March is Women's History Month—commemorating and encouraging the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in American history. We take this opportunity to salute Jo Allison Clary Smith, whose gracious yet forceful influence touched many aspects of Carolina athletics and beyond.
By Lee Pace
Wilburn Clary was one of the top officials in college football in the mid-1900s and was assigned to the Orange Bowl on Jan. 2, 1956, which pitted Bud Wilkinson's Oklahoma Sooners against Jim Tatum's Maryland Terrapins. Both were unbeaten and ranked in the top three in the nation, and scalpers were commanding top dollar on a day that saw Miami's Orange Bowl stuffed with 76,561 fans.