Seminole Boosters History - Part IV

By Bill Bunker

12/2003

This is the fourth of a multi-part series on the history of Seminole Boosters written by former FSU Sports Information Director Bill Bunker (1963-66).

Bowden's arrival signals a new day for Seminoles

The formula seems simple enough. Hire the right coach, win a lot of games, raise lots of money, build great facilities to attract better athletes.

However, at Florida State University in 1974, dreams of football glory and its resulting benefits were scarcely considered. Suffering from the backlash of an 0-11 football season and beset with with severe financial difficulties, survival was a more relevant topic.

But, during the mid-1970s, a team came together that would carry the dream far beyond the most optimistic projections at the time.

The players, in order of their appearance in the roles that would impact FSU's athletic program, were:

Bobby Bowden

Obviously, many other names demand inclusion on any such list, but the convergence of these four men at a crucial time in FSU's athletic history pointed the program in the right direction and provided leadership to ensure its success.

In the spring of 1974, following FSU's 0-11 1973 football season, Marshall challenged a group of Tallahassee businessmen to increase their support of Florida State's football program to prevent the school from regressing to small-time status. The group responded, imposing as a condition that Seminole Boosters be reconstituted, eliminating the National Seminole Club which had been operating under Athletic Director John Bridgers who had succeeded Clay Stapleton in 1973.

One of those who answered the call was Langford, a University of Virginia-educated attorney who created and managed Tallahassee's Municipal Code Corporation, publisher of local laws and codes for cities and counties across the country. Langford had been a contributor and minor participant in Booster activities for years and now was ready to step up his efforts. Under his two-term leadership as president of the Boosters in 1976-77, the organization established the structure of contributions and benefits that would help make Seminole Boosters, Inc., the nation's top fund-raising group in college athletics.

Two new levels of giving were created-Golden Chiefs, $5000; and Silver Chiefs, $2500. The Full ($1000), Half ($500), and Quarter ($250) Scholarship Levels previously used by the National Seminole Club were renamed Tomahawk, Warrior and Renegade with appropriate benefits assigned to each.

Langford, who credits Clearwater's Bill Parker as co-designer of the program, recalls his first Golden Chief recruit. "We had a meeting at the Silver Slipper and pitched Booster membership. 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 money.' I said 'it's going 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 $5000. He was the first Golden Chief, and I wrote a check to become number two."

Chief Osceola

The key to success for the Golden Chiefs was the benefits package which included two seats in the President's Box at Doak Campbell Stadium, priority tickets and parking and a gold jacket. And, there was the railroad car. "When we started playing Florida in Tallahassee, Gator fans would rent a train and pull it on to the track that was just behind the stadium," Langford said. "They had the best parking and the best seats. They just piled out of that thing and went right into the stadium. It galled me to have the Gators right in behind us. Shortly thereafter, I talked to the president of Seaboard Coastline Railway and told him I needed a railroad car on a permanent track right behind the stadium. He said he could do it, and he did. We installed some decking and that became our clubhouse on game day. I used to tell people the first drink would cost them $5000, then everything else was free."

FSU's program for the Auburn game in 1977 listed 24 Golden Chiefs. Along with Pirrung and Langford were Rod Brim, Capital City National Bank, Herb Chandler, Wayne Coloney, Courtesy Corporation, Inc., Donald E. Grant, Carl C. Howell, Lewis State Bank, Claude E. Locklin, Jr., Walter L. Revell, John S. Miller, Jr., Ron W. Moore, William M. Parker, John H. Quinn, Burt Reynolds, James C. Smith, Tallahassee Democrat, Tallahassee Federal Savings and Loan Association, C. Harold Taylor and anonymous friends from Tallahassee, Perry and Tampa.

At Langford's side during the early rebuilding years of Seminole Boosters, Inc., was young Andy Miller, who Langford came to consider "like another son." Raised in nearby Havana, Miller was working in sales for Motorola when Booster President Doyle Pope interviewed him for the executive director's job in early 1975. Seminole Boosters, Inc. had never employed an executive/fundraiser. During the two-year existence of the National Seminole Club, Jim Olsen had worked for the athletic department. When Olsen departed in 1974, the FSU Foundation assigned Ted Ouzts to manage the affairs of the Boosters on an interim basis.

In May of 1975, Miller accepted the position he still holds 27 years later. With office space provided by the FSU Foundation, Miller and the Booster leadership began to put together an organization. Langford recalls their search for guidance. "When we first started this reorganization, I called Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and some others asking about their booster clubs, but none of them had such a thing," he said. "Several years later, they were calling us for advice on how to put together an organization."

In the beginning, things were rough. "A big rift occurred when the Boosters agreed to take back over the organization," Miller said. "When the decision was made to move control out of the athletic department, many of the board members felt they had a commitment not only to raise money, but to have input into the way the money was spent. Obviously, no athletic director wants to give up control, so there was an immediate fallout between the boosters and the athletic director. It was a hostile situation made worse by the fact that the football team kept losing.

"After a period of time we realized that the business of the Boosters was to raise money, and the relationship would never work if we tried to spend it as well. That separation of those who raise money and those who spend it had to be made, and over the long haul I think it has served us very well. The Boosters have input, but we understand the hiring and firing of coaches is up to the athletic director."

