Peahead and the Baron

Clemson’s blow out win over N.C. State last week, coupled with Virginia Tech’s upset of Wake Forest knocked some of the luster off of this week’s Tiger – Deacon contest. This Saturday’s game in the Valley was supposed to be a showdown for the Atlantic Division title, but Clemson is now the Atlantic champion, even if Wake pulls an upset. Vegas tells us an upset is highly unlikely with the Tigers favored by 34 points. 

Clemson has won ten in a row over Wake. The last win for the Deacs came in 2008 and was the final nail in the coffin of Tommy Bowden’s coaching career in Tiger Town. He resigned a few days after the loss and Dabo Swinney was hired. So in a sense, the argument can be made that Wake Forest certainly helped the Clemson program by beating the Tigers in 2008.

This week’s look-back is a story of an abiding friendship between two rivals who could coach and tell stories like few others in college football history.

Peahead and the Baron

By Jim Roberts

Douglas Clyde Walker and Frank Howard were both native Alabamians. Walker, the “city slicker” from Birmingham, and Howard, the “county bumpkin” from Barlow Bend were close friends and two of the most colorful characters in college football history. Howard tallied 165 victories at Clemson where he spent his entire head coaching career. That win total is still among the top forty in the history of the college game (tied with Bobby Dodd of Georgia Tech). Walker won 77 games at Wake Forest before resigning over a salary dispute with the athletic administration there. He is tied with Jim Grobe for the most wins in Deacon history.

These two great coaches were tough, “old school” types who were sometimes controversial and profane. They were always hilariously comical on the “banquet circuit”, especially when they appeared together. 

Clemson and Wake met 13 times during Walker’s career at the school (1937-50) with Walker holding a 7-6 edge in games won. Probably aided by Clemson’s depleted rosters during World War II Peahead beat the “Baron of Barlow Bend” four out of six encounters from 1940-45. Clemson, of course, was an all military college in those days and sent more future officers into the conflict than any other school in America, including West Point. 

The on-field rivalry ended when Walker left Wake Forest in 1950. He later became a very successful head coach of the Montreal Alouettes. While the Baron never faced Peahead again across the gridiron their off-field comical rivalry shifted into high gear.

Prior to his exit from Wake Forest Peahead and his boys came down to play Clemson in the 1940’s. Coach Howard arranged for a highway patrolman to get on the team bus when it parked near the stadium and arrest Coach Walker based allegedly on his resemblance to a fugitive who was being pursued in South Carolina. The patrolman handcuffed Peahead to a telephone pole and told him he would come back shortly with a witness to make an identification. The team didn’t know what to make of this and stayed on the bus. A few minutes later Walker was “released” and he and the team went to the old Fike Fieldhouse to dress for the game. The team and other coaches went through the gate onto the field to warm up, but in the confusion, Peahead had lost his sideline pass. The security guard at the gate would not let him into the stadium. The guard then agreed to let Peahead through the gate if the team captain came up and identified him. As Howard put it, “Ole Peahead was beside himself!” After being identified by his captain Walker was allowed to enter so he could join his team on the sideline. 

Peahead got his revenge on the Baron several years later when Howard came to Canada for the first time to help his friend prepare the Alouettes for the upcoming season. The Baron came to Montreal several years in early summer to assist Peahead in pre-season workouts. (The Canadian Football League began play in July.) This was Howard’s first such trip.

Security was much more relaxed at airports in the 1950’s and Walker was able to convince a security officer to get Howard back for the practical joke at Clemson a few years earlier.

When the Baron entered the terminal a security officer with the Canadian Immigration Authority approached him. After asking his name he asked Howard what his occupation was. Howard, of course, replied that he was a football coach. After being told he didn’t look like a football coach, the officer then asked if he spoke French. Howard replied that he did not and was advised the he could not come into Canada if he could not speak French. The Baron was completely befuddled. About that time Peahead came from behind a curtain laughing uncontrollably. 

Years later when Peahead told the story at a banquet where they were both speaking, Howard turned the story around on him: “Peahead, why don’t you tell the truth about that conversation. When that fellow asked me what my occupation was and I told him I was a football coach, the man said, ‘Welcome to Canada. That fella we got up here sure ain’t one!’” [Quoted from Frank Howard’s autobiography Howard – The Clemson Legend, copyright @ 1990 by Frank Howard, Bob Bradley, Virgil Parker]

There are many other stories about these two legendary figures. Frank Howard, along with Bear Bryant, Oklahoma’s Bud Wilkinson and Maryland’s Jim Tatum were among the pallbearers at Douglas Clyde Walker’s funeral. It is doubtful we will ever see again the camaraderie in the college coaching profession that existed in those days.