Hoops, Heritage, and Home: A Proud Gamecocks Origin Story

Note from the author: Gamecock Origins is a new series from GamecockCentral focused on what makes the University of South Carolina special: YOU. While each fan’s personal journey to USC is unique, all bleed garnet. This series aims to highlight the many stories that make up the collective Gamecock family.

“The ball game is all over, and the Gamecocks of South Carolina have won their first ACC Championship.”

We all have a moment that made us fall in love with South Carolina.

For Jasper Ramsey, that love reached new heights in March of 1971 when the unmistakable voice of Bob Fulton emanated from his home radio.

He didn’t know it then, but a bunch of Irish Catholic roundball players from New York and New Jersey, alongside the legendary Coach Frank McGuire, would shape his future for years to come.

Decades later, Jasper still closes his eyes and can vividly picture McGuire walking out of the tunnel at the Carolina Coliseum to the pep band playing When Irish Eyes Are Smiling.

He still smells the Frank McGuire Special sandwich and sees the sharply dressed “Red Coat” ushers donning garnet suits and ties.

Over 50 years after a 6’3” Kevin Joyce outleaped a 6’10” Lee Dedmon to tap the ball to Tom Owens for a game-winning lay-in, I can hear the emotion in Jasper’s voice as he recalls Bob Fulton’s legendary call.

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For many older Carolina fans, it’s a pinnacle moment, but for 11-year-old Jasper Ramsey, it was just the beginning of his Gamecock journey. 

Like many of us, Jasper has a trove of stories from his days as a student. Whether it’s recounting memories from Bates House and the infamous Honeycomb Towers, walking through Columbia Hall to see his classmate, George Rogers, awarded the Heisman Trophy, or just forming friendships that are still strong today, these moments define his journey.

A journey with Carolina knitted throughout the framework of his life. From his first steps on the Horseshoe to June 14, 1986, when Jasper married his bride, Pam, inside Rutledge Chapel. In typical Gamecock fashion, surrounded by friends, a tailgate party was staged beforehand. 

Of all the memories that come along with 50 years as a Gamecock, none are more meaningful to Jasper than the graduation of his daughter, Mary Ramsey, Magna Cum Laude from the College of Journalism in 2019. The two now toast and walk the Horseshoe as proud alumni, further bonded by their shared legacy.

There’s an added layer of great symbolism to the historic Horseshoe.

We all start in the same place, keen to have new experiences and make everlasting memories. Then, as we round the corner, it provides the perfect opportunity to look back and reflect on all the ways Carolina has touched our lives.

Q&A with Jasper Ramsey

What years did you attend USC?

I attended USC from 1977-1981 as an undergraduate and in grad school from 1982-1984.

Who are some of your favorite Gamecock coaches?

Frank McGuire
Bobby Richardson
George Felton
Donnie Walsh
Ben Jobe
Buck Freeman
Steve Spurrier
Dawn Staley
Frank Martin

Who are some of your favorite Gamecock athletes?

Bobby Cremins
Casey Manning
Earl Bass
Jeff Grantz
Stephen Garcia
Barry Manning
Jermaine Couisnard

What are some of your favorite Gamecock memories?

Number one, both in terms of importance and chronologically, is the ACC championship game on March 13, 1971.

The 1975 Carolina-Clemson football game. It was the first one I ever saw in person. We beat them 56-20 and scored every time we had the ball, never punting. It’s still the record for our most significant margin in the victory against them and the most points we ever scored against them.

The 1975 College World Series. It was the first time I saw the Gamecocks play for a national championship. Led by the great Bobby Richardson, Earl Bass, and Hank Small, who was the all-time college baseball home run leader, we graduated. College baseball was never on TV back then, and the WIS broadcast all our games in the College World Series. The whole state was captivated, including 15-year-old me.

Coach McGuire’s last game. Feb. 23, 1980.

We finished 16-11, and Marquette, Notre Dame Kentucky, and Clemson had just destroyed us. Coach rolled into the final game of his career against a Western Kentucky team, ranked 19th in the country, coached by Gene Keady.

Our guys played their hearts out, and the game went into double overtime. I was sitting alone because I was too nervous to be around anybody. I was praying like crazy. Midway through the second half, it hit me that the great Lenny Wirtz was officiating, and there was no way he would let Coach McGuire lose that game.

