Sports News
Four named to Sports Hall of Fame
By CAL BRYANT
Sports Editor
The Ahoskie News-Herald
A pair of fQotball standouts, a “diamond
darling” on the baseball field and a man whose
printed word helped set Chowan College’s athletic
department on a solid foundation comprised the
four new names added to the Sports Hall of Fame
during a banquet on Nov. 13.
The ninth annual induction ceremony brought
the Hall of Fame’s members to 37 as Jerry Holmes
(football, Class of 1978), W. G. “Pete” Hunter
(baseball, Class of 1963) Roy Parker, Jr., (former
sports editor of the Hertford County Herald) and
Nick Shook (football. Class of 1970) were en
shrined as a large gathering of family and friends
proudly looked on.
Holmes, a first-team NJCAA All-American at
Chowan, is completing his master’s degree in
management at Hampton University, where he also
serves as an assistant football coach.
“Jerry Holmes was one of the most disciplined
people I’ve had in my football program, said
veteran Braves coach Jim Garrison. “He set his
sights on an education, and I knew that if I couldn’t
find him in his room at night studying, then I could
find him in the library.
“He was an excepfional athlete, but what I
admired about him the most is what he has become
in society, not what he accomplished on the
football field.”
“I had the opportunity to play football all across
the United States,” observed Holmes in reference
to his 13-year National Football League career,
“but there’s something special about Chowan
College.
“At Chowan, it was like you were part of one
big family; not just a number like you find at other
schools. Chowan is a big part of Jerry Holmes, for
without it, I wouldn’t have been able to make the
crucial decisions that I’ve been forced to make over
il
Nick Shook ... gives credit to Chowan for his
success in life.
my career. Chowan not only prepares you educa
tionally; it prepares you for life.”
Hunter was inducted by his Chowan teammate,
Eddie Crowder.
“Pete was an outstanding athlete as well as a
person at Chowan,” Crowder said of his friend.
“He was a total team player, never one to stick out
his chest and boast of his own success as he would
always let the glory of victory fall upon a team
mate.”
When speaking of Hunter’s successful baseball
coaching career in his native Perquimans County—
where, under his direction, the Perquimans High
School Pirates established a dynasty by never
suffering a losing season in 17 years—Crowder
offered these thoughts:
“In his coaching career, he has touched the
lives of countless young people and those who he
has coached and taught are better people for
passing his way,” Crowder exclaimed.
“The most surprising moment of my life came
when Jack Goldberg (executive secretary of the
Braves Club, the organization which conducts the
Hall of Fame) tracked me down and told me of my
selection. Heck, I though he was a credit card man
trying to get my money,” mused Hunter.
“In all seriousness though, I don’t think I’ve
done enough for Chowan College to deserve such
an honor as you are giving me tonight, but I do
appreciate your thinking of me.”
Although he never attended Chowan College,
Parker’s roots ran deep in Hertford County where
his family enjoyed a rich tradition of serving the
public through their journalistic background.
“We were a fledging athletic program back in
the early 1950s,” pointed out Dr. Herb
Roy Parker, Jr.,
above, was a strong
supporter of
Chowan athletics
through his
newspaper
coverage.
“Pete” Hunter was
an outstanding
baseball player
at Chowan
and has coached
an area high
school team
for 17 winning
seasons.
Jerry Holmes . .. played professional football,
now a coach at Hampton University.
Appenzeller, Chowan’s former athletic director and
football coach who inducted Parker into the Hall of
Fame.
“We knew we had to get our name in front of
the public in order to get those people reading
about and getting excited about Chowan College
athletics.
“Roy Parker, Jr., was the man who gave us
such creditability. From traveling with the team
throughout the state from which he formed his
stories, he helped us when no one knew who we
were or cared who we were. He doesn’t know how
many players we recruited because of his stories.”
“Chowan College means so much to me and
my family,” revealed Parker, who now resides in
Fayetteville where he and his father, the late Roy
Parker, Sr., co-founded The Fayetteville Times. “I
can remember the grand old days I had here and
it’s very emotional to me to come back here for it
was at Chowan where I found my jewel, my wife,
Marie.”
Speaking of jewels. Shook was a sparkling
diamond in the rough when the Bertie County
native arrived in Murfreesboro in 1968. Shook,
who is an assistant principal at Hertford County
High School, was hailed as one of the greatest
athletes to play under the tutelage of former
Chowan defensive coordinator Sam Green, who
inducted his ex-Braves standout.
“I thought of the oath which the Boy Scouts of
America abide by when I think of Nick Shook,”
suggested Green, who would later joined Shook at
Carson-Newman College where their friendship
grew stronger.
“Nick was trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly,
courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave,
clean and reverent. You have made Nick Shook
proud tonight, but he already has made Chowan
College proud.”
“If it hadn’t been for Chowan College, I
wouldn’t be what I am today,” Shook stressed,
“either as a career man or a family man. When you
come down the path that leads to Chowan College,
you leave with the principals of how to make the
correct decisions in live.
“I had lost focus in life after breaking my leg
playing football my senior year at Bertie High
School. Coach (Jim) Garrison, however, showed
his faith in me my wanting me to play football for
Chowan. He will never know what that faith did for
me. It changed my whole life.
“Finally, I can’t accept this award without
thanking the people around me that led to this,”
Shook concluded. “I’m a firm believer that success
comes from being around successful people and
I’ve been blessed with that,”
CMOWAJ tooay;
Ninth annual
induction
ceremonies
brings total
to 37 enshrined
in Sports
HaUofFame
Large
gathering of
family and
friends hear
inductees
give credit to
Chowanfor
successes.
PACE17