No such understanding existed in 1975 when FSU fired its second coach in three years. A selection committee had recommended Darrell Mudra, an extremely successful small college coach, to succeed Larry Jones. Neither Mudra's style nor the Seminoles' record suited Jim Smith, a prominent alumnus and booster who led the campaign to oust Mudra. "I was very concerned that attendance had dropped off and we were in pretty severe debt. I thought that if something dramatic didn't happen, we would find ourselves in a situation where we might have to seriously contemplate dropping football," said Smith, at the time a member of the Board of Regents who would later serve both as Florida's Attorney General and Secretary of State. Smith raised approximately $68,000 enabling FSU to buy out Mudra's contract. "I've raised a lot of money in politics, but that was the easiest $68,000 I ever raised," he said.

In an ironic twist, Bridgers, who spent his six years as FSU's athletic director at odds with the Boosters, played the major role in hiring Bobby Bowden, who would become the greatest asset of both the university and the Boosters in building a gridiron dynasty.

Bowden made an immediate impact, both in results and attitude towards the program. His first team won five and lost six, but showed promise. In his second year, 1977, FSU finished 10-2, ranked 14th nationally, and defeated Texas Tech, 40-17, in the Tangerine Bowl. Of perhaps more importance to FSU's fans, the Seminoles defeated Florida for the first time since 1967. An 8-3 record with another victory over the Gators followed in 1978. Then, in 1979, Florida State became the first major college football team in state history to record an undefeated regular season. Although the Seminoles lost to Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, they were ranked 6th nationally in the final AP poll.

Equally as pronounced was his impression on the Boosters. "Prior to Bowden, the Boosters were regarded almost as 'gofers' for the football coaches," Miller said. "They didn't hesitate to call the Booster office for cars, rooms or whatever else they needed. As soon as Bobby got here he told his staff that our job was to raise money and their job was to win football games and they were not to call us."

From the beginning, Bowden was eager to lend a hand in fund raising. One innovation he imported from West Virginia, where he had served as head coach for six years before coming to FSU, was a spring golf tour, which has grown into a major promotion for local Seminole clubs. Charlie Barnes, who joined the Boosters as assistant executive director in 1978 and who has served as an articulate and humorous spokesman for the organization ever since, assumed management of the annual tour and helped build it into one of the organizations most popular and effective events.

Bowden gave a receptive ear to FSU alumnus Bill Durham who proposed a horse and rider to be used as a symbol at football games. Chief Osceola and Renegade made their first appearance at Campbell Stadium in 1978.

Another Booster innovation was the Bowl Welcoming Committee, created in 1979 after the Seminoles were denied a bowl bid in 1978, primarily, it was felt, due to lobbying by other schools. Since then, only the 1981 team with its 6-5 record has stayed home at bowl time.

As the football records improved, so did Booster contributions. Presidents Lou Hill and Doyle Pope brought in $250,341 in 1974 and $300,000 in 1975. In the two years of Langford's presidency, the contributions approached $500,000, then reached $800,000 in 1978 under Charlie Hill and $1,000.000 with Bob Camp as president in 1979.

Largely through the efforts of Booster "Block" Smith's Ajax Construction Company, Doak Campbell Stadium was expanded by 6,500 seats in 1978 and a master plan for future expansion was developed. Seminole Boosters, Inc. was established as an Independent Direct Support Organization for Florida State University in 1978, and moved from Foundation headquarters into Coble Terrace, which had been acquired for athlete's housing. In 1979 they moved into new headquarters on Wildwood Drive.

If Bowden's arrival energized Florida State football, Bernie Sliger's appointment as president exerted a calming influence. Stan Marshall had guided the university through turbulent times in the late 1960s and early '70s. He decided eight years was enough in the demanding job and probably would have stepped down earlier, but stayed long enough to hire Bowden and left with the athletic program on an upswing.

Sliger's comments on the program during his early years is typically self-deprecating. "Everything seemed to be running fairly smoothly. I just left them alone," he said. Of course, the truth is considerably more complex, and Sliger's soothing, yet decisive influence would contribute greatly in the great times to come.

Bridgers resigned in 1979 to become athletic director at the University of New Mexico. Although his old-school methods were often in conflict with the aggressive vision of the new Seminole Boosters, he accomplished a number of things that affected the future in positive ways. Facilities, long decried by every FSU coach, got an upgrade with a weight room, a new housing facility and improved baseball facilities.

He reestablished the Seminole tradition of Saturday night football to the applause of local merchants and fans. To Clay Stapleton's killer schedules he added Auburn, Georgia Tech, South Carolina and Tulane. During his tenure, FSU joined the Metro Conference and women's athletics made tremendous strides.

Entering a new decade, Florida State's football program faced new challenges as names like LSU, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Michigan appeared on the schedule, providing new opportunities for Bobby Bowden's Seminoles and Seminole Boosters, Inc.

Next: Bowden becomes "King of the Road"  as Seminole Boosters, Inc. improve things at home.


This was originally printed in the December, 2003 Seminole Boosters Report To Boosters newspaper.