FRAUD ALERT
Be aware of multiple fraudulent text scams requesting payment for NCDMV fees, fines or tolls. NCDMV will NEVER request payment by text. Please report it as spam and delete. Learn More
Topics Related to sports
On April 8, 1946, famed baseball player James “Catfish” Hunter was born in Perquimans County.Though Hunter excelled in a variety of sports in high school, his pitching skill was what stood out. Word spread fast, and soon major league scouts began to make the trip to Hertford to see him play. Though wounds from a hunting accident jeopardized Hunter’s prospects in the eyes of many professional scouts, the Kansas City Athletics had faith in the young pitcher and signed him to a contract.
On April 4, 1983, the North Carolina State University Wolfpack won the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
On March 29, 1982, UNC basketball Coach Dean Smith and his Tar Heels won the school’s first national title since 1957. The Tar Heels took on the Georgetown University Hoyas in New Orleans in final game in the National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball tournament that year.
On March 17, 1967, the Winston-Salem State University Rams bested the Southwest Missouri State University Bears 77-74 at the NCAA Division II national men’s basketball championship game in Evansville, Indiana.In so doing, WSSU became the first historically black college in the nation to win a national championship.The championship was the highlight of a 30-1 season for the Rams, and represented a comeback from the Rams’ third-place finish in the CIAA tournament behind North Carolina A&T and Howard.
On March 12, 1944, an all-white team from Duke University’s medical school faced off against an all-black team from what is now North Carolina Central University, the Eagles, in a secret, interracial basketball game.At the time, strict segregation laws criminalized racial interaction and fostered a dangerous environment for those who violated them, prompting the participants to take extreme caution in planning and attending the event. Coaches kept school administrators in the dark and barred the doors to the Eagles’ gym.
On March 7, 1914, George Herman Ruth Jr. hit his first home run as a professional baseball player and gained the nickname “Babe” in Fayetteville.Ruth began playing baseball in his native Baltimore. At age 19, Jack Dunn, manager of the Baltimore Orioles, recognized his talent and signed him to his first professional contract. A few weeks later, the team headed to Fayetteville en route to Florida for spring training.
On February 29, 1964, Boone Trail High School held off Angier High School to win the longest high school basketball game on record, 54-52.The game, that year’s Harnett County high school championship, was played in Campbell University’s Carter Gym. The gym was small in size and could seat only 947 spectators. There is no known record of how many were in attendance that day.
On February 9, 1956, basketball legend Phil Ford was born in Kannapolis.Ford was raised in Rocky Mount, where he graduated from high school in 1974.As a point guard at UNC-Chapel Hill, he led the basketball team to four NCAA tournaments. Ford’s accolades during his college career were many. In 1978, he capped off his senior year by winning the coveted John R. Wooden Award, given annually to the country’s most outstanding college basketball player.He graduated that year with a degree in business administration.
A pioneer in the field of sports journalism, Mary Garber worked for the Winston-Salem Journal and its predecessor, the Twin City Sentinel, for more than 60 years.