Last Monday's Charlotte Observer had a great front-page story about a Gaston County high school coach and one of his star athletes in the 1970s.
The boy became homeless while still in high school, and the coach took him in to his home until the boy went to college. There he was a Morehead Scholar at UNC and went on to establish an international company. Now he's returning home to be inducted into the Belmont Sports Hall of Fame on Oct. 27.
The coach is former Drexel High School and Lenoir-Rhyne College standout Earl Lingerfeldt, a retired 30-year veteran of the Gaston County Schools.
Things have not gone too well for Earl lately. He has suffered a severe stroke and is still recuperating, but his returning track star, Ron Boatwright, called him "one of the strongest men I've ever known — a person who wouldn't know how to quit in any circumstances."
I'm sure Earl's football players at South Point and East Gaston high schools have a story or two they could add about their coach's toughness. So could all of his many friends and family, who watched him battle prostate cancer a few years ago.
I remember him as a big, strong youngster who could beat you at football, basketball or baseball during his school days at Drexel High, but I remember him best as a fine human being.
The school year 1962-63 will always be a time for Drexel faithful to remember and cherish — a time from which they can recount every detail to their children and grandchildren about how they won championships in all three major sports with coach Merlin Shull.
Many of Earl's teammates that year come to mind — Buddy Hall, Terry Yount, Ed Sherril, Steve Baker and Joe Mull among them. I especially remember Jonathan Secrest putting together a reunion for the 1963 basketball team and asking me to get up a team of all-stars of that year from the other conference schools to play them at the Drexel Community Center. It was a great event for everyone there.
There were many, many other fine athletes that made up those legendary Wolverine teams, but space and my memory limit mention of them here. I'm sure every one of them offers their best wishes and prayers for their former teammate, "Big Earl."
He was a very fine center on an outstanding basketball team at Drexel and a solid .400 hitter on the school's baseball team, but he was at his best on the football field. He was one of the few offensive tackles who could hold his own against North Carolina School for the Deaf's great running back, Charles Crowe.
Earl took that talent to Lenoir-Rhyne College and was a standout for the Bears at the same position.
His dad, Ray, was well known in the gospel music circles and led a family group at one time that featured Earl's sister, Katherine, as pianist.
Earl has many family members still in the Burke County area, all rooting and praying for him.
So are the rest of us.
Roy Waters is a sports columnist for The News Herald. Waters was baseball and basketball coach at Salem High School from 1955-66, where his teams won 18 championships. In 2007, he was inducted into the Burke County Sports Hall of Fame.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement