Hal “skinny” brown
(1924-2015)
Hal Brown played 14 years in the major leagues and during his career he posted an 85-92 record with a 3.81 ERA in 358 appearances including 211 starts, 47 completed games, 13 shutouts, 11 saves, 1,689 games pitched and 1.83 strikeout-to-walk ratio (710 to 389). Brown began his career with the Chicago White Sox from 1951-1952, then played for the Boston Red Sox from 1953-1955 before going to the Orioles in 1955. Brown continued to make his mark during his six-year run with the Baltimore Orioles in which he won 56 games and developed a reputation for beating the perennial champion Yankees. The Greensboro native was later traded to the Yankees, ending his career in 1964 with the Houston Colt 45s.
emil “emo” showfety
(1919-2002)
Emo Showfety was a Greensboro native who became one of the region’s greatest minor-league baseball stars. In 1941, Emo started out playing for Danville-Schoolfield, followed by the Durham Bulls, Montreal Royals, Raleigh Capitals, Burlington Bees, before finishing up his career with the Greensboro Patriots from 1947-1949. Showfety was a Carolina League All-Star in 1947 and 1948 and is probably the most popular player in Greensboro’s long baseball history. Showfety, an Elon graduate, was inducted into the Elon Sports Hall of Fame in 1983 for football and baseball.
vince evans
Vince Evans, the former Smith High School star, played professional football from 1977 to 1995. A “prep phenom” who ran the single-wing at Smith, Vince would go on to play quarterback at the University of Southern California, where he won the MVP award at the 1977 Rose Bowl. Evans passed for 9,485 yards in his NFL career and ran for more than 1,000 yards. Evans was drafted in the sixth round (140th overall pick) by the Chicago Bears and was the only player for the Chicago Bears to score a perfect quarterback rating in a game. Evans played three seasons in the USFL, the Chicago Blitz and Denver Golf, before finishing his career as a member of the Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders from 1987-1995.
bill furcron
Bill Furcron coached the Dudley basketball program for a generation, playing for four state titles and winning twice in 1958 and 1961 with a team considered one of the greatest in high school basketball history. Coach Furcron was the coach of a team that included Curly Neal, Lou Hudson and Charlie Sanders, all of whom were previously inducted into the Guilford County Sports Hall of Fame. Coach Furcon served as the football coach at Dudley.
Page Marsh
An amateur and professional golfer from Jamestown, Page Marsh was a four-year starter and MVP, 1983 All-American, and 1983, 1984, 1985 All-ACC at the University of North Carolina. Page was the 1989 North & South Amateur Champion, an LPGA tour winner, and in 2003 was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference 50th Anniversary team. She won the N.C. Women’s State Amateur title six times and was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 2001. Marsh became the Head Women’s Golf Coach at North Carolina State University, where she led the Wolfpack to nine straight NCAA appearances and five top-four finishes in the ACC Championship. In 2002, Marsh earned ACC Coach of the Year honors. Marsh has also served on the USGA Women’s Mid-Amateur Committee, the North and South Amateur Championship, as well as the associate director of the Women’s Western Golf Association.
mac morris
A graduate of Roxboro High School and Davidson College, Mac Morris made a lasting impact on the community serving as the head basketball coach at Page High School for 25 years and also as the Co-Executive Director of the North Carolina Coaches Association. During Morris’ tenure with the Pirates, his overall record was 446-141 winning more than 75 percent of the games as well the 4-A state title in 1979, 1983 with a 26-0 record, and 1990 with a 31-0 record. The gymnasium at Page High School is named in Mac Morris’ honor. In 2006, he was inducted into the North Carolina Athletics Directors Association Hall of Fame and the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 2009.
mike raybon
Mike Raybon coached wrestling at Ragsdale from 1965 to 1984, winning three state titles, 14 conference championships and numerous coach-of-the-year awards. Raybon’s teams compiled a record of 216-45-2 in matches over 20 seasons, seven in which his teams went undefeated. Raybon also coached football, tennis and cross country. From 1965-2008, Raybon served Guilford County Schools as an Assistant Principal at Southwest and as a coach and Athletic Director at Ragsdale.Raybon has been inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and the 2006 North Carolina High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame. The Mike Raybon Gymnasium at Ragsdale was named in his honor.
bob sawyer
The longtime coach and athletics director at Grimsley High School, Coach Bob Sawyer, remains a legend in North Carolina high school athletics. While attending Grimsley, Sawyer was an individual state swimming champion under the legendary Bob Jamieson winning the overall state title in 1954 and 1955. In 1957 and 1959, Sawyer was the national (NAIA) champion in backstroke and was named All-American in 1959 at East Carolina. In 1961, Sawyer returned to Grimsley for 30 years where his swimming teams won 16 consecutive conference championships and an unprecedented 15 straight NCHSAA state titles. Sawyer also coached track, cross country, and junior varsity football. In 1974 Sawyer was inducted into the East Carolina University Hall of Fame and in 1996 he was enshrined in the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame.
george foree
(1940-2001)
George Foree, a 1961 graduate of Winston-Salem State University and member of the school’s Hall of Fame, was a dominant player on their championship basketball team for four years under the guidance of coach “Big House” Gaines. In 1962, Foree was recognized as the Most Valuable player in the CIAA tournament. Foree coached basketball at High Point’s William Penn High School and led the 1968 team to the North Carolina High School Athletic Conference 4-A title. Foree also coached at Andrews High School. Foree was often remembered as “Coach” or “Big George.”
debbie yow
Dr. Deborah Yow became the first female Athletic Director in Atlantic Coast Conference history when named Director of Athletics at the University of Maryland in 1994. The Gibsonville native played basketball and later became a coach at Kentucky, Florida, and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro before entering athletics administration. Under Dr. Yow’s leadership, the University of Maryland won 20 National Titles and had an 80 percent graduation rate. In 2004, Yow was named one of 20 most influential people in intercollegiate athletics by Street and Smith magazine. Dr. Yow is part of the Maryland Women’s Hall of Fame as well as the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. An acclaimed author and clinician, she is the former president of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics. She chaired the ACC Committee on Television contracts, and served on the NCAA Management Council and Division I Budget Committee. In 2010, Dr. Yow was named the Director of Athletics at North Carolina State University.
michael parker
Michael Parker’s six national soccer titles, five in Division III and one in Division II, rank him fourth among all-time men’s collegiate coaches. Parker coached the University of North Carolina at Greensboro to three of those national titles in 1985, 1986, and 1987 becoming the first coach in NCAA history to win three straight NCAA Men’s Soccer National Titles. In 34 seasons as a head coach, Parker compiled a mark of 494-191-33, appearing in the NCAA Tournament 21 times. During 26 seasons as the Spartan’s coach, Parker was 382-164-26 leading the team to the NCAA Tournament 15 times including eight in the program’s Division I era. In 1993, Parker became the first men’s soccer coach in NCAA history to lead a team to the NCAA tournament in all three divisions. As the winningest active coach in Division I men’s soccer, Parker was inducted into the UNCG Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005. Parker also coached the USISL Greensboro Dynamo professional team winning consecutive National Championships.