The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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■ pack past 4909 Western Boulevard, Suite 200 Raleigh, North Carolina 27606 Telephone: (919) 851-4696 Fax: (919) 859-5598 Offering a wide variety of services: Personal Accounting/Bookkeeping Non-Profit Organizations Partnerships Payroll Services Corporations Small Business Trusts Estate & Financial Planning Tax Planning Serving the community since 1966 www.jalucas.com Cardinal International Trucks 1526 South Blount Street, Raleigh, NC 27603 (919) 832-5871 www.cardinalinternationaltrucks.com with a 25-point performance, but Speaks bore no ill will. "Now that they have beaten us, I hope they go all the way to the national championship," Speaks said. He was all set to earn his degree in applied mathematics, and not long after his senior finals, Speaks joined Kappa Alpha fraternity brothers Ron Gossell, a basketball teammate, and Don Hamilton, a football player, on a weekend trip to the beach. On a two-lane road outside of Tarboro, N.C., in the early morning hours of May 26, 1963, the car Hamilton was driving veered off the road and into a bridge support. Hamilton survived the accident with few injuries, while Gossell suffered head injuries that put him in a coma for 10 days. He spent more than three months at Duke Hospital recovering from his injuries. Speaks died at the scene. A memorial service was held for the young player at Reynolds Coliseum, with more than 500 family, friends and fans in attendance. A collection was taken up in his honor and a small memorial garden was built near the Leazar Dining Hall. For Robinson, who had roomed with both Gossell and Speaks at different times during his first two years on campus, the loss was devastating, especially knowing that had he not dropped out of school that spring semester and been working a parttime job in his hometown in West Virginia, he would have been on the beach trip with the three other student-athletes. "They never went to the beach when I was not with them," Robinson said. "It was always eerie to me that I could have been in the accident, too." Losing a player in such a tragic manner had a big impact on the always joyful Case. "Nothing like this has ever happened to me before as a coach," a weary Case said afterwards. "I just don't know what to say. Speaks was one of the finest boys to coach and to be with off the court." Case had announced prior to the 1962-63 season that he would retire after he turned 65, following the 1964-65 season, as mandated by North Carolina law. But he never made it that far. Two games into what would have been his final season, Case stepped down, citing health concerns. He lived another 18 months before eventually succumbing to a form of blood cancer known as multiple myeloma. But some say he died more of a broken heart, let down by the players who participated in the gambling scandals and distraught over the death of one of his favorite players. ■ You may contact Tim Peeler at tmpeeler@ncsu.edu. 72 ■ the wolfpacker 70,72.Pack Past.indd 72 12/5/13 2:49 PM