By Thomas Grant Jr.
Leisure time for Marion Reeves outside his Irmo residence puts him in a reflective mood.
He remembers playing baseball not too far down Kennerly Road. He talks fondly about his days attending and playing sports at then-Rich Lex School, the all-black school where Dutch Fok Elementary now stands.
“When the guys get together, we talk,” he said. “Some guys who are still around that I played high school football with and basketball…I can sit on the porch, and this is my relaxation here.”
From these humble beginnings, Reeves embarked upon a historic journey of life. The closing of Rich Lex School in 1968 led to Reeves spending his final two years of high school at Irmo.
His play at linebacker caught the eye of new Clemson University head football coach Hootie Ingram. The Tigers’ program not having a black player since their inception did not stop Ingram from recruiting Reeves.
So in 1970, Reeves decided to become the first. Yet looking back 55 years later, Reeves said his landmark moment was treated with less significance than it is today.
“Everything was low-key,” he said. “When I signed with Clemson coming out of high school, it was no big deal. They had the Columbia Record then, and they had a write-up…That was in May of 1970 because they had changed over the coaching administration. Coach Frank Howard retired. Coach Ingram came in and they were trying to catch up on recruiting.
“They actually came to Irmo to look at another kid, but I kept showing up in the film. They asked who I was and I talked with Coach Doug Shively and they asked me to come up. Me and my mom and dad went up, and I didn’t know where Clemson was. We got to Greenville and we ended up towards Spartanburg. Somebody turned us around. But they offered and I signed.”
Reeves’ primary focus upon his arrival was making it through the “hot” two-a-day Upstate practices. Making the transition tolerable was moving back to his preferred position at strong safety.
As Reeves moved up the depth chart, the Tigers began to reap the benefits. During the 1971 season, Reeves picked off Virginia’s first black quarterback, Harrison Davis and future Heisman Trophy winner and Auburn head coach the late Pat Sullivan.
His sophomore year ended gloriously when he came off the bench and collected two interceptions in a 17-7 win over archrival South Carolina.
This was the third game as a sophomore at Clemson. As Reeves’ play continued to blossom through his junior and senior seasons, his NFL draft prospects had, in his words, going “between the first and third rounds”
A torn MCL late suffered against North Carolina State late in the season derailed those hopes. Reeves still worked his way into the league for one season with the Philadelphia Eagles.
He ended his football playing days first briefly with the Philadelphia Bell in the World Football League and then the Canadian Football League.
With a degree in hand from Clemson and married to his college sweetheart, Patricia, Reeves made the successful transition from football. After working in textiles from 1979-83 in Greenville and Lancaster, Reeves returned to Irmo to raise his growing family.
He then started a masonry brick business now overseen by his two sons. This is when Reeves received his calling in 1997 to become a minister.
Today, Reeves is the pastor at Pleasant Springs AME Church in Irmo. From the pulpit, he still finds use of the game that made him a trailblazer.
“I tell people that football is probably the greatest metaphor for life,” he said. “It teaches you teamwork, how to accept defeat, and how to bounce back from defeat. The fact that that game is not the end-all, that there’s always another game. There’s always another play, and so, people have to develop, like a defensive back, have to develop a short-term memory. You can’t let the past affect your future, and that’s one of the key things that people get bogged down on. They get stuck in the past and can’t progress to the future.”
The Reeves name is still prominent locally in sports. Of his eight grandchildren, two are playing baseball in Caden, who signed with Troy University, and Mason at Chapin High School.
Reeves still visits Clemson where he’s praised for helping pave the way for its standing as a national football power. He’s also stated he’s among the planned inductees in this year’s Irmo High School Athletics Hall of Fame Class.
“It’s been all good,” Reeves said. “I tell people God has opened doors for me and he still does with my ministry and my business. So, I’m grateful for that and my parents.”
(Photo by Thomas Grant Jr.) Former Clemson defensive back Marion Reeves (right) and wife Patricia (right).
