You’re supposed to keep the talent in state. And not just the players—you don’t want to lose the hearts and minds of the home state fans, either, especially those who are really good at it, who really, really, really know how to support a team.
So imagine how disheartening it must have been for the Clemson players, several of whom were from Anderson, S.C., where the 1915 game vs. Auburn was being played (and a hotbed for pigskin pickins), when a local Anderson girl popular enough for a party she threw to be written up in the town’s society pages showed up to the Auburn game to literally anoint the heads of the out-of-town Tigers and—if she could only stop screaming long enough!—bestow kisses on their quarterback Kenny Caughman, who had just transferred to Auburn… from Clemson!
Seriously, the description in the Plainsman reads like something from the Gospels:
“One of the most enthusiastic supporters of Auburn last Saturday at the Clemson game was Miss Virginia Gilmer, a fair young lady of about 13 years of age. She was always yelling for the Auburn Tigers and among the few who were permitted on the side lines, but she was always “there,” for her Auburn banner was always around her. When Capt. Bidez was knocked out of the game, she rubbed his head and with kind words made him want to get out and show his colors. Then when Kenny was taken out she wanted to kiss him for his touchdown, but was prevented because she could not stop her yelling and loyal support long enough for such a trivial thing.”
Auburn 14, Clemson 0.
The Auburn warrior princess even showed up Sunday morning at the train station to bid her heroes bon voyage back to Alabama. She went to each player personally to tell them she would see them win again next year. Next year’s Clemson game was in Auburn, yes, but this was Virginia Gilmer, I’m sure they believed her.
Her final words were to all-southern tackle Baby Taylor.
She told her Baby that “if she were a boy and as big as he and had any sense at all she would be an all-southern tackle.”
Related: This O.B. Keeler story on the 1915 Auburn-Georgia game is the greatest thing you’ve ever read.
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