bob Waters. Waters had been a muscular 6-foot-5 quarterback in college, of such distinction that he was named Most Outstanding Player in the bowl game that his team lost. He was drafted and played four seasons for the San Francisco 49ers, and then spent 20 years as head Coach of the Catamounts. Only two years after their bad day in Tallahassee, Waters took the Catamounts all the way to the NCAA I-AA National Championship game.

Today, our magnificent stadium has 100 private skyboxes, plus a large auditorium box and the Dunlap Champions Club. But in 1981, Seminole Boosters, Inc. was building the first skyboxes in the state. Neither Florida nor Miami had them yet. All the Golden Chiefs who desired them would be accommodated in the six skyboxes or in the large auditorium box.

The problem was that the Presidents Box was undergoing renovation, and the new Booster skyboxes were not finished. Arrangements were made to seat all the Golden Chiefs and their spouses in a special section on the 50 yard line but down as low as you could go, almost on the field. And they were right behind the opponent's bench.

If you were watching the teams that day, you were struck by the realization that Coach Bob Waters appeared to be the tallest man on the Catamount sidelines.

The shorter Catamount players began to stand on their team benches to see the game. Unfortunately, this action blocked the view of the Golden Chiefs.

Someone complained to an officer who, not knowing what to do made a call to the Athletic Director's box. Someone there called the Western Carolina Athletic Director who relayed the message to the Catamount coaches' box and hence down to the field to Coach Waters. In effect, "Tell your boys to sit down. The big money donors behind you can't see the game."

Waters turned and walked to the back of the turf line where the stadium seats began. The big man stretched out his arms as wide as he could and yelled, "We're not sitting down! We'll never sit down! We're standing up. We're here to play football! We're here to beat you!"

The Catamounts were losing badly at the moment, but Water's dramatics was like a shock of energy for his players. They all immediately stood up on the benches. They pushed and shoved each other and jumped up and down shouting encouragement at the tops of their lungs.

The reaction of the Golden Chiefs made me proud. Instead of being offended, they admired Waters' audacious gesture. The Chiefs decided to adopt the Catamounts and began shouting encouragement right back at them. "Now it's a football game," one of the Chiefs laughed. Every successful Catamount play, every first down - though there were not many - caused cheers to erupt from the Golden Chiefs section. Our fans knew well what it felt like to be the underdog, so that's the side they were taking.

There was never a chance that Western would win; the final score was 56-31. But after the game one of the Golden Chiefs told me, "That's the most fun I've had at a game in a long time."

That country road from Cairo to Beachton is a time machine. On a nice day, the pastoral landscape could try to convince you that not much of anything has changed; it's still 1975-76. But the fans that drove that road to Doak Campbell Stadium back then might not recognize Florida State today.

We tend to take for granted all the magnificent facilities and the record of achievements, the flood of generosity from our fans; all the things praised by friends and envied by rivals. Consider these as we move toward the 2018 season:

• Florida State leads the nation in consecutive bowl appearances at 36;

• The national website 247Sports reports FSU is tied with Southern California for the highest total of 5-star players recruited all time by any of the top programs;

• Only three national championships have been won by any schools that began playing football in the last 80 years. FSU has won all three; no other school has won any;

• The golden investment egg came from the 19 Charter Members, plus a scattering of what we'll call Original Golden Chiefs, each of whom agreed to give $5,000 per year.

Golden Chief membership today is $6,500 per year, and there are more than 1,000 of them in 2018. And beyond those 1,000 Golden Chiefs stand another 200 or so Platinum Chiefs ($13,000 per year) and some Legacy Chiefs ($25,000 per year).

Think about that. Ponder where we were before the Golden Chiefs were created, and the distance we have come since then.

George Langford thinks about it. Each Thursday, George Langford and Duby Ausley and 1963 Seminole Boosters Chairman Bill Carraway have lunch together with friends.

Someone said of an event that it had happened a long time ago. Duby Ausley smiled and replied, "Everything happened a long time ago."

So it did.

It was that singular, golden point of light so long ago that made possibleFlorida State Seminole Athletics rise to greatness.