Voorhees College Archivist, Richard Reid, reflects on a true legend of Voorhees, Theodore Chaplin, Jr. As we travel through this time capsule of life, events and people will play a significant role in the legacy that we will leave behind, One glaring example of the glory of being successful is that of Theodore “Chap” Chaplin, Jr. Chaplin was born May 6, 1946 in Bluffton, South Carolina. He graduated from Michael C. Riley High School in 1964. At 6 feet 3 inches, he led the school to the class A state championship averaging 32 points per game. That year, the school participated in a national tournament for black schools in Nashville, Tenn. and Chaplin scored 43 points in a loss to Arkansas. In the world of sports, there are athletes who play basketball and then there are basketball players. Chaplin was a player. After high school, Chaplin enrolled at Voorhees on a basketball and baseball scholarship. “Chap” stepped straight out of the gate in his freshman year by being named rookie of the year. In the 1964-1965 year at Voorhees, he took charge in leading the team to 19 straight victories, capping the season with a historic 20 -1 season. That year, “Chap” averaged 28.7 rebounds, 29 points per game and a whopping 60 percent from the field. He also won the Most Valuable Player in Baseball in 1965. To cap 1964 off, he was considered as one of the “Five of the Greatest Athletes” along with track star Bob Hayes of Florida A&M University. The highlight of his career at Voorhees came when the Tigers played Florida Memorial when he was a sophomore. In that game, “Chap” controlled the “round ball” like a man on a mission when he poured in 41 points and collected 46 rebounds. In the 1960’s, the black colleges in South Carolina would hold a competition between the collegiate basketball teams. For three consecutive years, 1965, 1966 and 1967, “Chap” was named the tournament’s most valuable player and one year he earned the sportsmanship trophy. He was a basketball player and a genial goodnatured athlete. The big Tiger basketball player for Voorhees was named Honorable Mention All American in the NAIA where he was the third leading rebounder in the country with a 23.2 average and 27th in scoring with 26.5 points per game. “Chap” ended his playing days at Voorhees in 1968 with a total of 1546 rebounds. That same year, Chaplin’s number 33 jersey was retired. As to his collegiate career in basketball, he told Morris Wright of the Times and Democrat on August 12, 2004 that, “When I sit down and read old clips and reflect on my college career, it scares me, I say to myself, that couldn’t be me.” For his success in college basketball, Chaplin was drafted in 1968 by the Baltimore Bullets of the NBA in the 6th round and by the Pittsburgh Pipers of the American Basketball Association (ABA). The dream of competing on the professional level was cut short when he was cut in training camp. “Chap” concluded
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The Voorhees Voice
his professional career with a short stint playing for the Continental Basketball Association for the New Orleans Buccaneers. Chaplin returned to Denmark and soon became the basketball coach for Denmark Technical College. Year after year, the leadership and guidance of Chaplin could be seen in the young men he coached. Evidence of his coaching deftness was recorded when his teams went undefeated in 198485, 1987-88 and 1988-89. For 37 years, he coached the men’s team to 600 wins and 117 losses. A man among men, Theodore “Chap” Chaplin, Jr. was always striving to a higher level in life and that he did. One of the winningest basketball coaches in South Carolina and the nation was called home by our God on November 20, 2011. Rest in peace my friend, you accomplished the dream that many before you didn’t and those in the future won’t come near.