In 1969, Carlton Haywood found his way to the University of South Carolina. It was a monumental moment when Haywood made his way to campus, as he was the first African American to enroll at the University of South Carolina on a football scholarship. Haywood would play on the 1969 freshman team, took a redshirt in 1970 and earned a varsity letter in 1971. Forty years later, Haywood looks back on the time and remembers when he first became a part of the Gamecock Nation.
How did you find yourself here?
I was recruited by one of the recruiting coordinators by the name of Jackie Powers. I guess his recruiting territory included Macon, Ga. Of course I was on a high school team and we were ranked pretty high in the state. We had a pretty good season. Jackie got with the coaches and they recommended me highly. One thing led to another. I made a recruiting visit to Carolina in the spring of 69. I had never been away from Georgia at all and they flew me up to South Carolina on a private plane and it was a love at first sight kind of thing. Actually, I really wanted to go to Georgia Tech and Georgia and those kinds of places but at that time it was a different era. Georgia wasn't recruiting black players and Georgia Tech, I actually never went to visit Georgia Tech because I made the trip to South Carolina I was hooked on the facilities and everything else and the way I was treated when I was up there, so I chose South Carolina.
Do you remember the feeling of being offered an athletic scholarship? That had to be a pretty big deal for you personally.
Yeah, it was a big deal. Coach Dietzel made a big deal out of it. Coach Dietzel's office was at the Roundhouse at that time. It made headlines around the city (of Columbia) and state of South Carolina and also in Georgia. It was a big deal; they made a big deal of it. I was very impressed. Obviously my head was bigger than it should have been and it was a great achievement at the time to even get offered a scholarship at South Carolina, so by all means it was a wonderful thrill.
How would you describe coming here, was it a whirlwind?
I recall when I came through the recruiting process that actually had the first black basketball player getting recruited at that time, Casey Manning and Jackie Brown was the first black baseball player but Jackie of course ended up playing on the football team. Jackie passed away in '94. They actually presented our entire recruiting trip at the half time of a Gamecock basketball game. It was quite a thrill; we walked out on center court. We were very well received by the basketball crowd. It was a thrill; it was just overwhelming for a kid from Macon, Ga. at the time.
Basketball was playing pretty well at that time.
Oh yeah, we had great teams in those days, back in the day of John Roche and Tom Riker. They were ranked highly in the country in basketball at that time. Coach McGuire was a great coach and basketball was the preeminent sport. Football was just coming around. Coach Dietzel was just trying to get it going. We were trying to build our program at that time. I thought it was a great opportunity for me and I wanted to be a part of the scene. The actual presentation of me, Jackie Brown and Casey Manning at that basketball game was something I can still tell my grandkids about.
You were on the Freshman Team in '69. Was it special to be a part of the program that year as the varsity won an ACC championship? What was it like to see those guys perform at the football games?
It was a thrill. I was just glad to be a small part of it at the time. I went through some injury problems. I had some hamstring problems and I couldn't participate as much as I wanted to at that time, but it was still just a thrill to be a part of it at that time.
What is one thing that you'll take away from your time at South Carolina?
One thing I'd like to add that stood out to me as part of my learning experience and really helped me develop during my time there was Coach Pride Ratterree. When times got really tough I talked to Coach Ratterree. I consider him my hero in my development at USC. A couple times I wanted to leave. He gave me great encouragement at the time and I will never forget him. He was my head coach in '69 on the freshman team.
How did you find yourself here?
I was recruited by one of the recruiting coordinators by the name of Jackie Powers. I guess his recruiting territory included Macon, Ga. Of course I was on a high school team and we were ranked pretty high in the state. We had a pretty good season. Jackie got with the coaches and they recommended me highly. One thing led to another. I made a recruiting visit to Carolina in the spring of 69. I had never been away from Georgia at all and they flew me up to South Carolina on a private plane and it was a love at first sight kind of thing. Actually, I really wanted to go to Georgia Tech and Georgia and those kinds of places but at that time it was a different era. Georgia wasn't recruiting black players and Georgia Tech, I actually never went to visit Georgia Tech because I made the trip to South Carolina I was hooked on the facilities and everything else and the way I was treated when I was up there, so I chose South Carolina.
Do you remember the feeling of being offered an athletic scholarship? That had to be a pretty big deal for you personally.
Yeah, it was a big deal. Coach Dietzel made a big deal out of it. Coach Dietzel's office was at the Roundhouse at that time. It made headlines around the city (of Columbia) and state of South Carolina and also in Georgia. It was a big deal; they made a big deal of it. I was very impressed. Obviously my head was bigger than it should have been and it was a great achievement at the time to even get offered a scholarship at South Carolina, so by all means it was a wonderful thrill.
How would you describe coming here, was it a whirlwind?
I recall when I came through the recruiting process that actually had the first black basketball player getting recruited at that time, Casey Manning and Jackie Brown was the first black baseball player but Jackie of course ended up playing on the football team. Jackie passed away in '94. They actually presented our entire recruiting trip at the half time of a Gamecock basketball game. It was quite a thrill; we walked out on center court. We were very well received by the basketball crowd. It was a thrill; it was just overwhelming for a kid from Macon, Ga. at the time.
Basketball was playing pretty well at that time.
Oh yeah, we had great teams in those days, back in the day of John Roche and Tom Riker. They were ranked highly in the country in basketball at that time. Coach McGuire was a great coach and basketball was the preeminent sport. Football was just coming around. Coach Dietzel was just trying to get it going. We were trying to build our program at that time. I thought it was a great opportunity for me and I wanted to be a part of the scene. The actual presentation of me, Jackie Brown and Casey Manning at that basketball game was something I can still tell my grandkids about.
You were on the Freshman Team in '69. Was it special to be a part of the program that year as the varsity won an ACC championship? What was it like to see those guys perform at the football games?
It was a thrill. I was just glad to be a small part of it at the time. I went through some injury problems. I had some hamstring problems and I couldn't participate as much as I wanted to at that time, but it was still just a thrill to be a part of it at that time.
What is one thing that you'll take away from your time at South Carolina?
One thing I'd like to add that stood out to me as part of my learning experience and really helped me develop during my time there was Coach Pride Ratterree. When times got really tough I talked to Coach Ratterree. I consider him my hero in my development at USC. A couple times I wanted to leave. He gave me great encouragement at the time and I will never forget him. He was my head coach in '69 on the freshman team.
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