When a group starts a Hall of Fame of any kind, they certainly want to have some big names to start it off and create excitement. When NC State announces its first class, don’t be surprised to hear names that everybody knows but I’d suggest going back, way back in time.
The reasons are many – from simply being chronological to picking individuals who have relatives who still remember them, from tipping the cap to important historic features to educating the public about little-known but important figures while the attention is high.
There will be plenty of time for the Norm Sloans and Jim Valvanos to be added to the Hall of Fame – I’m looking for the Jack McDowells and John Ripples of NC State’s history to make the first Hall. Who, you might ask?
McDowell, who played for NC State in the 1920s, died in 1969 so many will not remember him, but they know him. McDowell, a member of North Carolina’s Sports Hall of Fame, was the college’s first first-team All-America football player. He was a running back in football and led State to a 9-1 record and the Southern Conference Championship in 1927. He also was captain of the basketball team, ran track, played baseball and won 16 letters.
Ripple, who played football for NC State almost 100 years ago when it was the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Engineering, died in 1965 but an offensive lineman scholarship is named for him. He made second team All America in 1918. So, he was the school’s first All-America player. At 6-2, 200 pounds, he was one of the biggest players around at that time. He also had a good basketball career and, though he didn’t get the same accolades, he felt he was a better basketball player than football player.
If I had to guess the popular picks for the first Hall of Fame class, it would be: Willis Casey, Everett Case, Earle Edwards, Ronnie Shavlik, Kay Yow, Norm Sloan, Jim Valvano, David Thompson, Phillip Rivers and Ted Brown.
All those should eventually be in the Hall of Fame but for the first class, if I had 10 to pick, only the first five from above would be in my first 10. I’d have Willis Casey, Everett Case, Earle Edwards, Ronnie Shavlik, Jack McDowell, John Ripple, Connie Mack Berry, Ray Reeve, Roman Gabriel and Kay Yow.
By having women’s basketball coaching legend Kay Yow in my picks for the first class it may seem like I’m being inconsistent. But, for the most part, women’s athletics did not start until much later than men’s. In fact, it was 1975 when Yow became State’s first full-time women’s basketball coach. Her coaching record was an astounding 737-344. She is in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, one of only five women inducted, and is a gold-medal winning Olympic coach. If you want women included in the first class of athletes, Yow is the one.
If I were to pick anyone else from the last 40-50 years for the first induction, it would be David Thompson, quite possibly the best college basketball player under 7 feet tall ever, and Jim Ritcher, the nation’s best lineman in 1979 and two time All-American football player. I would also not induct Sloan and Valvano in the same year so as not to minimize Sloan’s achievements. Similarly, I wouldn’t induct Roman Gabriel and Phillip Rivers the same year.
Gabriel, twice an All-American and twice the ACC Player of the Year in the early 1960s, was a strong-armed quarterback who set 22 school and nine conference football records.
Connie Mack Berry, who played for the two-time NFL champion Chicago Bears, played year-round for NC State. At 6-3, he was a good basketball player, leading the Southern Conference in scoring in 1936 and 1937. He was the star end in football, the star center in basketball, a top pitcher in baseball and a track star.
Reeve, the long-time radio voice of the Wolfpack, is what most would consider the surprise pick. A pioneer broadcaster who started calling games in 1939, Reeve is most associated with NC State. He was the first broadcaster ever inducted in the N.C. Sports Hall of Fame. As the person who brought Wolfpack sports to the people before television was even around, Reeve deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.
If my top 10 were picked, you’d hear a lot of “Who?” questions – and that’s what the public needs, to find out about who these important athletic figures were. The others can wait.
Some other names that need to be considered are: four-time All-America swimmer Bob Mattson, seven-time individual swimming winner Dick Fadgen, first basketball All-American Morris Johnson, State’s first real basketball big man Tommy Burleson, Olympic gold medal swimmer Steve Rerych, seven-time NCAA cross country champion Julie Shea, ACC basketball player of the year Lou Pucillo and first-team All-America basketball star Sammy Ranzino.