1955-1979
10 stars from sports
Ten notable people, achievements or events in sports from this 25-year period, generally in chronological order:
Hometown ace: Don Clayton, a former star athlete at Fayetteville High School, opened the first Putt-Putt miniature golf course in Fayetteville in 1954. For more than 40 years, Fayetteville would be known as the home of Putt-Putt.
Glory days: Massey Hill High School won state baseball titles in 1958 and 1959. The team's players included three-sport standout Junior Edge, who later played quarterback and defensive back on the University of North Carolina football team.
Richardson
|
Big catch: Fayetteville native Jerry Richardson caught a 14-yard scoring pass from Johnny Unitas in the Baltimore Colts' 31-16 victory in the 1959 NFL title game. Richardson went on to establish a multimillion-dollar fast-food chain and founded the Carolina Panthers NFL franchise.
Fayetteville's finest: Fayetteville High School won state basketball titles in 1965 and 1966, the first state basketball champions from Cumberland County. Coach Len Maness' team included 6-foot-10 center Franklin Clark, who played at UNC, and forward Vann Williford, who played at N.C. State.
Marvin Powell
|
Carter's crown: D.T. Carter, who was the head football coach and athletic director at E.E. Smith High School for nearly 30 years, led his team to the N.C. High School Athletic Conference championship in 1967. The next year, his E.E. Smith team tied for the state title. Some of his players who achieved success in collegiate or professional football include Jimmy Raye, Charles Baggett and Doug Wilkerson.
Miracle season: Calvin Koonce, a native of Hope Mills, pitched for New York's "Miracle Mets" during their improbable championship season of 1969. After retiring from baseball, Koonce was a coach, the first general manager of the Fayetteville Generals minor-league team, and a town commissioner and town manager in Hope Mills.
Line king: Marvin Powell, a Seventy-First High School graduate, was a two-time All-America offensive tackle at the University of Southern California. He was drafted by the New York Jets in 1977 and made the Pro Bowl five straight years. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1994.
Floyd
|
The Master: Cumberland County native Raymond Floyd, who learned the game under the tutelage of his father, L.B. Floyd, shot 271, or 17 under par, to become the Masters golf champion in 1976. Floyd later won three other major championships in his Hall of Fame career.
Coach Howard: Doris Howard made her mark as a coach on the softball field and basketball and tennis courts. Her Cape Fear High School girls' basketball team, led by Rita Wiggs, won back-to-back district championships in the early 1970s. Howard's Cape Fear softball team won the state championship in 1978 and advanced to the state title game in 1979 and 1980.
Lisa, left, and Margit Monaco
|
Double trouble: Twin sisters Lisa and Margit Monaco of Terry Sanford High School became the first four-time doubles champions in state high school tennis, claiming the titles from 1977 to 1980. Their Terry Sanford team, coached by Christine Cherry, won state titles in 1979 and 1980. Members of Terry Sanford's girls' and boys' teams won several state titles under coach Gil Bowman through 2003.
|
