Remembering Miami High School Coaching Legend Bobby Carlton

RIP Bobby Carlton. A 1952 graduate of Miami Senior High School, Carlton was one of the legendary figures of Dade County high school athletics, first as a head coach at Miami High and later as the first athletic director at Miami Southridge High School. He was a former All City lineman for the Stingarees who blocked for All American halfback Wally Piper. Carlton went on to play collegiately at the University of Miami. Carlton was among the last Hurricane football players to play both offense and defense. Photo from Karey Carlton Yarborough.

After his playing career, he returned to Miami High as a member of Ottis Mooney’s coaching staff in the late 1950s. He later became the school’s head coach in 1965. In just his first season, Carlton led Miami High to a state championship and a mythical national title. During that season the Stingarees beat rival Coral Gables 14-7 in front of a record crowd of 48,631 at the Orange Bowl–the largest crowd to ever watch a high school football game in Florida. The victory ended Gables’ 28 game win streak. The 1965 season was a tough act to follow. Carlton coached two more seasons at Miami High with a record of 17-3-1. Miami High hasn’t won a state football title since his departure.

After a successful stint at Miami High, Carlton went on to join Fran Curci’s staff at the University of Tampa in 1969 and then followed Curci to the University of Miami in 1971. Carlton briefly left coaching and worked as a truck driver for the Belcher Oil Company. But he didn’t lose his passion for coaching. He joined Lindy Infante’s staff at Memphis State. He even coached in the professional ranks with the Jacksonville Express of the old World Football League in 1976, while working under former UM head coach Charlie Tate, who was his high school coach at Miami High.

When the WFL folded, Carlton decided to return to high school athletics. Carlton was hired as the first athletic director at the brand new Miami Southridge High School in 1976. His first hire for football coach was former Edison High star Darrell Cox. However, Cox was dismissed after just one season due to legal issues. After interviewing several coaches, Carlton settled on Killian assistant coach Don Soldinger, who would quickly turn Southridge into a state power. Under Carlton, Southridge had arguably the most complete athletic program in Dade County during the 1980s. He hired an amazing collection of coaches including Jim Husk in wrestling, Fred Burnside in baseball and boys and girls track coaches Herman Jackson and Sam Burley.

After 15 years as athletic director at Southridge, Carlton decided to embark on an aviation career. He got his pilot’s license and worked for American Airlines in the 1990s. He eventually retired in Cedar Bluff, Alabama and was inducted into the Florida Coaches Hall of Fame in 2006. Bobby Carlton passed away February 7th at his home. The Carlton family is planning to host a Celebration of Life in South Florida sometime in the next couple of months. He was 89 years old.