Newspapers / The Kings Mountain Herald … / Nov. 18, 1980, edition 1 / Page 9
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TuMday, Noramtwr 18, 1980-IUNGS MOUNTAIN HERAU>-Pag* 8 Dwight Frady Frady’s Views ^ ^ n IS— '■< V KM Doubles Team Loses » »■» »»»»< Jack ‘Ace’ Parker - One Kings Mountain High’s doubles team of Bridget Glass and Kim Moss lost out in the first round of the North Carolina High Schools Athletic Associa tion tennis tournament Wednes day at Chapel Hill. The Kings Mountain team fell to Emily Burchell and Ann Groceclose of Morehead, 5-7, 6-3 and 6-2. Glass and Moss won the first set, but Coach Ed Guy said they suffered a “letdown in concen tration” in the final two sets. ‘They weren’t hitting the ball hard and weren’t attacking,” said Guy. ‘They couldn’t get their momentum going again.” Still, the loss gave the senior duo the best finish ever for a KMHS girls team. They were the first female athletes from KMHS to ever qualify for a state tournament. “I’m very proud of them,” said Coach Guy. “It may be a long time before we have anyone else to go to the state tournament. I hope not, but Bridget and Kim were the first.” Glass and .Moss qualified for the state by finishing in the top eight in the Western Regionals in Hickory a week earlier. Shelby’s Bonnie Wilkison won the singles state crown and Lisa and Margaret Monoco of Fayet teville Terry Sanford won the doubles crown for the fourth straight years. They compiled a perfect 30-0 record. Sanford also won the team title. Of My Sports Favorites Old coaches never die. They just become principals. l9 Old coaches never die. They just become principals. That is the saying - and it rings true in the case of one of the best coaches and friends I’ve met along the way in this business. He’s Jack “Ace” Parker, the former Bessemer City coach in all three major sports who is in his seventh year as the principal at Lincoln Junior High School in Bessemer City. Bessemer City has had problems winning in football over the past several seasons in two different conferences, first the Southwestern 3-A Conference, then now in the Southern Distria 7 2-A Conference. The Yellow Jackets have had fairly good success this season. But Bessemer City didn’t always have a loser in football. Parker coached several outstanding football teams, although his best records came in basketball and baseball. Asked if he missed coaching, Parker said during an interview with this writer a couple of years ago, “You always miss coaching once you are out. As a fan, I try not to be critical. Bessemer City had a long str ing of winless games over here at one time and it wasn’t an easy burden to carry. “A lot of people who make fun of the kids who played football on those winless teams must remember that a lot of them were dads and moms who took a few beatings themselves - and 1 coached most of them. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ “ONE DAY some kids walked by the trophy case at Bessemer City High School and saw all the trophies my teams had won in the three major sports. They couldn’t believe it.” Parker, a three-sport star at Erskine College after having played all three with equal adeptness at Bessemer City High School, started his coaching career at Camden, S.C., in 1951. He came back to his native Bessemer City and took over the reins as head football, basketball and baseball coach in 1955.1 was in my third year as a Gazette sportswriter then. “For several years, 1 coached both boys and girls basketball,” said Parker. “My last real good football teams came in ’65 and ’66. We tied Stanley for the championship in ’66 when Richard Kincaid was our quarterback, but Stanley got into the playoffs on total yardage. We had an 8-3 record that year. “My last year at Bessemer City came in ’72. My last season as head footb^ coach was in ’68. “Just about all of our outstanding athletes over here when I coached played all three sports. It was just an understood thing that if they played football, they’d play basketball and baseball too. pictur^,|jejHu;t|p change in the lage ’60’s. The athletes began to If specialize, mpre spocu ower^ffered - which is fine and'the'kids ” weren’t as dedicated as in the middle 50’s and early 60’s. The era of the automobile came along for one thing.” Parker said that most of the teams Bessemer City is playing in the SD7 are tough teams from “way back.” ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ "THEY HAVE put out some good talent over the years. We had good relationships with some of the schools that now make up the SD 7 before consolidation started. “Most of them are now attending Bandys and West Lincoln. Back then, they were North Brook, Rock Springs and a lot of other schools, although Bandys and Maiden are still the same schools we often played in the various sports.” Parker turned out some outstanding athletes and citizens. His most notable product was basketball standout Tony Byers, who later played at Wake Forest. Others include Dr. Sid Woody, George Hook, Hoyle Strutt, Jimmy Robinson, Don Honeycutt, Tommy and Jerry Millwood and two Steve Harmons. “Woody was some tremendous shooter in basketball,” said Parker. “I was fortunate to have had real good quarterbacks when I coached football. ‘They were Kincaid, Woody, Hook, Strutt and Bobby King. Strutt and Adams got into the coaching field. “One of my best football players was Jimmy Robinson, a 200-pound guard. Minnesota wanted him, but he went into service and made the All-Service team at guard. “He was one of those guys who got his adrenalin flowing once the whistle blew. Sometimes I still see Sid Woody piddling around the gym. “He was such a talented quarterback that I think some of these other schools stole our plays. Woody ran the triple-option with such deception that the other team just couldn’t find out where the ball was. That was around ’56.” ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ NOT LONG after Byers graduated, Parker took his Yellow Jackets to the state finals in basketball. The starting team consisted of Orlando Alexander, Goldie Byers, Donnell Camp, Theodore Smith and Reggie 'Wideman. That team lost a thriller to Wake Forest High School in the state finals. “We were more powerful in basketball, which I coached from ’55 through 72,” said Parker. “About every four years in football we’d have a championship contender. In baseball, we had only one losing season in 10 years and went to the Western finals one year before be ing eliminated.” Parker said that he was never injured while playing football, basket ball and baseball at Erskine. ‘Then 1 broke my nose in a pick-up game here when 1 first came back to Bessemer City to coach,” he said. Baseball was my best sport. I was a pitcher and an outfielder and got several offers from the pros. I sometimes wonder if I would have made the big time in baseball. “I played semi-pro ball for several years here and in the Palmetto League in South Carolina. I threw my arm away while I was coaching at Bessemer City and playing in a summer semi-pro league. ★ ★ ★ ★ * "Td PITCH despite the bad arm, then have to comb my hair with my right hand,” said the southpaw. Martin Pallazza Selected Martin David Pallazza has pledged Kappa Sigma fraternity at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Kappa Sigma, a social fraterni ty, was founded at the Universi ty of Virginia in 1869 and stresses academic achievement. Pallazza graduated from Arl ington High School in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. in 1979 and is a sophomore at UNCC. He is the son of Jim and Betty Pallaz za, Rt. 3, 164 N. (tekwood. Kings Mountain. Set At Center The Kings Mountain Parks and Recreation Department will be sponsoring an adult Disco class to be held in room 202 of the Kings Mountain Neighborhood Facility Center (Community Center) located at 208 North Cleveland Avenue. Classes will meet Wednesdays starting November 19 and run through December 17 and then Mondays and Wednesdays from January 5 through January 28. Classes will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Pre-registration will be taken Mondays through Thursdays from 8 a.m. to 12 noon, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at the office of the Neighborhood Center, Room 102. Registration will also be taken on the first day ATTEND MEETING More than 170 mothers of Peace College students visited their daughters on campus Saturday for the third annual Mother-Daughter Day. Area mothers attending were Mrs. Elsie Starling of Route 2 and her daughter. Peace student Sally Annette Starling. Also attending was Mrs. Eula Brown. of class if space is still available. A nominal S5.00 registration fee will be requested. For more information on this and other programs, call the Center at 739-3549. ★ ★★ The Kings Mountain Parks and Recreation Department will be sponsoring an adult basic beginners Square Dancing class in the Kings Mountain Neighborhood Facility Center. This class will cover basic steps and will meet Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8 to 9:30 p.m. starting December 9 and ending January 29. Class will not meet during the Christmas holidays. Pre-registration will be taken Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 12 noon, I p.m. to 5 p.m. and 6 pjn. to 10 p.m. at the office of the Kings Mountain Neighborhood Facility Center, 208 North Cleveland Avenue. Registration will also be taken the first night of class if space is still available. Participants will be asked for a nominal S5.00 fee at the time of registration. REEVES WITH COACH HUSSEY-limmy Reeves, former South Point Red Raider star, is shown with Belmont Abbey basektball coach Bobby Hussey before a recent practice session at Wheeler Center. Reeves has been im pressive in pre-season drills and is currently a starter. limmy was a 1,000-points plus scorer at South Point during his three-year career. CALLING ALL TAR HEEL BASKETBALL FANS!!! WE HAVE A LIMITED SUPPLY OF UNC BASKETBALL WALL CALENDARS ★ ★★ Past Records if "kit UNC Players In The Pros ONLY $200 While They Last kifir Schedules ★★★ Photos Of All Coaches & Players WNBd V«V CAM CMM«M ?• OlVt TMC VtS* MM CARD 81 GIFT SHOP East King Street (Hwy. 74) At Canterbury Rd. Kings Mountain, N.C.
The Kings Mountain Herald (Kings Mountain, N.C.)
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Nov. 18, 1980, edition 1
9
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