December Card & Memorabilia Auction Dec 9 - 18/19
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 12/18/2022
Offered is a 2003 City of Columbia, South Carolina proclamation of December 19, 2003 as Lou and Beth Holtz Day. The ivory parchment paper certificate, printed in black, is mounted in the top center of a brown matte displayed in a 14 1/2 x 19 1/2-inch brown and tan "parquet-tile" wood with white accents and glass frame. The certificate signed by Columbia, SC mayor Robert D. Coble, notes the couple's numerous charitable works as well as their strong ties to the University of South Carolina football program in their (then) 42 years of marriage. At the bottom left of the display is a gold metal key to the city of Clumbia. At the bottom right of the display is Mayor Coble's business card. After two seasons as a commentator for CBS Sports, Holtz came out of retirement in 1999 and returned to the University of South Carolina, where he had been an assistant in the 1960s. The year before Holtz arrived, the Gamecocks went 1–10, and the team subsequently went 0–11 during Holtz's first season. In his second season, South Carolina went 8–4, winning the Outback Bowl over the heavily favored Ohio State Buckeyes. The eight-game improvement from the previous year was the best in the nation in 2000 and the third best single-season turnaround in NCAA history. It also earned National Coach of the Year honors for Holtz from Football News and American Football Coaches Quarterly. In his third season, Holtz's success continued, leading the Gamecocks to a 9–3 record and another Outback Bowl victory over Ohio State. The nine wins for the season were the second highest total in the history of the program. Under Holtz's leadership, the Gamecocks posted their best two-year mark in school history from 2000 to 2001, going 17–7 overall and 10–6 in SEC play. After consecutive 5–7 campaigns in 2002 and 2003, Holtz finished his South Carolina tenure on a winning note with a 6–5 record in 2004. Holtz's time in Columbia saw the resurrection of Gamecock Football, as the program had only one bowl win and no Top 25 finishes in the ten years before his hire. Upon his exit, USC had posted AP Top 25 finishes in 2000 and 2001 (#19 and No. 13 respectively) and had made consecutive New Year's Day bowls for the first time in its history. This item comes with a LOA from Lou Holtz, and 100% of the net proceeds from the sale of this item will benefit the Holtz Charitable Foundation, Inc.