Erik Visits an American Grave, Part 1,689

This is the grave of Banks McFadden.

Born in 1917 in Fort Lawn, South Carolina, McFadden grew up in the town of Great Falls in that state, for however great a waterfall in South Carolina can really be. He was a great athlete in high school and then went to Clemson University, the university created on the plantation of John C. Calhoun. It’s a long time ago now and I don’t know if it still applies, but for a long time McFadden was considered the greatest athlete in Clemson history. The football dominance of the the period from 5 to 15 years (not anymore, bite me Dabo Swinney!) might challenge this claim, but McFadden lettered in three sports–football, basketball, and track. He was AP’s Athlete of the Year in 1939 and a two-time All-American in hoops. He was all All-American in football in 1939 and led Clemson to the Cotton Bowl.

In 1940, the Brooklyn Dodgers of the NFL drafted McFadden in the 1st round, the 4th overall pick. Interestingly, at least through the drafting of Sammy Watkins in the same slot in 2014, this was the highest any Clemson player had been picked, though of course Trevor Lawrence changed that by being the #1 pick (and someone else could have been too since 2014, I am just too lazy to look it up). Drafting at this time was pretty haphazard. Only two people drafted in 1940 have made the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And in fact, McFadden only played one year for the Dodgers. He was actually pretty good. He was second in the NFL with 4.8 yards per rush and had the longest run of any player that season, at 75 yards. He also played defense and picked off a couple of passes. But he hated New York. He simply did not want to live in a place like this.

So McFadden went back to South Carolina. I am not going to speculate that race was part of what he hated about New York and loved about South Carolina but I am going to speculate that speculation might make sense here. He started coaching at Clemson, at first just as an assistant. He joined the military in World War II and then came back to Clemson, where he lived the rest of his life as a senior figure for Tigers fans, not among my favorite sports fanbases. He was head basketball coach there from 1946 to 1956. He was also head track coach for some years and an assistant football coach too. In 1969, he left coaching and directed Clemson’s intramural department until 1982.

McFadden was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1959. He spent his life as a living legend in Clemson, which is fine, but I am still reeling at giving up on an NFL career because you hate New York too much and just desperately want to return to Clemson. He died in 2005, at the age of 88. By that time, he was living in Florida so I guess that was OK in a way that New York wasn’t. Gee I wonder why.

Banks McFadden is buried in Woodland Cemetery, Clemson, South Carolina, right next to Calhoun’s relatives and other Clemson elites.

If you would like this series to visit other people selected in the 1940 NFL Draft, you can donate to cover the required expenses here. George Cafego, the fullback out of Tennessee drafted 1st by the Chicago Cardinals, is in Oak Hill, West Virginia. George McAfee, the Duke QB drafted 2nd by the Philadelphia Eagles and one of the HOFers, is in Durham, North Carolina. Previous posts in this series are archived here and here.

Oh hey, COLLEGE FOOTBALL STARTS TODAY YAY!!!!!!!!