‘Cultural icon.’ How Gamecocks’ Taneyhill became known for his mullet
Legendary Gamecocks football player Steve Taneyhill arrived at the University of South Carolina in the early 1990s as a “prized” but “controversial” recruit with long hair and a diamond stud earring.
He was known for his swagger, his charisma and leading USC to its first bowl victory in 1995.
He was also known for his mullet.
“It is not politically correct to discuss the length of a man’s hair,” Sports Illustrated once wrote. “... but Steve Taneyhill’s cannot pass without comment.”
Taneyhill was named Freshman of the Year by the magazine after a breakout season in 1992, when he helped USC win five of its final six games after a rocky start.
Sports writer Sally Jenkins described his locks as “about 14 inches long and dirty blond” which hung from the back of his football helmet “like a mud flap.” Even then, he wasn’t just the brash recruit from Pennsylvania who transformed the Gamecocks’ offense. He was a cultural icon.
Taneyhill, 52, died in his sleep Monday, after reportedly battling cancer.
Some 30 years ago, it wouldn’t be unusual to find sporting goods stores in Columbia carrying caps with a yellow ponytail hanging from the back, something Taneyhill seemed to balk at.
But his tumbling tresses weren’t always so beloved.
“Some people just didn’t like it,” Taneyhilll told Sports Illustrated. “I guess I showed them it doesn’t matter what you look like.”
Taneyhill said that one of his first nights in Columbia, he and a few friends went to a local tavern. Some patrons taunted him for his hair: “Why don’t you get a haircut?”
It led to a scuffle, though Taneyhill said he didn’t throw a punch. And he continued to be teased.
Gamecocks coach Sparky Woods warned him that if the hair became a problem, he’d ask him to cut it. Veteran players threatened a “trimming party.” It never came to that.
“I just wouldn’t be the same person if I cut my hair,” Taneyhill told Sports Illustrated.
Taneyhill was inducted into the USC Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006, and remained a fixture of Columbia until his death.
