Cleveland PINKNEY, III^[1]

• Name	Cleveland PINKNEY  [2, 3]
  Suffix	III
  Gender	Male
  HIST	I hope that he with his correct parents. jkh 3-sport SHS star Pinkney earns way into NFL, Sumter Hall BY MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER mchristopher@theitem.com It just took a little taste of early success in athletics for Cleveland Pinkney. The rest became history. Pinkney was a 3-sport standout at Sumter High School before going on to a successful collegiate career and ultimately playing in the National Football League. He is one of nine people who will be inducted into the Sumter Sports Hall of Fame on Thursday at the SHS auditorium. Other inductees include Frank Galloway, Katrina Anderson, Arland Compton Jr., Tommy Player, Terry Kinard, Jimmy Noonan, Henry Marshall, the late Robbie Evans and the late Rudy Singleton. "I want everyone to know it's a great honor and I'm very appreciative of it," Pinkney said. "I really feel like when I ultimately made my decision to retire, whether I wanted to live in Tampa (Fla.) or come back to Sumter, that I made the right decision because ultimately Sumter is my home and where I love to be." Already a member of the Sumter High Athletic Hall of Fame, Pinkney excelled in football, wrestling and track and field for SHS. He was a 2-year starter at defensive tackle at the University of South Carolina and played with several teams in the National Football League, most prominently the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Today, he shares his knowledge and same never-say-die attitude with the Sumter High varsity football team as an assistant coach. "I'm very thankful I was able to put myself into positions through hard work," he explained. "Like I tell our players, hard work is going to pay off, you've just got to out-work your opponent." His success in athletics began at the middle school level at Bates. He played football, basketball and ran track, but his success in football and track became evident very quickly. As a seventh- and eighth-grader, Pinkney excelled in the shot put and discus. "That was my first time actually becoming an individual champion as a seventh- and eighth-grader," Pinkney said. The former Bantams athlete also found success on the gridiron where he quickly became fond of football. "I just thought, 'Wow, I just hit somebody and I'm not get in trouble,'" Pinkney said. "It felt good having some kind of success and being able to do something positive. I kind of struggled in school, so having something go right for a change really got me going and got me motivated." Pinkney played seven football games as a freshman for Sumter High and saw his career end with a trip to the Shrine Bowl. In wrestling, Pinkney went to state and finished fifth his freshman year as a heavyweight. As a sophomore and junior, he was a state runner-up. As a senior, he went undefeated and captured a state championship, becoming one of the most decorated wrestlers in SHS history. In track, Pinkney finished second in the state. In his junior year, he set a discus state record with a toss of 185 feet that was finally broken this past season.. Pinkney credited his success to his SHS strength coach, Randy Gold. "It really started with Randy Gold and how he trained me," Pinkney said. "I really honestly believe no one trained harder than me and that drove me. "The harder I worked the easier winning became, and to me once I worked hard and did everything my coaches asked me to do, actually winning became easy," he said. "It got to the point to where I expected to win and that kind of became the driving force, even playing in the NFL." Posted in Local sports, Sports on Tuesday, November 19, 2013 Pinkney 3-sport standout for SHS EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the final of five stories on the members of the second Sumter High School Athletic Hall of Fame class, which will be inducted today. In his career in the National Football League, Cleveland Pinkney has seen the bright lights and big cities of America as an Indianapolis Colt, San Francisco 49er, a Tampa Bay Buccaneer, an Atlanta Falcon, a Carolina Panther, a Seattle Seahawk — and currently — a Detroit Lion. However, it's as a Sumter High School Gamecock that the defensive tackle will be recognized tonight. Pinkney, a former 3-sport star at the school, will be inducted into the Sumter High Athletic Hall of Fame at a banquet in the school's commons area beginning at 6:30 p.m. "I was real proud and happy and excited when I first heard about it," said the 6-0, 305-pound Pinkney upon hearing about the honor. "I was really surprised more than anything." Pinkney, who will be inducted along with Donna Bisom, Norman Greene, Kenneth Richardson and Bo Betchman in the second class, said that he first heard about the honor about a month and a half ago. "It was a great thing for me," he said. "They (the Hall of Fame committee) needed some of my awards and I've been going back through everything. I spent two days putting down all my accomplishments. I thought, 'Man, I really did all this stuff in high school?' " Usually, a recognized athlete excels in just one sport and maybe plays another. That's not the case with Pinkney; he excelled in three sports. Pinkney was not only a Shrine Bowl pick as a defensive tackle in football, he was also a state champion as a wrestler and as a member of the track and field team. Pinkney was the 4A state champion in the heavyweight class in wrestling, going undefeated as a senior, after finishing as runner-up