Charleston “CB” Benson, a former Benedict College standout in football and baseball who later spent six years in the Chicago Cubs’ minor league system, is being inducted into the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Athletic Hall of Fame.
The SIAC made the announcement at its 2026 Football Media Day, held in Macon, Georgia.
Benson, a Columbia native and 1959 graduate of Booker T. Washington High School, said the recognition came as a welcome surprise after a lifetime shaped by athletics, community and service.
“I graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in 1959,” Benson said. “Then I went to Benedict College, 1959 to 1963, where I played football, baseball, and ran track one year.”
His route to baseball began outside organized high school athletics. Booker T. Washington did not have a baseball team when he attended, so Benson developed his skills on neighborhood teams and with guidance from older relatives and community members.
“Every community had a baseball team,” he said. “That’s where I learned my skills from my uncles and the older guys in the community. I’m very appreciative of what the older guys in the community helped me develop into—the baseball player and football player that I am.”
Benson also credited a cousin who played at Michigan State with helping him grow as a football player during summer visits home.
At Benedict, Benson became a two-sport star. On the football field, he recalled making an immediate impact.
“The first time I touched the ball in college, I ran a 55-yard touchdown at Miles College,” Benson said. “Then after that, it looked like everything just blossomed.”
He remembered several signature performances, including a three-touchdown game against Allen University in which each of his scoring run covered more than 50 yards. He also threw a touchdown pass in that contest. In another game against South Carolina State, Benson said teammate Robert Johnson scored six touchdowns while Benson added three.
Benson’s baseball career at Benedict proved equally prolific. He said he never batted below .400 for the Tigers and led the team annually in RBIs and stolen bases. His success drew the attention of baseball legend Buck O’Neil, who signed Benson to a contract with the Chicago Cubs organization in 1963.
“In baseball, I had the honor of signing a contract with the Chicago Cubs,” Benson said. “Buck O’Neil had signed me in 1963, and I played six years in the Cubs minor league system, from A ball to Triple-A ball.”
Benson participated in major league spring training with the Cubs but did not appear in a regular-season Major League Baseball game. After his playing career, he continued in professional baseball as a scout for several teams.
After retiring from baseball, Benson returned to Columbia and spent 30 years working in recreation for the South Carolina Department of Corrections. He retired in 2000.
“Now I’m just sitting back and retiring and enjoying life,” he said.
The SIAC Athletic Hall of Fame honor carries personal meaning for Benson, who said he never expected to receive it. He also joins a family connection in the hall: his cousin, Pastor Sam Goodwin, a former South Carolina State standout, was inducted into the MEAC Athletic Hall of Fame years earlier.
“It makes me feel great,” Benson said. “I didn’t have any idea that I would be inducted into the Hall of Fame because it never crossed my mind.”
Benson and Goodwin grew up in the same Columbia community, attended the same high school and later faced one another on the football field. Benson played offense while Goodwin lined up on defense.
“We had some good competition talking to each other on the field,” Benson said. “We’d be talking to each other about what we can do to each other. But it was all fun.”
Those games also reunited several Columbia players who had gone on to compete at different colleges. The rivalries were spirited, Benson said, but the friendships endured.
“It was a great time,” he said. “Some of the guys, we’re still friends to this day.”
Other inductees into the SIAC Athletic Hall of Fame include:
• Selina Kohn, Albany State University – Women’s Basketball
• Dominique Worthen, LeMoyne-Owen College – Men’s Golf
• James Bullard, Morehouse College – Football*
• Fred Lane, Lane College – Football*
• Roosevelt Williams, Tuskegee University – Football
• Phyllis Oliver-Mattox, Savannah State University – Women’s Tennis*
• Dr. Roslyn Clark Artis, Benedict College – Administrator
• Andre Patillo, Morehouse College – Administrator
• Charlie Neal – Contributor*
*Posthumous inductee