When Charles M. Clement passed away in 1976 at the age of seventy-seven, he was listed in the Greenville, South Carolina, telephone directory as “Foots Clement.” His size fourteen shoes had earned him the nickname growing up in Rover, Arkansas, and the moniker was perpetuated for over half a century. But it was his deeds on the football field, not his shoe size, that earned Clement All-American honors as a tackle and captain of Alabama’s 1930 Crimson Tide. The 6’0″, 230-pound star led the Tide in a 24-0 rout of Washington State in the 1931 Rose Bowl. That ‘Bama squad had a perfect 10-0 record and outscored their opponents 271-13! Playing opposite big Fred Sington as Alabama’s “Twin Tackles,” Clement’s fame was recalled by his former teammate when he was inducted into the Alabama Hall of Fame in 1989. “Foots was a fine football player and fine fellow,” said Sington. “He was a good solid blocker, outstanding on defense and offense, playing both ways the way we did then, a fine 60-minute player.” Clement went on to become one of the SEC’s most respected football umpires in an officiating career that spanned more than twenty-five years. The longtime Tennessee resident worked out of Memphis and Knoxville. A successful businessman as well, Clement owned the South’s largest company specializing in mining safety equipment. Charles “Foots” Clement will always be remembered for the great legacy he left as an athlete, official, and Tennessee citizen.
