The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/699450
10 ■ THE WOLFPACKER The recruitment of Fayetteville High School superstar Chris Cam- mack was intense. Every morning during his third-period study hall, he would receive, in no particular order, phone calls from Wake For- est's Jack Stallings, North Carolina's Walter Rabb and NC State's Sam Esposito. He finally got so fed up with the daily routine that one morning he declared whoever reached him first on that day would earn his services for the next four years. He had no idea what his fate was when he heard his named called over the intercom, and he headed up to the school office. When he picked up the phone, the voice said, "Chris, this is Sam Esposito…" And from that moment on, Cammack was a committed Wolfpacker right up until June 10, when he finally lost his years-long battle with esophageal cancer in Wilmington. He was 67. "He was dearly cherished and will be missed by every player that ever wore the red and white," said current NC State coach Elliott Avent. In his prime, the supremely likeable Cammack was a multi-sport athlete. As a high school junior, he outscored teammate and future NC State star Vann Williford in the 4-A state championship basketball game against Myers Park. He played shortstop in high school, but moved to third base as a freshman at NC State because of a lost flip of the coin. He came out of fall practice tied for the starting job with sophomore Darrell Moody, and Esposito finally decided to toss a quarter in the air. Moody won, and Cammack became a four-time first-team All-ACC selection at third base. "I never played it before that first game in college," Cammack said. He was drafted by baseball teams four different times during his high school and college careers, but he was steadfast to Esposito's program and to his pursuit of a degree in economics. As a freshman, he and roommate Mike Caldwell spurred their team to the Wolfpack's first-ever trip to the College World Series in Omaha, Neb. In 1969, he was named the ACC Player of the Year after hitting .429 with two home runs, 16 RBIs and 10 stolen bases in the Wolfpack's 26 contests. It remains the highest single-season batting average in school history. "He absolutely could have played Major League Baseball," Caldwell said in 2009, when he and Cammack joined Esposito in the inaugural class of the NC State Baseball Hall of Fame. "But he did all right in the business world. I don't think he ever had any regrets." Cammack didn't like his final contract offer to play professional baseball. Instead, he started successful insurance businesses in Char- lotte and Fayetteville, fueling his competitive desires by playing competitive slow-pitch softball, running marathons and becoming a low-handicap weekend golfer. — Tim Peeler Baseball Legend Passes Away TRACKING THE PACK Chris Cammack (kneeling) played for coach Sam Esposito and was the 1969 ACC Player of the Year after batting a school-record .429 at the plate. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS Joe Harand, the final surviving member of NC State head coach Everett Case's first Red Terror basketball team, passed away on June 1, 2016, at his home in Shelby, N.C. He was 89. Born on Dec. 4, 1926, in Newton, New Jersey, Ha- rand came south following World War II to study textiles at NC State. He won a spot on the 1946-47 freshmen team through an open tryout with about 200 other students and was assigned a room with a re- cruited guard from Indianapolis named Norman Sloan. By his senior year, Harand worked his way into the starting backcourt with guard Vic Bubas, helping Case's team reach the 1950 NCAA Tournament semifinals in New York. The Wolfpack lost 78-73 in overtime to eventual champion City College of New York. Harand settled in Shelby in 1966 and kept in close touch with Sloan, always making time for the eventual Wolfpack head coach when he came to town to recruit prized player David Thompson of Shelby's Crest High School. Harand earned half a share of Case's estate when the coach died in 1966, using his roughly $675 to pur - chase his first color television. Until the day he died, all subsequent TVs bore a plaque that read "Through the Generosity of Everett N. Case." Harand's family asked for any memorial be made to the Boys and Girls Club of Cleveland County, P.O. Box 2001, Shelby, N.C., 28150. — Tim Peeler Last Surviving Member Of Everett Case's First Team at NCSU Dies