I’m not exaggerating when I say a real feeling of peace came over me. Cedrick Hordges took over in the second overtime, and we won 73-65, giving Coach McGuire his 550th all-time win.

I’ll never forget the sight of Coach McGuire giving Hordges a massive hug as the game ended. As you can imagine, it wasn’t Coach McGuire’s style to hug his players. I made a point that year to go to all of his post-game press conferences because I realized there would not be anymore.

I remember him saying, “I really wanted to win that game. I don’t know what we would’ve done without that big bear.” He turned down an NIT bid because he thought 550 was a nice round number.

1980. Walking into Columbia Hall in December of my senior year, looking up at the TV in the lobby, and learning that my classmate George Rogers had won the Heisman Trophy.

In 1984, the USC-Notre Dame football game in South Bend. It was a magical season. It wasn’t a particularly good Notre Dame game, but I had always dreamed of visiting ND, and it was just a great experience winning there. We toured Notre Dame Stadium and touched the “play like a champion today” sign. It’s the only campus I’ve ever seen that approaches the beauty of the horseshoe. I’ll never forget that weekend.

The 1987 Carolina-Clemson game at Willy B. The “Rodney” game. Also, along with the 1975 Clemson game, the coldest game I ever saw at Williams-Brice.

The 1990 South Carolina-North Carolina basketball game at the Charlotte Coliseum. After leaving the ACC, we hadn’t played the Tar Heels in almost 20 years. The tournament was set up as a tribute to Coach McGuire, and Dean Smith agreed to play.

UNC was ranked number one in the country, and we were coming off of an injury-riddled 14-14 season. In the preseason, we lost exhibition games to high-five America and Sparta of Czechoslovakia, whoever they were.

But I knew that George Felton, in his fourth year at South Carolina, was not going to lose that game. Everyone, and I mean everyone, told me I was crazy. The old Coliseum in Charlotte held 23,000 people, and I’m not exaggerating when I say 22,000 were Tar Heels. There were a few hundred Gamecock fans like me and a handful of Iowa State and Houston fans, the other teams in the tournament.

On my deathbed, I’ll remember the sound the crowd made when UNC came out on the court before the game as their pep band broke into “Here Comes Carolina.” It’s the loudest sound I’ve ever heard, and I thought the roof was going to pop off. We beat them 76-74, and you could have heard a pin drop. 

I’ll never forget George Felton running up into the stands and hugging Coach McGuire as Coach gave him a “what the f*** is wrong with you” look. And I’ll never forget Dean Smith at the post-game press conference, looking like he wanted to shoot somebody and saying, “I didn’t want to play this game. I just did it for Frank McGuire.”

The Duke game in the 2017 NCAA tournament. I just stared at the TV, not knowing what I was feeling. When Coach K pulled his starters with 17 seconds to go, I was not remotely embarrassed to say that I broke into tears and cried like a baby. I switched on the post-game show on the radio and heard Casey Manning saying that he knew in heaven Coach McGuire was saying to Mike Grosso that this one was for you, Mike.

May 11, 2019. My daughter‘s graduation from USC. Along with the night we won the ACC tournament and my daughter‘s birth, the greatest moments of my life. 

Finally, last year‘s national championship for Dawn‘s girls. I’ve enjoyed all three titles tremendously, but after everything they went through the year before, with all that ridiculous ridicule they took nationally and the emotional toll it took on Aaliyah Boston and Raven Johnson. I was so happy for them. I’ve never seen a coach do a better job in one season than Dawn did last year.”

What has being a Gamecock taught you about life?

“Well, it has certainly taught me patience. And it taught me to never take the good times for granted. Most of the important lessons I’ve learned because I’m a Gamecock came from Coach McGuire and Bobby Richardson. The importance of loyalty above everything else and never giving up. And the commitment both of them shared with their family and friends, their faith, and the young men who cast their lot with them.”

What do you hope your Gamecock legacy will be?

“Well, the most important legacy is certainly my daughter, Mary Colleen, Magna Cum Laude 2019, followed close behind by the fellow Gamecocks I met almost a half-century ago in Bates House, the greatest group of friends any man has ever had.”

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