as a junior. He won both the discus and the shotput as a junior and senior. He set a state record in the discus as a junior in 1996 with a toss of 185 feet. "It really blew my mind that I accomplished so much," Pinkney said. "I feel like I've been focused on playing football in my mind (so much) that I haven't had time to sit back and look back." Pinkney later went on to become a lineman at South Carolina in 2000 and 2001 and is now on his seventh professional football team, if you count a stint with the Orlando Predators Arena Football team. Unfortunately, duty calls Pinkney today. He will be unable to attend because of his work on the Lions' practice squad, but his family will represent him at tonight's ceremony. By Pinkney's own account, they'll hear an earful of his accomplishments in three sports that were all enjoyable for him. "I was no less than state runner-up in three sports," he said. "I liked playing all three sports. I couldn't really say that I like one sport or the other." Posted in Sports01 on Thursday, October 12, 2006 The Sumter Item's Top 125 Sports Figures 16-20 Posted Thursday, November 21, 2019 2:18 pm In celebration of its 125th anniversary, The Sumter Item has selected the Top 125 Sports Figures during that period in Sumter, Clarendon and Lee counties. The list will be revealed in reverse order, appearing every Wednesday and Friday until it reaches the top 10 in December. At that point, one story will be released in each edition until the top figure is revealed. The list will include people who affected sports in our area both in competition and in other ways as well. 20) Dorothy Fortune - Dorothy Fortune was the girls basketball head coach at Lee Central High School for the first 18 years of the school’s existence. The Lady Stallions won five 2A state titles during that time frame and played for another. Fortune had a career record of 769-312 and has been inducted not only into the South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, but the South Carolina Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame Fortune led Mount Pleasant to two 1A state title appearances before the school merged with Bishopville to form Lee Central. With the likes of Patrice Holmes, La’Tangela Atkinson and Demetress Adams in the lineup, the Lady Stallions won state titles the first three years they were a team. They were 86-2 in those years. After missing out in the fourth year, LC won a fourth crown in 2005 and a fifth in 2007. Lee Central was 206-21 in its first eight years of existence. “I have had some great kids who were really willing to work hard,” Fortune said in 2018 interview. “When you have kids who work hard that’s a great thing. I told them all I ever wanted them to do was to do their best. I told them that I was trying to do my best to get them ready.” 19) Glenn Murray - Glenn Murray is arguably – and there really may not be that much of an argument – the best athlete to come out of Manning. While playing at Manning High School in the late 1980s, Murray played football, baseball and basketball - and played all of them well. He was an All-State free safety on the 1988 3A state championship football team and signed to play collegiately with South Carolina State. Murray was a starter on the 1987-1988 basketball team that played for the 3A state title. However, it was baseball in which Murray was a very, very special player. He was a second-round pick of the Montreal Expos out of high school in the 1989 Major League Baseball draft. Murray went on to play in the Major Leagues with the Philadelphia Phillies. Murray was a catcher, third baseman and shortstop playing high school and American Legion baseball. When he was drafted, Murray moved to the outfield. He was traded to the Boston organization after the 1992 season, reaching Triple-A. He was traded to the Philadelphia organization prior to the 1996 season and made his Major League debut later that season. The Phillies, who were in the midst of a terrible season, called Murray up and started him in right field. He had 97 at-bats and batted .196 with two home runs and six runs batted in before injuring his right wrist, on which he had to have surgery. Murray never did play in the big leagues again, but he did play in independent leagues for several years. 18) Burke Watson - Boxing and Burke Watson were synonymous with each other for well over a half of a century. As a senior cadet at The Citadel in 1948, Watson won the Southern Conference’s light heavyweight title. A few years later, Watson helped create the Sumter Optimist Boxing Club for local children to train and hone their skills, and more importantly, to give them guidance in their lives. Brent Elmore, who boxed for Watson in the 1970s and fought in the National Golden Gloves competition and succeeded him as the boxing club director, said Watson had a tremendous affect on his life. Elmore said that what made Watson such a great coach is that he didn’t mince his words. He was never cruel, Elmore said, but he told you what you needed to hear. “He’s the kind of man that he didn’t always tell you what you wanted to hear,” Elmore said a few days following Watson’s passing at the age of 83 in 2009. “He was never harsh with his criticism, but he’d tell you in a way that you’d feel good about making the change.” In 1977, the Optimist Club paid Watson the gratitude of placing his name on the gym which he helped build, naming it the W. Burke Watson Optimist Youth Center. Watson is a member of The Citadel Athletic Hall of Fame, the Sumter Sports Hall of Fame and the Carolinas Boxing Hall of Fame (1989). 