Oscar Fordham, who spent over 60 years with Charleston’s Recreation Department, dies at 98

CHARLESTON — Generations of former players fondly remember Coach Oscar “Frizz” Fordham, whose reach went far beyond athletics.

Fordham died June 24. He was 98.

Last summer, at age 97, Fordham retired — for the third time — from the Charleston Recreation Department.

For more than 60 years, he was a fixture at Harmon Park, where he coached basketball, baseball and football on fields that bear his name, and at McMahon Playground on the edge of Hampton Park. In 2021, Fordham was named to the Charleston Baseball Hall of Fame.

“We really going to miss Frizz,” said Jamar Washington, athletic director and head boy’s basketball coach at Lake Marion High School in Santee, S.C.

He played baseball and basketball under Fordham in the 80s and 90s, when the neighborhood surrounding Harmon was “pretty rough,” Washington said. 

“But that was a place that you wanted to be at, Harmon Park,” the former player said, adding that Fordham was a big part of that. 

Washington remembered Fordham lining his teammates up two-by-two to walk to see the Charleston Royals, the founding name of the RiverDogs. Fordham would then challenge them to a footrace back.

Fordham taught his players more than just game fundamentals. He demanded discipline, punctuality and responsibility.

“He always preached about staying out of trouble,” Washington said. “He was a good guy. He just, he cared for all of us as if he was our father.”

Fordham leaves “a legacy or true example of what a true servant leader is,” said Robert Pickering, who now works at The Citadel.