The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1506671
48 ■ THE WOLFPACKER PACK PAST BY TIM PEELER R oy Wood was not an NC State foot- ball superstar. In fact, his playing time consisted mostly of being part of the third-string line in a two-platoon system in which the starters were re- quired to play both offense and defense. Yet he grabbed a piece of history at the end of the 1963 season that he's trea- sured ever since. As one of 16 seniors on the 1963 Wolf- pack, Wood was entitled to enter head coach Earle Edwards' annual senior- only lottery that awarded a game-used football from an NC State contest. Each senior drew a number, kind of like a family Christmas gift exchange, and was awarded the ball in the locker room in front of the team. Wood drew No. 6, knowing he would get a game ball after the Wolfpack played Duke in its first home game of the season Oct. 26. It would be a nice souvenir for a little- used player on a team that went just 3-6-1 the year before, but there was little expectation that Edwards' team would be an ACC contender. The senior class, however, had other ideas. Its members had gone undefeated as freshmen in 1960 and were disap- pointed with back-to-back losing sea- sons as varsity players. They weren't even intimidated by the schedule, which in keeping with Edwards' custom, in- cluded six road games in the first seven weeks. Something magical happened for Ed- wards and his program that fall 60 years ago, kicking off three consecutive sea- sons in which the Wolfpack won out- right or tied for the ACC championship. A Fast Start The first four game balls for the 1963 season went quickly with road victories over Maryland, Southern Mississippi, Clemson and South Carolina, bringing Wood ever closer to his coveted prize. Senior quarterback Jim Rossi completed 21 of his first 25 passes on the year and hit junior Ray Barlow on a 77-yard bomb in the third game for a winning touch- down. Against the Gamecocks, Rossi out- played future NFL quarterback Dan Reeves in Columbia to give the Pack a 4-0 record and the early advantage in the ACC race. In the fifth game, played in Chapel Hill, the Wolfpack lost to North Caro- lina, 31-10, for the first setback of the year, with the Tar Heels scoring 21 un- Wood was a backup lineman for the Wolfpack during its 1963 ACC championship season, and he ended up with the game ball from its regular-season finale against Wake Forest. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS Roy Wood's Game Ball Commemorates A Satisfying Win — And A Somber Day