17) Cleveland Pinkney - There may be someone else out there, but it’s hard to imagine that that there was ever a better “big” athlete to come through Sumter County than Cleveland Pinkney. Pinkney was a 3-sport standout at Sumter High School in the mid 1990s before going on to a successful collegiate career and ultimately playing in the National Football League. Pinkney excelled in football, wrestling and track and field for SHS. He was a 2-year starter at defensive tackle at the University of South Carolina and played with several teams in the National Football League, most prominently the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Pinkney played seven football games as a freshman for Sumter High and saw his career end with a trip to the Shrine Bowl. In wrestling, Pinkney went to state and finished fifth his freshman year as a heavyweight. As a sophomore and junior, he was a state runner-up. As a senior, he went undefeated and captured a state championship, becoming one of the most decorated wrestlers in SHS history. In track, he set a discus state record in his junior season with a toss of 185 feet that was finally broken in 2013. He is a member of both the Sumter Sports Hall of Fame and the Sumter High School Athletic Hall of Fame. 16) Nicole Gamble - Nicole Gamble was a was a high school track and field All-American at Sumter High School and a college All-American at the University of North Carolina. While impressive, neither of those are at the top of her resume. Gamble would go on to compete in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. She qualified by winning the triple jump at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Gamble was a 3-time state champion in both the triple jump and the long jump at Sumter High, winning the titles from her sophomore year in 1993 through her senior season in ‘95. During her senior season, she jumped 44 feet, 7 inches, to win the triple jump in the 4A state meet. That was the farthest any United States female high school athlete had ever jumped under any conditions. Gamble was also a pretty fair basketball player at SHS, starting and averaging in double figures in scoring two years. She averaged 16 points, five steals and four assists as a senior. While running track and field for UNC, she became a 6-time Atlantic Coast Conference champion and held several UNC records. Gamble is a member of the SHS Athletic Hall of Fame, the Sumter Sports Hall of Fame and the UNC Athletic Hall of Fame.  [1, 2, 3, 4]
  HIST	I hope that he with his correct parents. jkh 3-sport SHS star Pinkney earns way into NFL, Sumter Hall BY MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER mchristopher@theitem.com It just took a little taste of early success in athletics for Cleveland Pinkney. The rest became history. Pinkney was a 3-sport standout at Sumter High School before going on to a successful collegiate career and ultimately playing in the National Football League. He is one of nine people who will be inducted into the Sumter Sports Hall of Fame on Thursday at the SHS auditorium. Other inductees include Frank Galloway, Katrina Anderson, Arland Compton Jr., Tommy Player, Terry Kinard, Jimmy Noonan, Henry Marshall, the late Robbie Evans and the late Rudy Singleton. "I want everyone to know it's a great honor and I'm very appreciative of it," Pinkney said. "I really feel like when I ultimately made my decision to retire, whether I wanted to live in Tampa (Fla.) or come back to Sumter, that I made the right decision because ultimately Sumter is my home and where I love to be." Already a member of the Sumter High Athletic Hall of Fame, Pinkney excelled in football, wrestling and track and field for SHS. He was a 2-year starter at defensive tackle at the University of South Carolina and played with several teams in the National Football League, most prominently the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Today, he shares his knowledge and same never-say-die attitude with the Sumter High varsity football team as an assistant coach. "I'm very thankful I was able to put myself into positions through hard work," he explained. "Like I tell our players, hard work is going to pay off, you've just got to out-work your opponent." His success in athletics began at the middle school level at Bates. He played football, basketball and ran track, but his success in football and track became evident very quickly. As a seventh- and eighth-grader, Pinkney excelled in the shot put and discus. "That was my first time actually becoming an individual champion as a seventh- and eighth-grader," Pinkney said. The former Bantams athlete also found success on the gridiron where he quickly became fond of football. "I just thought, 'Wow, I just hit somebody and I'm not get in trouble,'" Pinkney said. "It felt good having some kind of success and being able to do something positive. I kind of struggled in school, so having something go right for a change really got me going and got me motivated." Pinkney played seven football games as a freshman for Sumter High and saw his career end with a trip to the Shrine Bowl. In wrestling, Pinkney went to state and finished fifth his freshman year as a heavyweight. As a sophomore and junior, he was a state runner-up. As a senior, he went undefeated and captured a state championship, becoming one of the most decorated wrestlers in SHS history. In track, Pinkney finished second in the state. In his junior