King Dixon

❧

Wikipedia

King Dixon
Biographical details
Born(1936-12-28)December 28, 1936
Laurens, South Carolina, U.S.
DiedJuly 6, 2020(2020-07-06) (aged 89)
Laurens, South Carolina, U.S.
Playing career
Football
1956–1958South Carolina
1959–1960Quantico Marines
1962San Diego Marines
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1961Camp Hansen
1962–1963San Diego Marines (assistant)
1964San Diego Marines
1968Quantico Marines
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1988–1992South Carolina
Head coaching record
Overall23–9
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
As player
Second-team all ACC (1957)
United States Armed Forces Athlete of the Year (1959)
Military career
AllegianceUnited States United States of America
BranchUnited States Marine Corps
Service years1959–1981
RankLieutenant Colonel
Unit1st Reconnaissance Battalion
AwardsBronze Star Medal
Navy Commendation Medal with Combat V
Vietnamese Gallantry Cross

Albert King Dixon Jr. (December 28, 1936 – July 6, 2020) was an American football player and athletic director for the South Carolina Gamecocks as well as a United States Marine Corps officer during the Vietnam War.

University of South Carolina

Dixon was highly recruited out of Laurens High School.[1] He was co-captain of the South Carolina team in the 1954 Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas and was named the game's most valuable player.[2][3] He committed to the University of South Carolina and, after a stellar year on the freshman team, cracked the varsity starting lineup as a sophomore and helped lead the 1956 South Carolina Gamecocks football team to a 7–3 record. The following season, he scored two touchdowns in the Gamecocks upset 27–21 over #20 Texas.[4] His 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown on the game's opening play was an Atlantic Coast Conference record.[5] An injury kept him out of the final three games of the season. He was named co–captain of the 1958 South Carolina Gamecocks football team and helped lead them to an upset over Duke and a 26–6 victory over rival Clemson in the Big Thursday game. In addition to playing running back, Dixon also played on defense and was the Gamecocks' punter and returner.[4] In his three varsity seasons, Dixon gained 1,250 rushing yards, completed 15 of 34 passes, had 20 receptions, punted averaged 32.5 yards on 58 punts, intercepted seven passes, and scored 14 touchdowns. He was co-captain of the South team in the 1958 North–South Shrine Game.[5]

While attending the University of South Carolina, Dixon was a member of the United States Marine Corps Reserve and spent three years as a page in the South Carolina House of Representatives. In 1958, he was a candidate for the House of Representatives in Laurens County, but lost by eight votes. He graduated in 1959 with a degree in political science.[5]

United States Marine Corps

Dixon entered the United States Marine Corps after graduation.[5] He was co-captain of the 1959 Quantico Marines Devil Dogs football team that went 10–0 in the regular season and beat McClellan Air Force Base 90–0 in the Shrimp Bowl. Dixon averaged 7.5 yards per carry on the year and scored 52 points.[6] He was selected by the DC Touchdown Club as the United States Armed Forces Athlete of the Year for 1959.[7] In 1960, he carried the ball 58 times for 7.4 yards and caught 14 passes for 160 yards. He scored six touchdowns and had four conversions during the regular season. He scored two touchdowns against Naval Air Station Pensacola in the Missile Bowl, one of which came on a 95-yard kickoff return. In the Leatherneck Bowl, Dixon scoured four touchdowns and passed for a two-point conversion. He finished the game with 76 yards rushing on 11 carries and 4 receptions for 81 yards.[6]

In 1961, Dixon turned to coaching and led the Camp Hansen Strikers to a Far East championship. In 1962 and 1963, he was an assistant coach for the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego team. He took over as head coach in 1964 and led the team to an 11–1 record.[6]

In 1965, Dixon was assigned to the United States Army Infantry School at Fort Benning. He was then sent to Vietnam, where he was commanding officer of "B" Company, 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, and later, the 1st Force Company.[6] He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Navy Commendation Medal with Combat V, and the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross for his service during the Vietnam War.[8] He returned to Marine Corps Base Quantico in 1967 as a patrolling and counterinsurgency instructor at The Basic School and was coach of the base's football team in 1968.[6]

Return to Gamecocks

After retiring from the Marine Corps, Dixon returned to Laurens, South Carolina. From 1981 to 1983, he was executive director of the Laurens Family YMCA. He then served as vice president and city executive of Laurens for the Palmetto Bank.[9] In 1988, he returned to the University of South Carolina as associate vice president for alumni affairs.[10]

On October 3, 1988, Dixon was named USC's interim director of athletics after Dick Bestwick resigned due to health issues.[11] Dixon was the fourth person to hold the job that year (Bob Marcum was fired in March due to a drug-testing controversy and Johnny Gregory served as acting AD until Bestwick was hired in April). He was named South Carolina's permanent athletic director on October 27.[12]

Shortly after taking the job, Dixon had to deal with the University of South Carolina steroid scandal, which came about after Sports Illustrated published a lengthy article written by former South Carolina football player Tommy Chaikin in collaboration with SI's Rick Telander alleging widespread use of steroids in the school's football program.[13] Following the article, a federal grand jury indicted four University of South Carolina football coaches in connection with steroid distribution to players.[14] Three of the coaches pleaded guilty in plea-bargain arrangements[15] and the fourth was acquitted.[16] That offseason, the football program was dealt another blow after head coach Joe Morrison died of a heart attack.[17] Appalachian State head coach Sparky Woods was chosen to succeed Morrison.[18] South Carolina started 1989 season 5–1–1 and ranked No. 25 in the country.[19] However, in the eighth game against No. 20 NC State, senior star quarterback Todd Ellis, considered arguably the most impactful player in program history until then, suffered a college career-ending injury.[20] The Gamecocks subsequently lost three of their last four games.[19] The Gamecocks finished the following season with a record of 6–5. The Gamecocks were considered for the Independence Bowl both seasons, but Dixon declined the opportunity to play in the game, citing a conflict with the fall semester exams.[21][22]

