East Carolina Athletics Mourns Passing Of Sonny Randle
May 25, 2017 | General
Obituary (courtesy of the Staunton News Leader)Â
GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina University and the entire Pirate Athletics community mourns the loss of Sonny Randle, who passed away Tuesday at the age of 81.
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Randle, who spent three seasons (1971-73) as head football coach at East Carolina, posted a 22-10 record and guided the Pirates to back-to-back Southern Conference championships in 1972 and 1973. He initially joined the ECU staff in 1970 as an assistant coach under Mike McGee.
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Under his tutelage, 17 players earned all-conference accolades, six players were named Honorable Mention All-America, four were drafted by the NFL and two received SoCon Player-of-the-Year honors. Randle coached five players who have been enshrined in the ECU Athletics Hall of Fame and was inducted himself in 2009.
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Randle, who graduated from the University of Virginia in 1958, arrived in Charlottesville as a walk-on before earning a scholarship. He finished second in the nation in receptions and first in kick return yards his senior season. In 1991, UVA inducted Randle into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.
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Selected by the Chicago Cardinals in the 1958 NFL Draft, Randle was a four-time Pro Bowler and played for four franchises - Chicago (which became the St. Louis Cardinals), San Francisco, Dallas and Washington.
A private funeral service will be held at the Fort Union Military Academy Chapel at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 31 with visitation scheduled to begin at 12 noon.
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In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the ECU Educational Foundation (Pirate Club) for the Sonny Randle Football Scholarship Endowment, ECU Ward Sports Medicine Building, Suite 304, Greenville, NC 27858-4353
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GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina University and the entire Pirate Athletics community mourns the loss of Sonny Randle, who passed away Tuesday at the age of 81.
Â
Randle, who spent three seasons (1971-73) as head football coach at East Carolina, posted a 22-10 record and guided the Pirates to back-to-back Southern Conference championships in 1972 and 1973. He initially joined the ECU staff in 1970 as an assistant coach under Mike McGee.
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Under his tutelage, 17 players earned all-conference accolades, six players were named Honorable Mention All-America, four were drafted by the NFL and two received SoCon Player-of-the-Year honors. Randle coached five players who have been enshrined in the ECU Athletics Hall of Fame and was inducted himself in 2009.
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Randle, who graduated from the University of Virginia in 1958, arrived in Charlottesville as a walk-on before earning a scholarship. He finished second in the nation in receptions and first in kick return yards his senior season. In 1991, UVA inducted Randle into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.
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Selected by the Chicago Cardinals in the 1958 NFL Draft, Randle was a four-time Pro Bowler and played for four franchises - Chicago (which became the St. Louis Cardinals), San Francisco, Dallas and Washington.
A private funeral service will be held at the Fort Union Military Academy Chapel at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 31 with visitation scheduled to begin at 12 noon.
Â
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the ECU Educational Foundation (Pirate Club) for the Sonny Randle Football Scholarship Endowment, ECU Ward Sports Medicine Building, Suite 304, Greenville, NC 27858-4353
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