For an athlete to earn an opportunity to play his or her sport at the college level is a blessing. It’s truly astonishing for an athlete to perform at a high level in not one, but two collegiate sports. When you mention the subject of two-sport athletes, the general public will immediately make reference to Bo Jackson and Deion Sanders. Both Jackson and Sanders were tremendous two-sport athletes at the collegiate and professional level. However, there is another two-sport athlete who quietly made history. He is the only Heisman Trophy winner to play in the NBA. Born in Thomasville, Georgia, Charlie Ward was raised in a two-parent home with four sisters and two brothers. Living in a small town he learned a lot about the community, and he is grateful for the experience. As a youngster the first organized sport he ever played was baseball. He was the pitcher and he also played shortstop. Fast forward to the end of his high school campaign, and Charlie Ward found himself in a position to be awarded an athletic scholarship. It came down to the University of Georgia and Florida State. Ward made the choice to join the Florida State Seminoles. He would go on to become a two-sport star in football and basketball.Â
As a senior quarterback, Charlie Ward passed for 3,032 yards with 27 touchdowns. He ran for another 339 yards and 4 rushing touchdowns. The Seminoles quarterback led his team to the Orange Bowl, where they would win the National Championship. Ward would also collect the most prestigious individual award in college football as he was named the 1993 Heisman Trophy winner.
Sports /Entertainment Journalist Vince D’Writer went one on one with the iconic Charlie Ward.
Vince: Describe your Swagher. What makes Charlie Ward, Charlie Ward?
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Charlie:Â I don’t know about swag, but I try to stay consistent in things that I do and say. I want to be confident in what I’m doing, and if I don’t have the answers, I try to find the answers. I want to be prepared and I want to persevere because I know adversity is going to hit. I also want to be patient and wait for whatever it is God has for me. So I guess that’s my swag.
Vince: As a youngster, who were some of the athletes you looked up to?
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Charlie:Â In football, it was Roger Staubach. I had his jersey. I enjoyed watching Walter Payton and O.J. Simpson. I was mainly a Cowboys fan so I liked Danny White. In basketball, it was Andrew Toney and Maurice Cheeks because I was a 76ers fan. I also liked Bobby Jones. Those were some of the people I enjoyed watching and admired at that time.
Vince: What sport did Florida State recruit you to play?
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Charlie:Â It was football. Football was the sport I was recruited to play. I had to work my way on to the basketball team because they didn’t know that I could play basketball. I told Coach Bowden during the recruiting process that I wanted to play basketball and he was okay with it. Once I got there I had to earn my keep. I was afforded the opportunity because I played with some of the basketball players in a summer league during my freshman year. They saw me play and thought I would be able to help them and be part of the team. When the time came for me to play basketball, I had to go out and work. I had to find my way and make my presence felt in some form or fashion.
Vince: Initially you had a rough start as the Florida State quarterback. You had four interceptions against Duke and the following week you had four interceptions against Clemson. How were you able to overcome the adversity and become an elite college quarterback?
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Charlie:Â You have to believe in what you’re capable of doing. A lot of the interceptions may have been from a lack of experience or for being amped up. I had some overthrows and tipped passes early on. When you’re going through tough times, it seems like you can’t catch a break, and that’s where I was. If you’re going to set yourself apart, you have to fight through adversity. You have to put it behind you and learn from it. It all happened when we were down 17 points to Georgia Tech during my junior year. We went to our two-minute offense and we were able to come back and win. We continued to run that offense and it paid dividends at the end of the year.
Vince: Did you have any doubts you would win the Heisman Trophy?
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Charlie:Â You always have doubts, but I was grateful I was in the running, and I knew I had a chance. It’s like anything else, if you have a chance and you’re there, that means you put yourself in the position to win the award. When it happened, it was definitely a life-changing experience.
Vince: What was the deciding factor for you to choose the NBA over the NFL?
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Charlie:Â It was the job opportunity. The NBA was able to give me a job. The NFL was unsure if they drafted me that I would come and play football. I let them know if I got drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft I would play football, but if I got drafted anywhere else outside of the first round then I would consider my other options.
Vince: How was it meeting your New York Knick teammates for the first time?
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Charlie:Â It was different. They knew my background and where I came from. I had to earn my basketball stripes. I had to start all over again and create a name for myself.
Vince: As an athlete, you seemed to have a calm demeanor. With that being said, was Charlie Ward a trash talker?
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Charlie:Â I didn’t talk trash. People talked trash to me. If I did say anything it was one or two words. It was very rare for me to say something. If I did say something it would be sarcastic.
Vince: What is your favorite memory as a New York Knick?
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Charlie:Â Being able to go to The Finals, that whole process. The run to The Finals in 1999, that was one of the greatest memories I had as a Knick.
Vince: How was the transition for you after you retired from the NBA?
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Charlie: I had a smooth transition. When I retired, Coach Jeff Van Gundy gave me the opportunity to do an internship as a coach. I did that for a year. Then I got the opportunity to be an assistant coach the following year with the Rockets. That helped me to transition to my next career to what I’m doing now outside of public speaking. I got into high school coaching because I wanted more of a flexible schedule, and that’s what I’ve been doing the past eleven years.
Vince: What is it like to play for Coach Ward?
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Charlie:Â I guess that is something the kids can answer, but I want to be fair and honest with the kids. I want to be able to help them grow, but also help them to develop as people. Hopefully, they know that I care about them as a person and that I will look after them just like a father would. I want to be a village dad as a coach. So it’s all about giving the kids opportunities to learn life lessons while playing a sport.
Charlie Ward is and will always be a significant part of American sports history. He is the only individual to be recognized as the nation’s top football player and then go on to play in the National Basketball Association. In addition to the Heisman Trophy, he helped Florida State win its first college football National Championship. Ward was blessed with an abundance of athletic ability, but he also had the work ethic which helped enhance those abilities. As a player, Ward was tough, focused, he had the drive, determination, and the will to win. He looks to throw another assist and pass those qualities down to his young players, as he continues his journey as a high school basketball coach.
