1980-2004
10 stars from sports
Ten notable people, achievements or events in sports from this 25-year period, generally in chronological order:
Mr. 59: Fayetteville native Chip Beck was a top money-winning golfer in the 1980s and early '90s and won four PGA tournaments. He starred for the U.S. Ryder Cup team in 1989. One of the highlights of his career came on Oct. 11, 1991, at the Las Vegas Invitational, when he became the second player in PGA history to shoot a round of 59.
Three titles: Coach Bobby Poss made his mark with championship teams at two Cumberland County high schools. Poss guided Seventy-First to state 4-A titles in 1984 and 1986. He moved to South View and resurrected that program, with his Tigers (led by running back Marcus Wall) winning the state title in 1991.
Ralph
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Hoops star: Shea Ralph of Terry Sanford High School was named a two-time All-American by Parade magazine and was USA Today's top female basketball player in 1995. She also was named the country's top scholar-athlete while in high school. In college, Ralph was an All-America player at Connecticut. She was voted most valuable player of the Final Four in leading her team to a national championship.
Crowning events: The Cumberland County sports scene gained a lot of variety after the Crown Coliseum opened in 1997, with minor-league teams in hockey, basketball and indoor football providing fans with nearly year- round options. Minor-league baseball was another option for 13 years, at J.P. Riddle Stadium, before the Cape Fear Crocs left in 2000. Baseball returned in 2001 with the Fayetteville SwampDogs playing in a college developmental league.
Spring kings: Methodist College has achieved national prominence in several springtime sports, with its men's and women's golf teams winning multiple NCAA Division III national championships and its baseball, softball and tennis teams also enjoying national success.
Soccer success: The Fayetteville Academy has built a soccer powerhouse among private schools. Its boys' teams have won nine state titles since the late 1970s, including five straight from 1998 to 2002. Fayetteville Academy's girls won their first state soccer title in 2003.
Phillips
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CIAA champs: Fayetteville State University won the first Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football championship in school history in 2002, defeating Bowie State. Coach Kenny Phillips' Broncos repeated the feat in 2003, beating Virginia Union for its second straight CIAA title.
First class: In 2003, the Fayetteville Sports Club Hall of Fame honored its first inductees: the late D.T. Carter, a former E.E. Smith coach; former E.E. Smith football great Doug Wilkerson; World Golf Hall of Fame member Raymond Floyd and his father, golfing instructor L.B. Floyd; former Central and Cape Fear coach Doris Howard; and the late Calvin Koonce, a former major-league pitcher.
Bob Paroli
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Winning ways: Coach Bob Paroli built a perennial football power at Douglas Byrd High School. In 24 seasons at the school through 2003, he had a 227-73 record, winning 12 conference titles and making the state playoffs 17 times. Paroli has won more games than any high school football coach in state history, with a 46-year record of 338-160-11. Former players who went on to success in the NFL have included Brad Edwards, Donnell Woolford and Joe Horn.
Local greats: In 2004, the Fayetteville Sports Club Hall of Fame inducted these members: Carolina Panthers owner Jerry Richardson; former Stedman and Cape Fear High School coach Leon Brock; the late Young W. Howard, a former Massey Hill High coach; the late Raymond E. "Buddy" Luper, a former Fayetteville High coach; Douglas Byrd football coach Bob Paroli; former Seventy-First High football great Marvin Powell; and former Cape Fear High basketball star and Methodist College coach Rita Wiggs.
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