John H. Holladay, Jr. recently celebrated 100 years of age and has been living a rich and full life.
Holladay is a true Renaissance man. He was born in Gable South Carolina, a small community in Clarendon County, April 7, 1923. His childhood consisted of moving to Wrightsville, Georgia during the depression where he lived with his grandparents and in 1936 he moved back to South Carolina to graduate from St. John’s High School in Darlington in 1940.
John was a fighter and proved it through the numerous boxing awards he received during high school which included an undefeated high school boxing championship team 1939-1940, a Gold boxing trophy in 1939 and the Grinel Boxing Trophy for outstanding boxing in 1940.
He attended college starting with Wofford College in l940 then Middle Tennessee State in 1942. His academic career was interrupted when he joined the Army from February 1943 until May of 1946 during WWII. Stationed in both Italy and Switzerland he was a glider pilot and received courses in glider mechanics. He attended Officer Candidate School and was honorably discharged as a First Lieutenant. He attended the University of South Carolina from l948-50 where he majored in chemistry. He was a member of the college boxing team and was one of the organizers and the first president of the McBride Brotherhood, a campus political group.
Holladay didn’t ignore his boxing talents and fought professionally and trained with several world champions. His boxing career consisted of 43 amateur matches with about 37 wins and 6 loses. As a professional he won all 21 of his matches. He boxed 3 exhibitions with former professional boxing champions including one when he was 70 years old, with Pinklon Thomas, a former heavyweight champion.
John was the Founding Member of the State Athletic Commission and served as Chairman from l984 – l996 (after 12 years as Chairman he retired in 1996 and was named Commission Chairman Emeritus). He served on the Lexington County Boxing Commission from 1982 – 1984.
His working career began with Dixie Life Insurance in 1946 He ended up as South Carolina National Bank Vice President Chairman’s Division, a member of the bank’s Management Committee and Administrator of Legislative Affairs in 1963 until he retired in 1990.
He pioneered the bank’s automobile leasing, centralized installment loan collections and heavy equipment financing. He and others supervised the beginning of the installment leading ATM program. He was the bank’s licensed insurance agent and managed its insurance subsidiary, Sterling Corporation. He was Government Affairs Director for another subsidiary of the bank, Provident Finance Company. His banking appointments included: Executive Committee of the American Bankers Association’s Legislative Liason Advisory Committee; Legislative Committee for the Association of Bank Holding Companies; National Credit Grantors Advisory Board; Legislative Committee of the Consumer Bankers Association; Chairman, Region 3A Installment Credit Advisory Board; Executive Committee, American Bankers Association Installment Lending Division; National BankAmericard Marketing Advisory Committee; Chairman, South Carolina Bankers Association’s Legislative Committee; Congressional and state Legislative Committees of the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce; President of the Columbia Finance Association.
Several years after retiring from the bank he was hired as a funeral assistant for three funeral homes Thompson 6 years, Caughman-Harman 2 years and Temples-Halloran 4 years).
At the August 12, 2020 meeting of the Greater Irmo Chamber of Commerce meeting he was awarded the Order of The Palmetto which is the highest state award that is given.
He coached Little League and Pee Wee baseball and was a scoutmaster.
John is also a prolific writer. For several years he wrote a political column for two weekly newspapers and was co-author of the novel, “Toothpick”, published in 2002.
In 2017 and 2018 he published four other books: A Pilot? In Over His Head; My Uncle Tom; Betcha Didn’t Know and an Autobiography.
Holladay had an acting career to go along with everything else. He was the double for both Rod Steiger and Mickey Rooney in the movie “Animals.” He was also Rod Steiger’s stand-in in the movie. He was a background actor in the movie “Who’s Your Caddy” and was a congressman & innkeeper in the movie “Nails” (name changed to “Accidental Love”. He had parts in a number of theater plays.
His Political Appointments are decades long as is his Civic and Business Activities.
Holladay has 4 children, 6 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren. He says ‘Learn what you’re supposed to do and then do it.” And if you follow his advice you too may live to be 100 years old.