year, he set a discus state record with a toss of 185 feet that was finally broken this past season.. Pinkney credited his success to his SHS strength coach, Randy Gold. "It really started with Randy Gold and how he trained me," Pinkney said. "I really honestly believe no one trained harder than me and that drove me. "The harder I worked the easier winning became, and to me once I worked hard and did everything my coaches asked me to do, actually winning became easy," he said. "It got to the point to where I expected to win and that kind of became the driving force, even playing in the NFL." Posted in Local sports, Sports on Tuesday, November 19, 2013 Pinkney 3-sport standout for SHS EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the final of five stories on the members of the second Sumter High School Athletic Hall of Fame class, which will be inducted today. In his career in the National Football League, Cleveland Pinkney has seen the bright lights and big cities of America as an Indianapolis Colt, San Francisco 49er, a Tampa Bay Buccaneer, an Atlanta Falcon, a Carolina Panther, a Seattle Seahawk — and currently — a Detroit Lion. However, it's as a Sumter High School Gamecock that the defensive tackle will be recognized tonight. Pinkney, a former 3-sport star at the school, will be inducted into the Sumter High Athletic Hall of Fame at a banquet in the school's commons area beginning at 6:30 p.m. "I was real proud and happy and excited when I first heard about it," said the 6-0, 305-pound Pinkney upon hearing about the honor. "I was really surprised more than anything." Pinkney, who will be inducted along with Donna Bisom, Norman Greene, Kenneth Richardson and Bo Betchman in the second class, said that he first heard about the honor about a month and a half ago. "It was a great thing for me," he said. "They (the Hall of Fame committee) needed some of my awards and I've been going back through everything. I spent two days putting down all my accomplishments. I thought, 'Man, I really did all this stuff in high school?' " Usually, a recognized athlete excels in just one sport and maybe plays another. That's not the case with Pinkney; he excelled in three sports. Pinkney was not only a Shrine Bowl pick as a defensive tackle in football, he was also a state champion as a wrestler and as a member of the track and field team. Pinkney was the 4A state champion in the heavyweight class in wrestling, going undefeated as a senior, after finishing as runner-up as a junior. He won both the discus and the shotput as a junior and senior. He set a state record in the discus as a junior in 1996 with a toss of 185 feet. "It really blew my mind that I accomplished so much," Pinkney said. "I feel like I've been focused on playing football in my mind (so much) that I haven't had time to sit back and look back." Pinkney later went on to become a lineman at South Carolina in 2000 and 2001 and is now on his seventh professional football team, if you count a stint with the Orlando Predators Arena Football team. Unfortunately, duty calls Pinkney today. He will be unable to attend because of his work on the Lions' practice squad, but his family will represent him at tonight's ceremony. By Pinkney's own account, they'll hear an earful of his accomplishments in three sports that were all enjoyable for him. "I was no less than state runner-up in three sports," he said. "I liked playing all three sports. I couldn't really say that I like one sport or the other." Posted in Sports01 on Thursday, October 12, 2006 The Sumter Item's Top 125 Sports Figures 16-20 Posted Thursday, November 21, 2019 2:18 pm In celebration of its 125th anniversary, The Sumter Item has selected the Top 125 Sports Figures during that period in Sumter, Clarendon and Lee counties. The list will be revealed in reverse order, appearing every Wednesday and Friday until it reaches the top 10 in December. At that point, one story will be released in each edition until the top figure is revealed. The list will include people who affected sports in our area both in competition and in other ways as well. 20) Dorothy Fortune - Dorothy Fortune was the girls basketball head coach at Lee Central High School for the first 18 years of the school’s existence. The Lady Stallions won five 2A state titles during that time frame and played for another. Fortune had a career record of 769-312 and has been inducted not only into the South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, but the South Carolina Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame Fortune led Mount Pleasant to two 1A state title appearances before the school merged with Bishopville to form Lee Central. With the likes of Patrice Holmes, La’Tangela Atkinson and Demetress Adams in the lineup, the Lady Stallions won state titles the first three years they were a team. They were 86-2 in those years. After missing out in the fourth year, LC won a fourth crown in 2005 and a fifth in 2007. Lee Central was 206-21 in its first eight years of existence. “I have had some great kids who were really willing to work hard,” Fortune said in 2018 interview. “When you have kids who work hard that’s a great thing. I told them all I ever wanted them to do was to do their best. I told them that I was trying to do my best to get them ready.” 