I've known Donnie personally for several decades now. He's actually been to the Cockaboose a few times.

Great guy. Wish he would have been a Gamecock but, back then, he didn't have the grades and Willie Jeffries was the man.

Donnie, along with Freddie Solomon were two players that got away from us back in the early 70s ... both because of the ACC's "standards" hypocrisy and they were two of the reasons (along with a basketball recruit) that we got the hell outta the ACC when we did.

Donnie used to come by one of my restaurants and eat all the time ... he'd sit right up front at my personal table and I'd always sit down and eat with him. One day, out of the clear blue sky, we were sitting there eating and in walks Jim Carlen who was also a regular when he was in town, and the three of us sat there and talked until well into the afternoon. It was good stuff.

Matter of fact, that same afternoon Ronnie Burton and Willie Scott, two other Newberry County boys walked in together ... it was weird that all of us showed-up that afternoon because I was rarely at that location on Fridays back then ... I just happened to be there because my manager was out sick that week.

Donnie is a class act though, he really is. And Coach Jeffries had some great teams back in the 70s before he left for Wichita State. Donnie was friends with another good friend of mine, Steve Courson (who we called "Cro" which was short for "Cro-magnon Man" although Steeler's fans called him "The Hulk") ... Donnie was at Cro's funeral, or Cathy's funeral, I can't remember which one now, it's been some years ago, but he is just that kind of guy. A very moral, ethical person.

I spoke to Cro the day before he died - and the next day afterwards when we were supposed to speak again, when one of the Woolbright brothers called me to tell me Cro had been killed ... I immediately hung up the phone and called Donnie, and he was devastated.