East Carolina Announces 2002 Hall of Fame Inductees
October 08, 2002 | General
The 2002 inductees are Theodore 'Blue' Edwards (basketball, 1987-89), George Koonce, Jr. (football, 1989-1990), Keith LeClair (baseball coach, 1998-2002), Jim Meads (swimmer, 1957-59), Ray Scharf (swim coach, 1967-1982), and Milt Sherman (wrestling 1972-74).
Induction ceremonies will take place at a banquet on Friday, October 18, at the Murphy Center on the East Carolina University campus. A presentation honoring the inductees will take place at halftime of the ECU-South Florida football game on Saturday, October 19.
Theodore 'Blue' Edwards rewrote the East Carolina basketball record books in his two seasons with the Pirates. During the 1988-89 season, he became the first East Carolina player to garner CAA Player of the Year honors. That season he finished sixth in the nation in scoring, averaging 26.7 points per game. Edwards holds the ECU records for most points scored in a single season (773), most field goal attempts in a single game (32), most field goals made in a single season (297), highest three-point field goal percentage in a single season (.490), and most free throws made in a single season (154). He also ranks in the top 10 in nine other categories. Edwards had 11 games with 30 or more points in his two-season career at ECU. Blue was a first-round draft pick (21st overall) for the Utah Jazz in 1989. He spent 10 years in the NBA, and averaged 10.8 points per game in 704 games played.
George Koonce, Jr. played two seasons for the Pirate football team (1989 and 1990) after transferring from Chowan College. In 1990, he led the Pirates in tackles for loss (16) and sacks (7), and started in all 11 games. In his career at East Carolina, Koonce had 107 tackles, 59 of which were solo tackles, as well as eight career sacks for 62 yards lost and 18 tackles for loss of 99 yards. He signed with the Green Bay Packers in 1992 after one season with the Ohio Glory of the World Football League. Koonce spent nine seasons in the NFL, eight of which were with Green Bay. In 1994, he led the Packers in total (119) and solo (78) stops and made a season-high 12 tackles on two occasions. For his NFL career, Koonce had 720 tackles, nine sacks, five fumble recoveries, five interceptions, and two touchdowns.
Keith LeClair spent five years at the helm of the East Carolina baseball team, coming to the school in 1997. In his five seasons with the Pirates, LeClair tallied a win-loss record of 212-96-1. He was twice named the Colonial Athletic Association Coach of the Year and ABCA East Region Coach of the Year (1999 and 2001). In the Pirates' first season in C-USA action in 2002, ECU posted a 16-13-1 conference record and won ECU's first-ever C-USA Tournament championship. In his five seasons with the Pirates, LeClair led the team to four NCAA Regional appearances (three times as a number one seed) and one NCAA Super Regional (2001). Most recently, LeClair was honored as the first recipient of the Conference USA Student Athlete Advisory Committee's (SAAC) Coaches Choice Award. In addition, the Conference USA Baseball Coach of the Year Award was named in honor of LeClair. In June 2002, LeClair relinquished his coaching duties due to health concerns, and now serves as a special assistant to ECU Director of Athletics Mike Hamrick.
Jim Meads was a standout swimmer for the Pirates from 1956-1960. He helped East Carolina College to NAIA National Swimming Championships in 1957 and 1959. The 1957 national title was the first ever for an intercollegiate team at East Carolina. Also in 1959, Meads won an individual national championship in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Meads was named an All-American in 1957 for the 400-yard relay and the 50-yard freestyle. He again received All-America accolades in 1959 for the 400-yard freestyle relay. 'He was a small, but fast swimmer, and very well-coordinated for his size,' commented his former coach and fellow Hall of Famer Ray Martinez. 'He had an amazing ability, was powerfully built, was extremely well-coordinated for his size. In addition, he had great leadership skills.' Meads also ran track for the Pirates, participating in the high hurdles.
Ray Scharf came to East Carolina as the head swim coach in 1967, and retired from coaching in 1982 after 15 years with the Pirates. While at ECU, Scharf compiled a men's dual meet record of 93-55, and won 11 consecutive Southern Conference titles (1967-1977). He coached 127 individual conference champions and 24 women's All-Americans (eight in 1982). Eighty- six of Scharf's swimmers were named All-Southern Conference and 40 qualified for NCAA Division I championships. In 1977, he was named Coach of the Year at the Eastern Intercollegiate Meet, and received the NCAA's 15-year service award. Scharf has twice traveled to Mexico as a guest of the Mexican government to hold swimming clinics, and he has served as a representative to the U.S. Collegiate Sports Council on Aquatics for the World University Games, and as a chairman of the NCAA Intercollegiate Competitive Subcommittee on Swimming.
Milt Sherman was a wrestler at East Carolina from 1972 -74. He compiled a college wrestling record of 101-13-1. In 1975, he made All-American by placing fifth in the USWF Open Nationals in Iowa City. In 1973 he started for Hall of Fame member Coach John Welborn's team which won all 10 weight classes at the North Carolina Collegiate State Championships at Chapel Hill. From the summer before his junior year at ECU to the summer after his senior year, he won 23 tournament championships in six states. In 1972, Sherman defeated two-time NCAA champion Mike Frick, and in 1973, he defeated Gary Barton (NCAA champion), and twice defeated Kyung Mu Chang (Korean National Champion and 4th in the world), Marty Willigan (NCAA runner-up) and Mark Belknap (two-time NCAA All-America). In 1976, he defeated NCAA runner-up Brian Beatson. In his career with the Pirates, Sherman had 10 in-season championship titles for East Carolina. After graduating from ECU, Sherman served as an assistant coach for the Pirates before starting a teaching and coaching career at D.H. Conley High School in Greenville, N.C. While at Conley, Sherman has coached five high school All-Americans and 40 All-State wrestlers, including 13 state champions.
With the addition of these six individuals, there are now 99 members enshrined in the ECU Hall of Fame.
