“You helped pave my way to college basketball,” said June Doby Hill, a member of the 1975-76 Viking state championship team and a former player at N. C. State. “These are my roots and I’ll never forget them. Union Pines is my heart and my soul.”
As part of the school’s celebration of its 40th year of existence, Hill along with Bobby Myers, John Frye, Curtis Frye, Drew Scott and all the players and coaches from the state championship basketball team were honored during a ceremony in the school auditorium Friday afternoon.
Later, they were presented with plaques between the boys’ and girls’ basketball games against Trinity.
All of the individual inductees, except Myers, are currently involved in coaching at the high school or college levels.
Myers, an all-state selection in football and baseball while at Union Pines, was president of the first Union Pines class in 1965. He recalls having mud all over his shoes after trooping through the wet, bare grounds on the first day at the brand new high school. He earned All-American honors for football after his senior season.
“He never ran around anybody,” presenter Larry Caddell said, “he ran over you. What was so amazing, not only was he a good athlete, but he was a good person. He was humble. He never wanted the spotlight.”
Currently living in Mooresville, and active in the pharmaceutical consulting firm he co-founded, he is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy. He had a distinguished military career that included stints at the army ranger, airborne and helicopter schools.
“I’ve found that it is true that nothing in life that is worthwhile comes easy,” he told the audience. “Football helped provide me with a foundation I’ve used ever since.”
Introduced by his daughter Jane Hart, John Frye’s career as a teacher and coach at Union Pines goes all the way back to 1967. Before that he was brought up in Moore County and later received undergraduate and master’s degrees from Appalachian State University.
A Sunday school teacher for 30 years, his Viking boys’ and girls’ tennis teams have a combined total of 876 wins and 141 losses. Hart was a state singles runner-up as a member of her father’s team in 1987.
“You can’t play for John Frye without feeling his love for you,” she said. “He holds the secret of good coaching in his heart.”
Frye was one of several inductees to recall the tough love of teacher Martha Frye as having a positive influence on him. He said his wife, Brenda, was a youth basketball coach who transported carloads of athletes to Union Pines.
“I can’t be here today and not think about my parents a lot,” he said. “In a very real way, they are the reason I’m here.”
Curtis Frye, a 1970 Union Pines graduate, was a two-time all-conference selection in track and football. He attended Sandhills Community College before graduating from East Carolina in 1974.
This weekend he was at Madison Square Garden in New York City with the University of South Carolina track team he has coached since 1996.
“My husband dreams all the time and sets goals,” said his wife Wilma, speaking in his absence. “Since he was at Union Pines we’ve been on an incredible journey.”
The journey has included trips to Athens (Greece), Sydney (Australia) and Atlanta as an assistant track coach for the U.S. Olympic track and field team. He has coached many Olympic medalists and college All-Americans.
Speaking on a videotape that was played during the induction, Curtis Frye said, “I’ve taken the opportunities Union Pines gave me and done a lot of things with it.”
The 6-foot-5 Hill was a member of coach Kay Yow’s N.C. State team that won the ACC Tournament Championship in 1980. She made the All-ACC tournament team and was the MVP in the regional championship game that year. She still holds the school record for the most rebounds in a season.
She is currently the girls’ basketball coach at Rosewood High School in Wayne County. Upon the completion of the Viking girl’s game Friday night, she placed a phone call to find out how her team did in its game.
Presenter Nicole Hill, one of her daughters, said that Carl Salmon, coach of the state championship team, and many other outstanding Viking squads thereafter, had a big influence on her mother’s basketball career.
June Hill said that during her high school days, she almost always had a basketball in her hand. Two or three days a week in the off-season, she would find someone to let her in the gym and shoot 100 to 300 free throws.
“I played basketball everyday,” she said. “I would go one-on-one with my brother in the old tobacco barn. One of us would usually get a whipping because we fought to the end.”
When it was Scott’s turn to speak, he told Salmon (in the audience) that even though he was never coached by him, he was a role model.
A 1993 graduate of Union Pines, Scott won the 1-A/2-A state golf championship in his senior year with a 6-under-par score that was a state record at the time. After playing college golf at Rice University, he spent three years as a professional on the Canadian PGA Tour.
He is now in his second year as the golf coach at the University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg, Texas.
“He was hitting pine cones with plastic golf clubs at the age of 2,” presenter Archie Kelly said. “He won his first tournament at the age of 8. This little white ball is the reason Drew Scott is here tonight.”
Scott told the audience about a time he was paired with PGA pro Justin Leonard in a college golf tournament.
“On that first tee box,” he said, “that’s about as nervous as I am now. I’m not usually nervous, so I guess that means this is a very important day. I’m 30 years old. I can’t believe I’m here.”
Former Union Pines Principal George Griffin gave a play-by-play description of the closing minute of the 1975-76 state championship game between the Vikings and Fred T. Foard.
He told the audience that Salmon had a good team every year, but to win a state championship, the stars have to be aligned just right.
All 11 members of the team, Hill, Kay Hampton, Peggy Smith, Carolyn Ellerbee, Mary McKeithen Spell, Deborah Lewis, Vanessa Jones, Francis Tyson, Sharon Kelly, Sabra Simpson, Charlotte Gaster and assistant coach Roger Paschal were present.
There were a number of notable things about the 1975-76 championship. It was the last unclassified championship for girls’ basketball, and in a huge coup, Union Pines became the site of the semifinal and championship games.
The Vikings defeated Irwin 46-37 in one of the semifinals. They led Fred T. Foard 54-51 with 43 seconds left in the title contest.
Griffin remembers standing under the basket as Foard scored, cutting the lead to one. Twice the Vikings were fouled and missed the front end of one-and-ones. Foard then missed three shots under the basket as time expired.
“The stars were aligned,” Griffin said. “When the whistle blew it was 54-53 Union Pines.”
Addressing the audience while surrounded by the team’s players, Salmon said, “Sometimes success is being at the right place at the right time with the right people. That was my privilege.”
Hampton had some words for her coach. “No matter where we are at any point in time, you will always be number one in our hearts. We love you.”
Bobby Purvis heads the hall of fame committee that will nominate new members in the spring of each year. Athletic Director Bill Medlin and Principal Robin Lea also played key roles in making the hall of fame a reality.
“This just speaks to the strong heritage of Union Pines,” Lea said afterwards. “The commitment and loyalty to the school is 40 years strong. It’s a tribute to the school and the community.”
