Charles is a native of Cynthiana, Kentucky. He graduated from Banneker High School and Wilberforce State University in Wilberforce, Ohio. He came to Tuscumbia in 1949 and spent the next 19 years as head football coach at Trenholm High School. His Trenholm teams averaged winning eight games a season with Coach Mahorney and he led his team to the State 1A Championship in 1965. He was the North Alabama High School Athletic Association Coach of the year five times. He transferred to Deshler in 1968 and continued to earn respect from his players. He as an assistant football coach while at Deshler and was the head basketball coach for his last eight years before retirement in 1982.