The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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14 ■ THE WOLFPACKER T he newest class of the NC State Athletic Hall of Fame will have to wait more than a year before it will be enshrined, but will have the honor of being part of a grand celebration at its new home in the refurbished and renovated Reynolds Coliseum. The six-member class was announced April 15, adding four former athletes, a highly successful coach and the first full team to ever be elected for induction. NC State director of athletics Debbie Yow called it "another remarkable class … that embodies achieve- ment, character and the pursuit of greatness." The class will join its 30 predecessors in the fall of 2016, when Reynolds is slated to be reopened after a $35 million facelift that will include a permanent home in the Grand Hall for the inductees, as well as the popular videos that tell the stories of their accom- plishments. There will be no election of new members next year. The 1974 NCAA champion basketball squad — the first team to win a national title in Wolfpack athletics history — was selected. It already has four members in the hall: David Thompson, Tom Burleson, Norm Sloan and Sam Esposito. Men's and women's swimming coach Don Easterling, who won 17 combined ACC titles, was chosen as the only coach, while foot- ball legend Dick Christy, lacrosse player Stan Cockerton, women's basketball player Linda Page and multi-sport star Davis Robertson round out the class. This is the first class that is limited by the by-laws to six mem- bers after three consecutive classes of at least 10 members. (Foot- ball quarterback Philip Rivers was elected two years ago in a class that had a total of 11 members, but has yet to be inducted due to conflicts with his schedule.) From now on, there can be only one non-athlete elected to the hall and no more than five athletes or teams in any given year. The committee is not obligated to elect a minimum number of inductees. Here's a brief look at the class of 2016. The 1974 men's basketball team: Over two seasons, head coach Norm Sloan's Wolfpack compiled a 57-1 record, beginning with a 27-0 mark in 1972-73 and a 30-1 show- ing in 1973-74. Led by All-Americans David Thompson and Tommy Burleson, the team was guided by diminutive point guard Monte Towe. Tim Stoddard, Phil Spence and Mo Rivers were regulars in the lineup, but it was most of all a team that relied on contributions from everyone on the roster. "I'm so happy for everyone on the roster, because more than anything, we were a fam- ily, a team," Thompson said. "Everyone contributed to what we did in our championship season and they deserve to be recognized because it is one of the greatest teams in college basketball history." The Wolfpack won both the ACC championship and the first team NCAA title in school history without ever leaving the state of North Carolina, by beating Maryland in the ACC title game, Providence and Pittsburgh at Reynolds Coliseum in the NCAA Tournament regionals, and seven-time basketball champion UCLA and Marquette in the Final Four. Dick Christy, football: No NC State student-athlete has ever had a greater single-game performance than the wiry halfback did when he scored all 29 of the Wolfpack's points against South Carolina in the final game of the 1957 season to secure the first ACC football championship in school history. He kicked the game-winning field goal — the first attempt of his career — with no time remaining on the clock to give his team a 29-26 victory. Christy was named a first-team All-American by the Associated Press and UPI, as well as first-team All-ACC, the ACC Player of the Year and the ACC Athlete of the Year follow - ing his senior season. Christy, also an accomplished diver, was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the 1958 NFL Draft and played for the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers and the AFL's Boston Patriots and New York Titans. He died in a one-car accident near his hometown of Chester, Pa., in 1966. Stan Cockerton, lacrosse: It's an endorsement of Cockerton's greatness on the field that he was elected to the hall of fame even though NC State hasn't sponsored varsity lacrosse since 1982. The 5-7 ball of energy from Oshawa, Ontario, remains one of college lacrosse's top scorers with 193 goals and 280 points in just 44 career games. He was a four-time All-American and two-time ACC Player of the Year. He also helped the Canadian national team win its only world lacrosse championship. He currently serves as an executive for the Ontario Lacrosse Association and the International Lacrosse Foundation. Don Easterling, swimming coach: His teams dominated the ACC during the 1970s and '80s, winning 15 men's and two women's ACC titles. Included in that was a remark - able string of 12 consecutive men's championships from 1971-82. Easterling also produced 24 men's and 16 women's All-Americans, two men's national champions, four men's USA Swimming champions and seven Olympians. He also led the Wolfpack to the ultimate team championship: the 1973 men's squad won every single event at the ACC Championships and finished eighth at the NCAA Championships. Linda Page, women's basketball: A two-time All-American, Page led the Wolfpack to four consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament. As a sophomore in 1983, she was the Most Valuable Player in the ACC Tournament and a first-team All-ACC selection as a junior and senior. She still ranks as the program's second-leading all-time scorer with 2,307 career points. She died in her hometown of Philadelphia in 2011. Dave Robertson, football, basketball, baseball, track and field: Born in 1889, the year the doors opened at the North Carolina School for Agriculture and Mechanic Arts, Robertson arrived from Norfolk, Va., and became a revered athlete in the early days of the college. He was a football halfback and baseball pitcher who once struck out 23 Guilford batters in a single nine-inning game. He was a member of A&M's first basketball team in 1911 and was a champion sprinter in track. A football injury forced him to give up pitching, but he became a power-hitting outfielder in the dead-ball era, twice leading the National League in home runs and was the starting right fielder for the New York Giants in the 1917 World Series, where he set a record with 11 hits in 22 at-bats. He played parts of nine seasons in the majors with the Giants, the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Chicago Cubs. After his professional baseball career was over, he became a game warden in Virginia. He died at the age of 81 in 1970. Hall of Fame Class Announced TRACKING THE PACK Lacrosse standout Stan Cockerton notched 193 goals and 280 points in just 44 career games for the Wolfpack. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS Dave Robertson starred in football, baseball, basketball and track and field. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS