King Dixon, former South Carolina football star, AD and ‘war hero,’ has died
Sparky Woods’ voice was full with sorrow Tuesday morning.
The former South Carolina football coach was feeling the same loss as many around the world of Gamecocks athletics. Less than 18 hours earlier, King Dixon, a former South Carolina player and athletic director who helped transition the Gamecocks to the Southeastern Conference, died at age 83 from complications caused by pancreatic cancer.
“I have nothing but super memories of King Dixon,” Woods said. “I thought he was a service person who has always loved the University of South Carolina.”
He is survived by his wife Augusta and three sons. Gamecocks broadcaster Tommy Moody, a longtime friend, learned Monday night and started spreading the word.
“I heard from former Letterman’s president, Mike Ragin, (several) hours ago that they had ... rushed King to the hospital,” Moody told The State. “He passed away about six o’clock tonight.”
The former All-ACC football player, athletic director and Board of Trustees member had been connected to the school since the mid-1950s when he joined the team coached by Rex Enright.
Most of Dixon’s playing career came under Warren Giese. Dixon paired with Alex Hawkins in the backfield as part of a group that led the Gamecocks to a pair of seven-win seasons.
Dixon graduated cum laude with a political science degree in 1959.
After football, he served in the Marines for 22 years, a career that included numerous commendations, including a Bronze Star, according to his school hall of fame biography.
Dixon came back to USC in 1988 as athletic director at age 51, taking over during the steroid scandal at the end of the Joe Morrison era. He remained in the role for four years.
Dixon hired Woods to replace Morrison, and Woods still holds a great deal of admiration for his former boss.
“King Dixon is a great, great man,” Woods told The State in 2019. “I think he’s the best South Carolina graduate. Phi Beta Kappa, war hero, great player when he was there.”
During Dixon’s time as AD, he oversaw the school’s move into the SEC after more than 20 years as a football independent (the basketball program spent most of that time as an independent, with eight years in the Metro Conference). He also fired men’s basketball coach George Felton and hired his replacement, Steve Newton, after a nearly two-month search, which earned its share of criticism.
Longtime Columbia radio host Teddy Heffner said he felt the criticism was too much at times, considering the challenging situation Dixon walked into. Heffner also noted Dixon was adept at following orders, a characteristic that helped him land the job, and brought an unquestionable integrity to the role.
Moody said Dixon had called him about three weeks ago, telling him with emotion in his voice about the diagnosis. The plan was not to treat him but just to keep him as comfortable as possible.
“That’s the way King was,” Moody said. “He lived life to the fullest, no question about.”
Dixon is survived by his wife, Augusta. The pair were listed as “outstanding seniors” on the same page of their senior yearbook.
Moody called them “One of the great love stories. ... When he called me three weeks ago, he said, ‘You know what, Tommy?’ He said, ‘I’ve been in love with that woman since third grade.’”
After Dixon’s time as AD, which ended with a new school president and the football program struggling under Woods, he moved back to his hometown of Laurens and worked as a banker. Moody remembered Augusta coming down to First Presbyterian Church on Wednesdays, and when he asked about King, she’d talk about how much he loved his tractor and loved his farm.
On the field, King Dixon posted 1,250 rushing yards, scored 11 touchdowns, caught 20 passes and completed 15. One of his most memorable moments came in October 1957, when South Carolina headed to Texas to take on Darrell Royal’s first Longhorns team.
Dixon took the opening kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown and along with Hawkins helped key a fourth-quarter rally from down 21-7 to take the 27-21 win.
“We got a second burst of wind out there because of a couple of bad punts,” Dixon wrote in the book “Game of My Life,” a collection of memories of Gamecocks players.
“We scored three touchdowns in that fourth quarter out there, where the ‘Eyes of Texas are upon you,’ and we beat Texas.”
He also helped the Gamecocks upset No. 10 Clemson his senior season, handing the Tigers their first loss.
There was a bit of a Clemson connection for Dixon, Moody said, as Dixon’s father knew legendary Tigers coach Frank Howard from their time in the Navy. The younger Dixon and Howard would go hunting together, Moody added.
“Frank Howard just assumed that King was signed, sealed and delivered to be a Clemson Tiger,” Moody said. “And I think at the last minute, King said no, he wanted be a Gamecock and go play for for coach Rex Enright.”
According “Game of My Life,” Howard sent Dixon a telegram late in his recruiting process that said “King, you have been an outstanding Tiger for four years. Don’t fowl it up today. Your coach, Frank Howard.”
At the start of this year, Dixon joined the school’s board of trustees in an interim role, replacing A.C. “Bubba” Fennell.
“He was just a great guy, just a great person who, like I said, wore emotions on his sleeve,” Moody said. “He was very passionate about life very really passionate about his family, very passionate about the Gamecocks. And I cannot think of anybody I could say more good things about than King Dixon. He was just, just one in a million.”
This story was originally published July 6, 2020 at 11:53 PM.
