George Rogers statue will feature four plaques
The George Rogers statue, which will honor the Gamecocks’ Heisman Trophy-winning running back and will be displayed outside Williams-Brice Stadium starting in September, will feature four plaques.
The first plaque will be a text summary of Rogers’ football career. The second will list Rogers’ records at South Carolina. The third will feature the roster of 1980 Gamecocks team. The fourth plaque will be a list of donors.
The South Carolina Board of Trustees’ buildings and grounds committee approved the four plaques at a meeting on Friday, but the proposal still has to go before full committee for final approval.
The USC buildings and grounds committee also approved Phase 2 of the basketball office renovations. It has not gone to the full committee yet, but should later.
The nine-foot Rogers statue will go on the northwest corner of Bluff Road and George Rogers Boulevard on a new plaza surrounding the stadium.
Sandy Proctor, who made sculptures of Florida State coach Bobby Bowden and Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier when he won the Heisman at Florida, will make the statue of Rogers standing on a bench and holding his helmet.
The pose was chosen so that Rogers’ face was not obscured by wearing the helmet, said USC trustee Chuck Allen, a former teammate of the Heisman winner’s who pushed for the statue.
Work on the $14 million plaza, which will replace the parking pavement, is under way and should be finished before kickoff of the 2015 season.
The Rogers statue will cost $275,000. The money was a gift from former USC cheerleader Patti Shelley of West Columbia.
Shelley, 69, said she made the donation in honor of she and her late husband, James, a former Sonoco Corp. executive whom she met while they attended USC. The couple attended Gamecock football games for years.
“I always thought George was special,” she said. “He’s such a nice person.”
Rogers is the Gamecocks’ all-time leading rusher with 5,204 yards. Rogers led the country with 1,894 rushing yards in 1980 and won the Heisman.
Andy Shain contributed to this story.
This story was originally published April 24, 2015 at 11:43 AM with the headline "George Rogers statue will feature four plaques."