S. Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame inducts Fox, Barnes

COLUMBIA, S.C. - At 6-foot-5 and still growing, Jim Fox was so uncoordinated he couldn't make his Georgia high school team, let alone think about muscling up against Wilt Chamberlin and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Growing up in Alabama, Gary Barnes thought more about basketball than getting coached by NFL greats George Halas, Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry.

But both ex-South Carolina center Fox and former Clemson receiver Barnes tapped into much more than they imagined with substantial pro careers - and reach the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame.

They are among seven inductees, which include PGA star Jay Haas of Greer and former Clemson defensive standouts Williams "Refrigerator" Perry and brother Michael Dean Perry, who were part of enshrinement ceremonies Thursday night.

Also honored as part of the state's best ever athletes were longtime NBA player Tyrone Corbin of Columbia and the late "Lib" Mahon of Greenville, one of two South Carolina women to play in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League made famous in the movie, "A League of Their Own."

Fox, who lives in Phoenix, played at South Carolina for two seasons, the last one in 1964-65 under famed coach Frank McGuire.

Despite his height, Fox had been cut during tryouts each year until his senior season at high school. After two seasons at a junior college, Fox joined the Gamecocks.

But he got trapped into coach Chuck Noe's four-corners, slowdown attack, which Noe called "the mongoose offense."

"That was a learning year," Fox said.

When McGuire came in the following season after coaching Chamberlin in the NBA, the "Ol' Irishman" scrapped Noe's offense and the now 6-10 Fox flourished with 17.8 points and 13.6 rebounds a game.

Fox hadn't thought much about the NBA until then - "The first game I saw was the one I played in," he says - and McGuire counseled him to go overseas and develop.

Two years later, Fox joined the NBA's Cincinnati Royals with Oscar Robertson and Jerry Lucas. That began a 10-year pro career where Fox played with eight different teams from 1968-77. Each night, it seemed, Fox bumped against the best centers in the game including Chamberlin, Abdul-Jabbar, Nate Thurmond and Bill Russell.

And more times than not, Fox says he held his own. "I don't think they got up for me as much I got up for them," he said.

Clemson's Barnes also might have been lightly regarded before coming to the Tigers. Barnes says he was set to sign with Georgia, but Clemson coach Frank Howard convinced his parents his school was a better choice. "It was the best decision I ever made," Barnes said.

Another might have giving up basketball - and Howard had a hand in that, too.

When Barnes came to Clemson, he said Howard agreed he could play basketball as well as football. But after one road trip his freshman year, Barnes got a note to visit Howard.

The gruff, witty coach told Barnes things had changed and he ought to concentrate on football. After some back-and-forth words, Howard told him that "I didn't think you were dumb enough to try and play both," Barnes remembered.

Barnes agreed to turn in his uniform. "Don't bother," Howard answered, "I've already done it for you."

Barnes was an all-Atlantic Coast Conference receiver in 1959 when he helped Clemson to a 9-2 record and a victory over Texas Christian in the Bluebonet Bowl.

Barnes was drafted by Lombardi's Green Bay Packers in 1962, where he won an NFL championship. Barnes also played for "Papa Bear" Halas' Chicago team and Landry's Dallas Cowboys during his seven-year career.

"I've tried to look that up, but I might be the only one to ever play for those men," he said.

Barnes gets asked often to compare the three Hall-of-Fame NFL leaders. By the time Barnes joined the Bears, he said Halas "had seen better days."

Landry knew as much about football as anyone Barnes had ever been around, the player said. But Lombardi's passion and knack for plugging into his players gave him an edge. In Barnes' view, if Lombardi and Landry played 10 times with comparable talent, "Vince Lombardi may have very well won all ten of them," he said. "I've had some of my Cowboy friends question that and I know that's a big statement. But I'll stick with it."