Stein Stone
While I don’t plan to dwell on coaches from a century ago, I must acknowledge and include the coach who has the worst overall winning percentage in Clemson Football history, Stein Stone.
Stone was a good athlete in his youth. He was a four-time All-Southern center for the Vanderbilt Commodores from 1904-07. To give you perspective on how much the game has changed in the last century, Stone played at 6’-3” and 180 pounds. In 1907 against Michigan, he helped set up the winning play by receiving a double-pass play that put the Commodores near the end zone. He also played basketball, coaching Vandy to a 7-6-1 record as a student-coach in the 1906-07 season.
After his college career, Stone was hired to be Clemson’s head football coach in 1908. That endeavor did not produce the same results as his playing career.
The Tigers went 1-6 that season. It was Stone’s only year as head coach, being replaced by Dobson for the 1909 season. Stone’s winning percentage of 14.3% makes him statistically the worst head coach in Clemson Football history and therefore must be considered one of the worst hires. He was also the first coach in the program’s history to not finish at or above .500 for his Clemson career.
Next: Hootie Ingram