Stats and facts

Gamecock Archives is brainchild of 1989 alumnus

Where can a true Gamecock fan go to find out the starting lineup for the 1968 football squad? What about who was on the 1935 game roster? Or the name of every player who has ever worn the number 12?

Carolina graduate and Gamecock fan John Parker has made it easy—and free—for fans to find such information. His Gamecock Archives Web site is chock full of Carolina facts and statistics dating back to the 1920s. There are player photographs and videos, too.

And a lot of the information on the site is supplied by real experts—the former players themselves. “Sometimes I'll look down at my desk and see Tommy Sugg's cell phone number or Mike Hold's e-mail address and just shake my head,” said Parker, who has the e-mail addresses of about 400 former players.

“Tyler Hellams, who played from 1969 to 1971, recently sent me an envelope filled with the starting line ups from every game played from 1969 to 1971. My wife, who's a Clemson graduate, sees the enjoyment I get when I hear from a former player. That's probably why she lets me do this.”

Since Parker has a day job—he is vice president of Retirement Services–Information Technology Division for Wachovia in Charlotte, N.C.—he runs the site in his spare time. The oldest roster on the site is from 1920, although information from that time up until the 1950s is sometimes spotty, he said. From the 1950s on, though, the information is very full and complete. And Parker is in charge of all of it.

Parker started collecting data in the mid 1990s to teach himself different computer programming languages. He realized that the information he had gathered would make an informative Web site and, about two years ago, he created the archives.

“There were a few former players, like Hellams, Troy Duke, Anton Gunn, Joe Doyle, and Reggie Richardson, who spread news of the site to their former teammates and the lettermen's association,” Parker said. “Before I knew it, I had the names and contact information of lots of former players willing to contribute to the site.”

Because he wants to control how the site looks, there is no advertising.

“I wanted to keep the site easy to navigate,” said Parker, who pays to run the site out of his own pocket. “I always wanted the data to be public access, and since people have really pitched in to send me things, it doesn't seem right to charge. I just hope everyone enjoys it.”

Check out Parker's hard work at Gamecock Archives.