Jaylan Robinson may be done playing sports, but he is not forgotten
- Charles Reams 1
- Nov 10
- 2 min read
Jaylan Lee Robinson has been playing sports since he was 13.
It was clear to him and his coaches that Robinson was a natural. He excelled in football, basketball, baseball, and softball.
In fact, his high school softball team won so many trophies that they stopped counting them. The team had no place large enough to store them all, so they gave many away. His best guess is that they won about 250 trophies.
Washington High School, the predominantly black student body, had a wealth of talent before integration. After integration, he was transferred to Carolina High School from 1971 to 1974. There was always one powerhouse or another that often blocked them from going to the state tournament.
We couldn’t get past Easley High because they were tough every year. Year after year, Greenville High and Powdersville High were football powerhouses.
The only thing he was not good at was punting. Otherwise, he never left the field. Regardless of the sport, he played offense, defense, and special teams.
Carolina High School was a 4A Class School during that epoch. There was never an easy game against Easley, TL Hannah, Westside, Greenville High, Wade Hampton, Greer High, Parker High, and JL Mann.
Hillcrest was tough in baseball.
During a game, while I played football for Newberry College, I got banged up. The coaches, protecting me, won’t let me play football anymore.
I hated sitting on the bench. My team needed me, but the coach refused to let me play. I was so disappointed.
I enjoyed all sports, but my favorite was baseball. I played catcher, pitcher, third base, and shortstop.
We made it to Clemson for the upstate playoff. My batting averages were decent. I had 265 my sophomore year, 286 as a junior, and 413 as a senior.
In fact, I received two letters from the Pittsburgh Pirates, inviting me to play for them.
Since then, I have undergone multiple surgeries on my rotator cuffs and tendons in both arms. Somehow, I never sustained a serious injury to my knees. Even though once, my left knee collapsed. The staff put my knee in a sponge cast and sent me back on the gridiron, where I never missed a play.
I started coaching immediately after graduating from high school. I was happy to use my talent to help others.
I served on the Greenville Athletic Board for 29 years. We booked empires for city sporting events at Gower State Park and Mayberry Park.
In 2015, Robinson was diagnosed with stage-4 cancer, but he beat it and has been cancer-free for 10 years.
Piedmont Athletic Hall of Fame
I was not expecting to be inducted into the Piedmont Athletic Association’s Hall of Fame. Sure, I was surprised and pleased. I graduated from Carolina High School in 1974. And I was inducted into the Hall of Fame on August 19, 2023. That’s 49 years later.
Sure, it's nice to be remembered. Others don’t need to know what I did. I know it. And I’m satisfied with that.
