Born in Miami, Charlie Waters played football and baseball at North Augusta High and after earning a spot on the 1965 Shrine Bowl roster, he received a football scholarship to Clemson. From 1966-’69 Waters started out as a quarterback in ‘66 but by the end of his collegiate career in ‘69 he finished as a wide receiver. He helped lead the Tigers to become the 1967 Atlantic Coast Conference Champions. Waters’ senior year was his standout year as he caught 44 passes for 738 yards, setting a Clemson record at the time before being broken by Jerry Butler in 1977, and being named a First-Team All-ACC selection. As a wide receiver he finished with four touchdowns, 68 catches for 1.196 yards, good for 17.1 yards per reception. He ranks ninth in all-time yards per reception, ahead of Clemson greats Bennie Cunningham, DeAndre Hopkins, Perry Tuttle and Sammy Watkins.
Drafted in the third round by the Dallas Cowboys in 1970, Waters played for the Cowboys for 12 seasons under legendary Head Coach, Tom Landry. In his rookie season, he started as a defensive back and was a backup to Cliff Harris at safety. Waters had five interceptions that season, good enough to land him on the NFL all-rookie team. He spent the next four years as cornerback before being moved to strong safety, the position he would play the rest of his professional career. As a strong safety, Waters and teammate Cliff Harris formed one of the strongest and fiercest safety duos of that era. During his time with “America’s Team” he became one of the top defensive players in the decade. As one of the most admired and respected players in Cowboy history, Waters was named to three Pro-Bowls (1976-’78) and named All-Pro twice in 1977 and ‘78. Throughout his time as a Dallas Cowboy he never experienced a losing season and only missed the playoffs one time in his 12 seasons. He reached nine NFC Championships and played in five Super Bowls where he went on to win two (1972 and ‘78). After retiring in 1981 he tied for the most career interceptions in the playoffs with Bill Simpson, Ronnie Lott, and Ed Reed, all with nine. Three of those nine interceptions came in the 1977 Divisional playoff game win against the Chicago Bears, where the Cowboys went on to win the Superbowl. Overall, he is ranked third in interceptions in Dallas Cowboys franchise history with 41. His 25 playoff game appearances ranks at the top of the career leaders at ninth.
From the years of 1988-94 he worked in various coaching positions with the Denver Broncos, starting out as a special teams coach and working his way to defensive coordinator. In 1995, Waters moved to coaching at the college level with the University of Oregon as a defensive coordinator where he would retire from coaching. He spent one year as a commentator for Cowboys Radio Network in 2006. He is a member of the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame (1980), the Clemson Hall of Fame (1981), the North Augusta Sports Hall of Fame (2008) and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 2021.