19) Glenn Murray - Glenn Murray is arguably – and there really may not be that much of an argument – the best athlete to come out of Manning. While playing at Manning High School in the late 1980s, Murray played football, baseball and basketball - and played all of them well. He was an All-State free safety on the 1988 3A state championship football team and signed to play collegiately with South Carolina State. Murray was a starter on the 1987-1988 basketball team that played for the 3A state title. However, it was baseball in which Murray was a very, very special player. He was a second-round pick of the Montreal Expos out of high school in the 1989 Major League Baseball draft. Murray went on to play in the Major Leagues with the Philadelphia Phillies. Murray was a catcher, third baseman and shortstop playing high school and American Legion baseball. When he was drafted, Murray moved to the outfield. He was traded to the Boston organization after the 1992 season, reaching Triple-A. He was traded to the Philadelphia organization prior to the 1996 season and made his Major League debut later that season. The Phillies, who were in the midst of a terrible season, called Murray up and started him in right field. He had 97 at-bats and batted .196 with two home runs and six runs batted in before injuring his right wrist, on which he had to have surgery. Murray never did play in the big leagues again, but he did play in independent leagues for several years. 18) Burke Watson - Boxing and Burke Watson were synonymous with each other for well over a half of a century. As a senior cadet at The Citadel in 1948, Watson won the Southern Conference’s light heavyweight title. A few years later, Watson helped create the Sumter Optimist Boxing Club for local children to train and hone their skills, and more importantly, to give them guidance in their lives. Brent Elmore, who boxed for Watson in the 1970s and fought in the National Golden Gloves competition and succeeded him as the boxing club director, said Watson had a tremendous affect on his life. Elmore said that what made Watson such a great coach is that he didn’t mince his words. He was never cruel, Elmore said, but he told you what you needed to hear. “He’s the kind of man that he didn’t always tell you what you wanted to hear,” Elmore said a few days following Watson’s passing at the age of 83 in 2009. “He was never harsh with his criticism, but he’d tell you in a way that you’d feel good about making the change.” In 1977, the Optimist Club paid Watson the gratitude of placing his name on the gym which he helped build, naming it the W. Burke Watson Optimist Youth Center. Watson is a member of The Citadel Athletic Hall of Fame, the Sumter Sports Hall of Fame and the Carolinas Boxing Hall of Fame (1989). 17) Cleveland Pinkney - There may be someone else out there, but it’s hard to imagine that that there was ever a better “big” athlete to come through Sumter County than Cleveland Pinkney. Pinkney was a 3-sport standout at Sumter High School in the mid 1990s before going on to a successful collegiate career and ultimately playing in the National Football League. Pinkney excelled in football, wrestling and track and field for SHS. He was a 2-year starter at defensive tackle at the University of South Carolina and played with several teams in the National Football League, most prominently the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Pinkney played seven football games as a freshman for Sumter High and saw his career end with a trip to the Shrine Bowl. In wrestling, Pinkney went to state and finished fifth his freshman year as a heavyweight. As a sophomore and junior, he was a state runner-up. As a senior, he went undefeated and captured a state championship, becoming one of the most decorated wrestlers in SHS history. In track, he set a discus state record in his junior season with a toss of 185 feet that was finally broken in 2013. He is a member of both the Sumter Sports Hall of Fame and the Sumter High School Athletic Hall of Fame. 16) Nicole Gamble - Nicole Gamble was a was a high school track and field All-American at Sumter High School and a college All-American at the University of North Carolina. While impressive, neither of those are at the top of her resume. Gamble would go on to compete in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. She qualified by winning the triple jump at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Gamble was a 3-time state champion in both the triple jump and the long jump at Sumter High, winning the titles from her sophomore year in 1993 through her senior season in ‘95. During her senior season, she jumped 44 feet, 7 inches, to win the triple jump in the 4A state meet. That was the farthest any United States female high school athlete had ever jumped under any conditions. Gamble was also a pretty fair basketball player at SHS, starting and averaging in double figures in scoring two years. She averaged 16 points, five steals and four assists as a senior. While running track and field for UNC, she became a 6-time Atlantic Coast Conference champion and held several UNC records. Gamble is a member of the SHS Athletic Hall of Fame, the Sumter Sports Hall of Fame and the UNC Athletic Hall of Fame.
  _UID	F507212281D24B27B9D4C33E1723C0FE8A3F
  _UID	F507212281D24B27B9D4C33E1723C0FE8A3F
  Person ID	I288827	Singleton and Related Families
  Last Modified	12 Dec 2019

  
  

  Father	Living
  Mother	Fredricka
  Family ID	F166379	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Sources

  [S27162] TOP 125 Sports FIgures, (#20-#16). [S20161] 3-sport SHS star Pinkney earns way into NFL, Sumter Hall. [S20162] Pinkney 3-sport standout for SHS. [S20741] Larry E. Pinkney.