Former South Carolina tennis coach, administrator Don Barton dies at age 96
Former South Carolina administrator and tennis coach Don Barton died Thursday at age 96.
The school announced the news. He was a 1949 graduate of USC, served in the Air Force, was a sports editor at the Columbia Record and ran an advertising agency for 33 years.
Steve Fink, current director of athletics media relations at USC, said via Twitter: “Sorry to hear the news of the passing of one of my predecessors, former @GamecocksOnline Sports Information Director Don Barton. “Always enjoyed Don sharing his stories of @GamecockFB.”
A 2006 article in The State described Barton as a “walking encyclopedia” on the South Carolina-Clemson football rivalry.
“He always will be linked with the Palmetto State’s fierce football rivalry, thanks to his writing ‘The Carolina-Clemson Game’ in 1966 and updating the series history in ‘Big Thursdays and Super Saturdays’ in 1981,” the 2006 article wrote. “He receives calls each year for his view on what makes the game so special, and he made a couple of speeches in the days leading to this year’s game.”
A self-described rabid Clemson fan growing up in Anderson, he “became a born-again Gamecock,” he told The State in 2013.
“A kind man with a great heart, god bless Don Barton,” tweeted former USC baseball media relations director Andrew Kitick.
“Don Barton was a great person and Gamecock,” former Columbia Mayor Bob Coble posted to Twitter. “He was the MC for the Ambassador of the Year Breakfast for many years. Everyone looked forward to his great humor.”
The school’s full release of Barton’s passing is below:
“Former Gamecock administrator and tennis coach Don Barton, 96, died Wednesday in Columbia, S.C.
Barton graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1949 with a degree in Journalism. While attending USC, he was in the Kappa Sigma Kappa service fraternity, Blue Key Honor Society and Lambda Chi Alpha social fraternity as well as sports editor of the Gamecock.
Barton served as the Sports Information Director at Carolina from 1950-59 and was the school’s tennis coach in 1954-55. He also authored several books on the history of Carolina athletics including “Big Thursdays and Super Saturdays”, “Hi Everybody! This is Bob Fulton” and Frank McGuire: The Life and Times of a Basketball Legend” (co-authored with Bob Fulton).
He served in the U.S. Air Force during World War II as a B-29 Flight Engineer. Barton also worked as a sports editor at the Columbia Record and founded an advertising agency, where he worked for 33 years.
Born on August 19, 1924 in Anderson, S.C., he is survived by his wife, Betty Kneece Barton; daughter, Mary Elizabeth Barton Thorne and her husband, John Calvin Thorne III of Columbia; grandchildren, Elizabeth Henderson (Drayton), John Thorne IV (Eliza), Mary Katharine Hill (Haynes); and two great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by two brothers, Hasell Barton and David Barton and sisters, Caroline Caughman, Dorothy Hawkins and Harriett Littlejohn.
Memorials may be made to Eastminster Presbyterian Church, 3200 Trenholm Rd, Columbia, SC 29204; or Riverbanks Zoo and Gardens, 500 Wildlife Pkwy, Columbia, SC 29210. A private memorial service for will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, November 15, 2020 at Eastminster Presbyterian Church, with burial in the church memorial gardens. A livestreaming of the service will be available to view at https://eastminsterpres.org/live-services. Dunbar Funeral Home, Devine Street Chapel, is assisting the family.”
This story was originally published November 12, 2020 at 5:12 PM.
