Phil Petty Cause of Death: Former University of South Carolina Qb Phil Petty Dead at 43!

By Mathhew Paul Last updated Jul 22, 2022

Phil Petty, a South Carolina music icon who sadly passed away recently, was a legend. A football coach at East Carolina University, died while doing his job just days before (ECU Pirates). Since his 17 career wins still rank among the highest in program history even though he’s retired, he is considered one of the best players ever.

Phil Petty’s Life Story

Every game Phil Petty started as quarterback for Lou Holtz was a success. With 5,656 career throws, he ranked sixth all-time in South Carolina history in passing yards. Back-to-back Outback Bowl victories over Ohio State in 2001 and 2002 were the result of his leadership.

Aside from that, he was in the running for the prestigious Johnny Unitas Award, awarded to the nation’s top quarterback each year. Phil Petty graduated from Boiling Springs High School in Boiling Springs, Mississippi. Dedicated football player and played in South Carolina between 1998 and 2001. ‘

A former Gamecocks team captain, Petty passed for 4,079 yards and 17 touchdowns on 306 of 547 attempts over his final two seasons with the program. A 17-7 record in two years was achieved by the team.

Infancy and Childhood

When he died, Phil, a native of Boiler Springs, was 43 years old, making him a child of the ’79 birth year. After the death of his father, Phil Petty Sr., when he was just 12 years old, his mother Loretta Petty took care of him and his younger sister. He was a standout quarterback in college football.

For higher education, he enrolled at South Carolina University in 1998 and became one of college football’s top quarterbacks of that age. Additionally, he was employed as an assistant coach following his retirement from the college football field.

Phil Petty’s Lifetime

A squad with a record of 1-21 for seasons 1998-1999, Petty joined the Gamecocks in 1998 and helped them turn things around. In the wake of a 21-game losing streak, the players of the Gamecocks were dejected.

After three years, he broke all the records and achieved one of college football’s greatest turnarounds in 2000. His club won eight games in a row in 2000 and nine more in 2001 when he took the reins. During the Outback Bowl victory over Ohio State, he was named MVP.

In his final season, Phil concluded with 17 victories, which was the most in the history of the program’s men’s basketball program. He currently maintains an eighth place in USC’s all-time record book with 5652 passing yards and eight touchdowns.

Tennessee Titans signed him as an unrestricted free agent before the start of his rookie season in the NFL. The Gray Collegiate Academy hired him as an assistant coach in June 2022, following a remarkable college career. After he graduated, he coached at The Hammond School and was an assistant coach for the ECU Pirates until 2004.

Phil Petty Cause Of Death

On Thursday, former South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback Phil Petty died at the age of 43, according to a school statement.

After a “short hospital stay,” USA Today reports, Petty died. The cause of death has not been revealed. During his time at the University of South Carolina, Petty started all three years of his collegiate football career.

Ray Tanner, South Carolina’s sports director, said in a statement that Phil Petty “typified what a Gamecock truly is. “This South Carolinian native was an all-star football player and an outstanding individual off the field, who everyone at the university adored. In addition to being a beloved friend and loving father and husband, he was also a superb dad.”

With 5,656 career passing yards and 28 career touchdowns, Petty ranks eighth and 10th, respectively, in school history. In his final two seasons, he tallied 4,211 yards and 20 touchdowns, leading the Gamecocks to a dramatic turnaround.

In the 1998 and 1999 seasons, South Carolina’s overall record was 1-21. As a senior captain under Lou Holtz’s guidance, Petty led the Gamecocks to an 8-4 record in 2000 and a 9-3 record in 2001. After two wins over Ohio State in the Outback Bowl, he was named MVP as a senior after throwing for 227 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-28 victory.

Skip Holtz hired Petty as an assistant at East Carolina while Holtz was still the head coach. Gray Collegiate Academy in Columbia, South Carolina, hired him in April as an assistant. By his wife and two children, Petty is mourned.