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Horace Grant – Clemson’s
6-10 star captured the 1987 ACC Player of the Year Award when he led the league in scoring (21.0), rebounding (9.6) and shooting
percentage (.656). The second-team All-American became a stellar NBA power forward, helping Michael Jordan and the Chicago
Bulls win three championships (1991, ’92 and ‘93) and in 2001 with Los Angeles Lakers. Grant was named to the
1994 NBA All-Star team and earned second-team All-NBA Defensive Team honors four times. The 1987 first-round draft selection
shot better than .500 from the field in each of his first 10 NBA seasons, reaching a career-best .578 in 1991-92. He established
a career best in 1993-94 in scoring (15.1), rebounding (11.0) and assists (3.4).
Courtney Shealy Hart – A native of Irmo, Shealy Hart won two Olympic
gold medals in swimming (400-meter relay and 400-freestyle relay) for the USA in 2000 after leading the University
of Georgia to the NCAA team swim championships in 1999 and 2000. In 2000,
she was named the NCAA Female Swimmer of Year after winning national titles in the 50-meter freestyle, the 100-meter freestyle
and 100-meter backstroke. Shealy Hart also won NCAA titles in the 400-meter freestyle and 400-meter medley relay. She also
excelled in volleyball while at Irmo and Georgia, and currently serves as an assistant swim coach at Georgia Tech.
Stan Smith – A California
native who has resided in Hilton Head since the 1980s, Smith capture the 1971 U.S. Open singles and 1972 Wimbledon singles
titles, but it his 54 doubles championships, including five grand slams (U.S. Open in 1968, ‘74, ’78 and ’80,
and the 1970 Australian Open) and eight runners-up that rank him among the greatest players in tennis history. Additionally,
he made 10 Davis Cup appearances. The three-time All-American from the University of Southern California
collected the 1968 NCAA singles championship, and the 1967 and 1968 doubles titles. He was inducted into the S.C. Tennis Hall
of Fame in 1985 and the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987. He continues
to live on Hilton Head Island.
Wayne Tolleson – Tolleson starred at Spartanburg High School and Western Carolina University in baseball and football,
and played 10 years of major league baseball. In high school, he made the Shrine Bowl football team as a senior and became
a standout wide receiver at WCU where he led the nation in pass receptions in 1978.
On the diamond, Tolleson was named the 1977 Southern Conference’s Baseball Player of the Year and as well as
the league’s Athlete of the Year. The slick fielding middle-infielder, who played second, shortstop and third during
his career, began his MLB tenure with the Texas Rangers in 1981 and stayed with the organization through 1985. After a stint
with the Chicago White Sox, he played for the New York Yankees. Tolleson enjoyed his best year as a hitter in 1985 with a
.313 average, and finished his career with a .241 average and a .972 fielding average. With the Yankees, he won the New York
Press Association’s “Good Guy Award” in 1987. He ranked eighth in the American League in stolen bases in
1983 with 33. Spartanburg High retired his jersey and he is a member of the WCU Athletic Hall of Fame.
Bob McNair – A 1958 graduate of the University
of South Carolina, McNair owns the NFL’s Houston Texans and a successful
stable of thoroughbred racehorses based in Aiken. He and his wife, who hails from the Orangeburg area and attended Columbia College,
are philanthropists, having donated millions of dollars to their alma maters and a multitude of charities. Committed to bringing
a NFL team to the city of Houston, McNair formed Houston NFL
Holdings in 1998 and on October 6, 1999, the NFL announced that the 32nd NFL franchise had been awarded to McNair and his
Houston Texans debuted in 2002. McNair now serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The McNair Group, a financial
and real estate firm that is headquartered in Houston, Texas.
Paul Scarpa – An outstanding tennis player and coach, Scarpa is a member
of the South Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame. In 41+ years of coaching, he has recorded a 729-448 record (and counting) to rank
second among active coaches in career victories as he is only one of four coaches to reach the 700-win mark. He has coached
Furman for 35+ years, compiling a career record of 216-32 for an impressive .871 percentage (and isn’t finished). He
has never had a losing season at Furman while winning 14 Southern Conference titles. During one stretch in the 1990s, Scarpa’s
teams won 25 consecutive league matches. He has been named SoCon Coach of the Year seven times, and South Carolina
Coach of the Year once. In 1993, the NCAA adopted his dual-match scoring rules in what is now called the Scarpa System of
Scoring. He has also invented and patented Tenex tape, which is used to mark clay courts around the world. As a junior player,
the Charleston native tallied a No. 1 ranking in South
Carolina, and No. 3 in the South. At Florida
State, he played No. 1 and won the Eastern Collegiate championship. He
became a member of the South Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame in 1986, and a member of the Furman Athletic Hall of Fame in 1994,
and in 1996, Furman named its new tennis courts after him.
Joe Bostic – Bostic
played football for Clemson from 1975-78, and was part of the era that put the Tigers back on the college football map, helping
them to three bowl appearances. He was the cornerstone of the offensive line and was a two-time All-American in 1977 and '78.
Bostic was selected to the first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference both those years and was awarded the prestigious Jacobs
Blocking Trophy signifying the best offensive lineman in the state of South Carolina in 1977 and 1978 and for the ACC in 1977.
After his Clemson career, he was drafted by St. Louis and played 10 seasons for the Cardinals having been named to the NFL
All-Rookie team. Bostic was selected to Clemson's Centennial Team in 1996 and was inducted into the Clemson Athletic Hall
of Fame that same year.
Bill Currier – As a senior at the University of South Carolina in 1976, Currier was named the recipient of the Steve
Wadiak MVP Award, the Bill Guerard Award for highest GPA, the Rex Enright Captain’s Cup -- the only player ever to win
all three awards in one season. The three-year starter at defensive back participated in the Blue-Gray All-Star Game and was
the Houston Oilers’ ninth-round draft pick and made the NFL All-Rookie team. Currier enjoyed a nine-year NFL career,
three at Houston, one with New England, and his final five with the New York Giants. Only five USC players have enjoyed longer
NFL careers. As defensive captain of the Giants, Currier won the New York City Touchdown Club Unsung Hero Award for his community
involvement. After his playing career, Currier returned to Columbia and became head football coach at Ben Lippen School, and
currently serves as the school’s director of athletics.
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