Major Hazelton, former FAMU football and track standout dies at 80

Major Hazelton

Major Hazelton, a former FAMU football and track star, who set records on both the gridiron and track died earlier this week in Chicago, IL.  He was 80 years old. 

Hazelton, a native of Bartow, FL, played football under legendary FAMU coach Alonzo Smith “Jake” Gaither.  He earned All-American honors as a defensive back in 1966 and 1967 and was drafted in the 3^rd round (57^th overall) by the Chicago Bears in the 1968 NFL Draft.

In addition to football Hazelton was a star track athlete and part of a foursome on FAMU’s 4x100 relay that included James Ashcroft, Nathaniel James, and Eugene Milton. This dominant foursome went undefeated at the Penn Relays three years in a row and raised the coveted J.C. Patterson Cup in 1966, 1967 and 1968.  The team won the 4x100 with the same four runners and in 2022 was enshrined in the Penn Relays Wall of Fame.

Hazelton is member of the FAMU Hall of Fame in both football and track and field.

"Winning the Penn Relays - those were the best years of my life. We were the only football players to run track for four consecutive years. Every time we stepped on the track, we either broke a record or set a record. We called ourselves the 'Record Setters.' That was a lovely time in my life," Hazelton recalled.