Beach Ball Classic icon Al “Mr. Bojangles” Ford dies at 74

“Mr. Bojangles” will dance no more.

Al Ford of Georgetown, the man known as Mr. Bojangles to the Beach Ball Classic crowds that he entertained for well over a decade, died Monday at the age of 74.

Dapperly dressed in a suit, tie, dress shoes, hat and glasses, Ford would show off his dance moves on the Myrtle Beach Convention Center floor during halftimes and between games.

“Everybody liked him and he was a great personality,” said Beach Ball Classic executive director John Rhodes. “At a halftime or a timeout, that was his stage, and the crowds loved him. He’s going to be greatly missed. He was an integral part of the Beach Ball. He was part of the excitement.”

Ford’s go-to song was James Brown’s “I Got You (I Feel Good).” He’d display his versions of Brown-style footwork, the moonwalk, spins and his signature “pull-up” move where he squatted low and pulled himself up by the back of his jacket.

He’d add some theatrics before leaving the floor, tossing his hat and jacket, and repeating the actions after they were retrieved by a recruited assistant.

While he was best known for dancing, Ford also volunteered for the past several years selling raffle tickets at the tournament to raise money for scholarships. “Whatever you needed him to do, he just wanted to be a part of the Beach Ball. He never missed it,” Rhodes said.

Ford began dancing in the aisles or on the side of the court when songs appealed to him, and based on the response he received from the crowd, Beach Ball organizers decided to put him at center court.

Ford told The Sun News in 2013 that he started dancing at high school dances when he was 13 or 14 and by the time he graduated, he was known as the best dancer in his senior class.

He grew up in Georgetown, attended college in New York and moved in 1988 to Moncks Corner, where he owned a McDonald’s franchise until his mother became ill and he moved back to Georgetown.

He managed a Bojangles’ Famous Chicken ’n Biscuits in Georgetown, earning him the nicknames “Mr. Bojangles” and “Chicken Man.”

He officiated basketball games beginning in 1990 – including some Beach Ball Classic contests – and officiated volleyball and softball games beginning in 2003.

While he was famous for a week in the Myrtle Beach area, Ford was a year-round influence for coaches and students in Georgetown County. He was a tireless volunteer for Georgetown High athletics.

“Al is well known all over, but Georgetown High is hurting right now with the death of Al because he was such an instrumental part of the kids’ lives in the Georgetown community,” said 15-year Georgetown boys varsity basketball head coach Alvin Walker. “He was like part of the family. I could call on him for anything. He was always right there to help.”

Walker often didn’t have to call. Ford was already there. He regularly attended games in several sports, as well as summer camps, and would take on duties including assisting coaches, officiating, running a clock or using his connections with college coaches to help students receive scholarships.

“He just loved kids and wanted to see them succeed,” Walker said. “He’d do whatever he could to help people. Al’s just one of a kind, a kind heart.”

It wasn’t just Georgetown High. Coaches and athletes at other Georgetown County schools were assisted by Ford as well.

He’d attend games at several county schools, and Ford became such a fixture at Carvers Bay boys basketball coach Jeff Mezzatesta’s summer league the coach had an assigned chair for him.

“Al was part of the establishment of Georgetown County. He was a legend around here,” Mezzatesta said. “He would give the kids life lessons. He made time for people. He was just a wonderful person. He was a gentleman.”

Albert Wendell Ford is survived by his wife, Jacquelyn, sons Paul, Albert and Shaitun Isaacs, brother Bobby and sister Bobbie Jean, grandson William Jackson Ford, uncle Willie K. Reid and aunt Marie Reid. Funeral arrangements are being handled by the Henryhand Funeral Home in Andrews.

This story was originally published July 12, 2016 at 7:46 PM with the headline "Beach Ball Classic icon Al “Mr. Bojangles” Ford dies at 74."