The Wolfpacker

20 ■ THE WOLFPACKER TRACKING THE PACK Dick Hunter, the captain of NC State's 1957 ACC championship team, died on Oct. 29 after a long bout with cancer. He was 80. Born on Oct. 12, 1935, in Leechburg, Pa., Hunter was a Shetland-sized thoroughbred and a member of leg- endary head coach Earle Edwards' first recruiting class in 1954. He came to Raleigh to play base- ball, his first love, and football. Though undersized — Hunter stood just 5-7, weighed 157 pounds and wore a size 5½ shoe — he was the perfect complement to his more famous running mate, halfback Dick Christy. "Dick Hunter would be the greatest football player in America if he weighed 190 pounds," late NC State assistant coach Pat Peppler once said of the diminutive back. He was so small that in baseball, he couldn't make it as a shortstop. He converted to center field and became a two-time All- ACC selection. In football, Christy became the Wolfpack offense's bruiser, while Hunter became a slip- pery and uncatchable running back. Both also played in the Wolfpack's defensive backfield, helping record five shutouts during the 1957 championship campaign. "The old story was that nobody wanted to catch Christy, because he ran over them," said former teammate Ken Nye. "And nobody could catch Dick Hunter, because he was so fast." Christy, who tragically died in a car ac- cident in 1966, became famous for scoring all 29 points in the sea- son-ending victory over South Carolina, including a pair of extra points and a 36-year field goal with no time remaining on the clock after taking over for Hunter midgame as the team's placekicker. B u t H u n t e r, w h o served as the team's placekicker early in the season, scored all the points in the Wolfpack's season-opener, a 7-0 vic- tory over North Carolina in Chapel Hill. State couldn't have won its first conference title since 1927 with- out either individual performance. They solidified Edwards' recruiting pres- ence in Pennsylvania, where the Penn State graduate and former Nittany Lion assistant coach mined rich talent. That inaugural group, brought in shortly after Edwards was hired in 1953, helped save football as a var- sity sport at NC State, after Chancellor Carey Bostian threatened to cancel the program because of the high cost of maintaining it without much success. After failing to win an ACC game in his first two seasons, Edwards relied on the two- way talents of Hunter and Christy to not only win the school's first ACC title in 1957, but also recruit high school All-American quar- terback Roman Gabriel of Wilmington. Edwards' eventual success — he won a total of five ACC titles, including three in a row from 1963-65 — helped the Wolfpack secure funds to build Carter Stadium in 1966 and cemented football's place in the athletics department. Despite his size, Hunter played profes- sionally in the Canadian Football League for the Montreal Alouettes and the Ottawa Roughriders. In 1958, he gained 33 yards on 15 carries and caught 22 passes for 532 yards and six touchdowns in 13 games in Montreal. The following season, he played one game with the Roughriders. Never far away from sports, Hunter became an avid golfer following his football career, teaming with son Rick as a regular partner. After settling back in the Triangle, Hunter eventually worked in insurance sales, as a recreation director and in security. He was preceded in death by his wife, Brenda Hamilton Hunter. He is survived by his children, Rick Hunter, Tammy Hunter Griffin and Todd Hunter, and three grand- children. An intimate gathering of family, friends and former teammates celebrated Hunter's life at Raleigh's Mitchell Funeral Home on Nov. 3, with former baseball and football teammate Bob Kennel delivering a thought- ful eulogy. A graveside service followed at Raleigh Memorial Cemetery, where he was laid to rest as a bagpiper flying an NC State flag played "Amazing Grace." — Tim Peeler Former NC State running back Willie Burden, the 1973 ACC Player of the Year and the first Wolfpack player to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season, passed away on Dec. 4 while awaiting a heart transplant at Atlanta's Piedmont Hospital. He was 64. The Rocky Mount, N.C., native and Raleigh Enloe High School graduate suffered from congestive heart failure for several years and had been placed on the national heart transplant list earlier this year. He checked into the hospital on Feb. 16 and remained there until his death. Though close by, Burden was unable to attend the games of his youngest son, Freddie, who just completed his junior season as a center at Georgia Tech. "My father is now watching over us from a better place and his struggle is over," Fred- die Burden said via Twitter after his father's death. "Rest easy, dad. I'll see you again. Love you so much." His older son Willie Burden Jr. is an academic advisor with the Yellow Jackets. His daughter Courtney lives in Raleigh. In addition to his three children, Burden is survived by his wife, Velma, who is the reg- istrar at Georgia Southern in Statesboro, Ga., where Willie Burden had been a tenured professor of sports management for more than a decade. While at NC State, the Raleigh Enloe High School graduate was the leader of "The Stal- lions," the name given to him, fullback Stan Fritts, running backs Charley Young and Roland Hooks, and quarterback Dave Buckey for head coach Lou Holtz's twin veer offense. "He was such a nice guy in all situations," Buckey said. "He always had a smile on his face. In the midst of challenging situations, at times pressure-packed, I never saw him upset. "He was a real gentleman as well as a tremendous competitor." In 1973, Burden had 1,014 yards on 150 carries with eight touchdowns, a single- season total that remains 10th all time in NCSU history. He still ranks ninth all time at NC State with 2,529 career rushing yards and tied for seventh with 22 career rushing touchdowns. Burden spent eight years playing in the CFL, setting a league record with 1,896 yards rushing in 1975 and earning the league's Player of the Year award. In 2002, his No. 10 jersey was added to the Calgary Stampeders Wall of Fame. He is also a member of the CFL Hall of Fame. While still playing professionally, Burden returned to Raleigh and worked for the NC State athletics department. He did some coaching, athletics fundraising and marketing. He graduated with a degree in economics in 1974. "[Athletics director] Willis Casey just spread me around so I could learn the business," Burden said in a 2006 interview. "He said when you are done playing, the first thing you need to do is get your master's degree if you are going to get into this business." He did that and more, earning a master's in sports administration from Ohio University in 1984 and a doctorate in education from Tennessee State in 1990. He was the athletics director at North Carolina A&T in Greensboro from 1990-99 and then entered academia as a professor in sports management at Georgia Southern. In 2009, Burden was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame and served as NC State's Legend at the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte. Burden's funeral was in Raleigh on Dec. 10. Memorials may be made to Byrd's Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, P.O. Box 1178, Rose Hill, N.C. — Tim Peeler Legendary Pack Running Back Willie Burden Passes Away Former Pack Football Captain Dick Hunter Dies Hunter was the captain of the 1957 ACC championship team that helped pre- serve the Wolfpack football program. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE SPORTS INFORMATION

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