The North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame inducted 15 outstanding North Carolina sports figures into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 2018 at its 55th annual induction ceremony at the Raleigh Convention Center on Friday, May 4.
Established in 1963 and located at the North Carolina Museum of History, it has 338 members. A brief biography of each 2018 inductee follows including six (marked with an*) were inducted posthumously.
DONNA ANDREWS won a major title on the LPGA Tour as well as five other tournaments from 1990 to 2005. The Lynchburg, Va., native is now a teaching pro in Pinehurst.
SCOTT BANKHEAD, an All-American pitcher at North Carolina, had a 10-year major league career, including six with the Seattle Mariners. The Raleigh native and Asheboro resident produced two of the best seasons in Tar Heel history.
HAL “SKINNY” BROWN* pitched for six teams in his major league career from 1951 to ‘64. Born in Greensboro, he went 12-5 with a 3.06 ERA that season.
CHRIS CAMMACK* Almost 50 years after graduation, Cammack still ranks as one of N.C. State’s best all-around baseball players. The Fayetteville native set the Wolfpack record for a single-season batting average with a .429 mark in 1969.
JOEY CHEEK, a Greensboro native, has won three Olympic medals in speed skating. He began as an inline skater as a teen before switching to speed skating. He won medals in the 2002 and 2006 Olympic Games. He is also a well-known humanitarian, co-founding Team Darfur, an international association of athletes devoted to raising awareness of humanitarian crises related to the war in Darfur.
WES CHESSON, a native of Edenton, played for former Duke star Jerry McGee in high school and then attended Duke himself. A star receiver and punter,he was the leading receiver in ACC history and was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons.
LAURA DuPONT* as a teenager quickly dominated the state’s junior tennis tournaments. She attended North Carolina where she won the pre-NCAA national collegiate championship. After graduation she joined the WTA Tour, where she was a standout in both singles and doubles on the WTA Tour.
BALLOU FITZPATRICK, a volleyball and basketball standout in high school, became a collegiate basketball star at South Carolina from 1983-86. A three-time All-American, she later became a championship surfer.
BILL HAYES spent 27 years as a college head football coach, winning 195 games, including stints at North Carolina A&T (1988-2002) and Winston-Salem State (1976-87). He later served as athletic director at his alma mater, North Carolina Central.
JACK HOLLEY* coached an amazing 46 years at the high school level, his football teams winning a whopping 412 games, which placed him in the top ten nationally at one time. His stops included Tabor City and two long stints at Wallace-Rose Hill.
PAUL JONES*, born in Thomasville, compiled a brilliant basketball coaching record at Kinston High School over 38 seasons there, winning 662 games and 18 conference championships along with two North Carolina High School Athletic Association state titles and four runner-up finishes.
MIKE MARTIN built one of the greatest collegiate baseball programs in the country in 38 years at Florida State. The Gastonia native has the most wins and the highest winning percentage of any active coach.
FRANK “JAKIE” MAY*, a Youngsville native, had a 14-year major league career. as a lefthander pitching for three National League teams between the 1917 and 1932 with 72 major league wins.
JOE WEST is the longest tenured umpire currently working in major league baseball, with over 40 seasons, working in six World Series, nine League Championship series and three All-Star games.
FRED WHITFIELD, teaming with Michael Jordan, gave Charlotte one of the best-run franchises in pro basketball. President and chief operating officer of the franchise, the Greensboro native graduated from Campbell University where he is in that school’s Sports Hall of Fame.
For information about the North Carolina Museum of History, access www.ncmuseumofhistory.org or call 919-807-7900. Located at 5 E. Edenton Street, across from the State Capitol, parking is available in the lot across Wilmington Street. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.