In 1990, South Carolina accepted an invitation to join the Southeastern Conference. They entered the conference in all sports but football on July 1, 1991 and played their first season of SEC football in 1992.[23]

In 1991, Dixon fired men's basketball coach George Felton, who had a 87–62 record in his five seasons as head coach (including an appearance in the 1989 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament) and had just led South Carolina to its first 20-win season in eight years and an appearance in the National Invitation Tournament.[24] South Carolina offered the job to Rutgers head coach and former Gamecocks assistant Bob Wenzel, but he turned down the offer.[25] The school instead hired Steve Newton, who compiled a 20–35 record in his two seasons as head coach.[26]

USC lost the final four games of the 1991 season and the first five of 1992, giving them the longest losing streak in NCAA Division I-A. Dixon was booed during a halftime ceremony in South Carolina's 49–7 loss Arkansas and after a loss to Alabama the following week, the team voted to request head coach Sparky Woods' resignation.[27][28] On October 19, 1992, university president John Palms announced that Dixon would be reassigned following the appointment of a successor, stating that it was the "appropriate time to ... seek a different athletic director (because) ... of where we are in athletics".[29] On November 30, Palms announced that University of Southern California athletic director Mike McGee would take over in January 1993.[30]

Later life

After his dismissal, Dixon returned to Laurens, where he worked in the private sector and was involved in community service and philanthropy. On December 31, 2019, he was appointed by Governor Henry McMaster to fill a vacant seat on the University of South Carolina Board of Trustees. Dixon died from pancreatic cancer on July 6, 2020.[8]

References

  1. ↑ McGrath, Ed (October 19, 1958). "Last Times, This Thursday ... (Dixon Versus Hayes)". Herald-Journal. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  2. ↑ "Benson, Dixon To Captain SC Shrine Bowlers". Herald-Journal. December 2, 1954. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  3. ↑ Alyta, Ken (December 6, 1954). "Palmetto 18-Year Olds Swamp Tar Heels, 27-7". The Robesonian. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  4. 1 2 "'Laurens Limited' Dixon To Make Final Area Run". Herald-Journal. November 4, 1958. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Price, Tom (June 4, 1959). "Dixon Captained Grid Teams Since Junior High". The Press-Courier. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Quantico Great Maj. King Dixon Returns As Head Football Coach". The Free Lance-Star. April 3, 1968. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  7. ↑ "Marines Headed For Shrimp Bowl". The Free Lance-Star. December 7, 1959. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  8. 1 2 Clayton, John (July 7, 2020). "King Dixon, 83, dies of cancer". Laurens County Advertiser. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  9. ↑ "Rotary Governor To Speak Sept. 11". The Newberry Observer. August 31, 1987. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  10. ↑ "Ex-USC football star named associate VP". Herald-Journal. July 6, 1988. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  11. ↑ "Bestwick steps down; USC names Dixon". The Item. October 4, 1988. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  12. ↑ "King Dixon officially tabbed AD at South Carolina". The Robesonian. October 28, 1988. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  13. ↑ Chaikin, Tommy; Rick Telander (1988-10-24). "The Nightmare Of Steroids". Sports Illustrated. Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on January 2, 2013. Retrieved 2008-08-19.
  14. ↑ "4 Ex-Football Aides Indicted In South Carolina Steroid Case". The New York Times. 1989-04-20. Retrieved 2008-01-07.
  15. ↑ Gillespie, Bob (1989-06-02). "Ex-Coaches Plead Guilty - 3 Former USC Assistants Make Steroids Case Deals". The State (Columbia, SC). pp. 1A.
  16. ↑ "Acquittal in Steroid Trial". The New York Times. 1989-06-22. Retrieved 2008-01-07.
  17. ↑ Scoppe, Rick (February 6, 1989). "Gamecock coach dies of heart attack". The Prescott Courier. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  18. ↑ Scoppe, Rick (February 20, 1989). "USC to name Woods head coach". The Times-News. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  19. 1 2 "1989 South Carolina Gamecocks Schedule and Results". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
  20. ↑ Staff Writer. "Ellis's injury disheartens USC". Spartanburg Herald Journal. Retrieved 2024-09-30.
  21. ↑ "USC says money played no part in Independence Bowl decision". The Item. November 18, 1989. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  22. ↑ "Gamecocks won't play in Independence Bowl". Star-News. November 22, 1990. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  23. ↑ Newton, David (September 26, 1990). "USC jumps on SEC invitation". Herald-Journal. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  24. ↑ "South Carolina Fires Felton". The Times-News. May 15, 1991. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  25. ↑ "Wenzel says no to USC coaching job". The Robesonian. July 9, 1991. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  26. ↑ "Steve Newton". SRCBB. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  27. ↑ "USC president keeps watch on Dixon". Rome News-Tribune. October 9, 1992. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  28. ↑ "South Carolina looks into players' mutiny". Observer-Reporter. October 15, 1992. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  29. ↑ "South Carolina looking for new athletic director". Times Daily. October 20, 1992. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  30. ↑ "McGee Named Athletics Director At The University of S.C." The Newberry Observer. December 4, 1992. Retrieved 5 October 2025.