Spirit Of The East: Victories Earned, Lessons Learned

By Joe Corley
ECUPirates.com

Few people know more about sacrificing for ECU than Jim Post and his teammates on the 1972 football team.

Going into their second season under legendary coach Sonny Randle, the Pirates saw their numbers during a particularly hot summer and difficult preseason camp drop from 110 to 56 by the end of the last scrimmage. Of those 56, there were only six healthy seniors, and Post was one.

But they certainly didn't wilt. With a stingy "Wild Dogs" defense that gave up an average of just 247 yards per game and an offense led by Carlester Crumpler (1,309 yards rushing, 17 TDs), ECU finished 9-2 overall and perfect at 6-0 in the Southern Conference. It was the first of two consecutive undefeated conference championships for the Pirates and their first league title since 1966.

Victories were earned, and just as importantly for Post, lessons were learned.

"You don't ever give up and you don't listen to naysayers," he said. "With just six seniors, we had to take the bull by the horns. We had a bunch of young players. We just led them, and their enthusiasm gave us enthusiasm. Bottom line, we had one of the best teams that ever played at East Carolina. We were Top 10 nationally in offense and defense. We never lost the trust of Leo Jenkins and the administration. We never lost the trust of the Pirate Club. They came to practice every day, and it lifted us up."

Post was the defensive captain of that team, and he went on to share that season's Swindell Memorial Award (Big Team, Little Me) with Jimmy Creech. Both had been on the team that finished 4-6 the year before. Randle's first season did not start well, as ECU was 1-5 going into a game at N.C. State.

But things took an abrupt turn for the better in mid-October against the Wolfpack, also 1-5 at the time, as the Pirates pulled off a convincing 31-15 victory, setting the stage for a strong finish to the season and then the success of 1972.

Post learned the value of the strength of bond among teammates during his time with the Pirates. It's a lesson he's carried with him since and talks about often when he meets current players.

"We had a unique class, one of the best," he said. "I always promised to myself with my wife, Sandy — we were married in college — someday, if we can, we're going to pay back 10 times what others gave to me with that full scholarship. That was important to me. To have the kind of support that we had said a lot to us. We're going to give back and continue to tell our stories."

Post graduated with a degree in education in 1973. He had a tryout with the Washington Redskins, and he eventually became owner of Post Nursery in the Raleigh area along with his younger brother before retiring five years ago. He began giving back to ECU soon after he graduated, and has been a longtime member of the Pirate Club and a season ticket holder.

Now living in Emerald Isle, Post said the lessons he learned at ECU were important to him as he grew his business.

"Life has its ups and downs, and you can't give up," he said. "We grew that from scratch, and it ended up doing well."

He echoes that sentiment with his message to supporters of ECU athletics. Every day is a day to rally for the Pirates.

"You've got to do what you've got to do to make things work, because better times are ahead," he said. "We just have to continue plowing ahead. You have to give regardless of where we stand. Someday, it's going to turn."

Post should know. He's been there.

One of the students in the stands cheering on Post and his teammates was Dave Englert, who came to ECU in 1971 after having been born in Queens, N.Y., and grown up on Long Island. He graduated with a degree in business administration in 1975, and has been a loyal Pirate ever since.

He experienced instant love with the school, saying that his time at ECU was instrumental in helping him become who he is today.

"I always knew as I went through school that I wanted to keep a strong connection to East Carolina," said Englert, who retired in 2012 as CFO of Southern Tile Distributors in the Tidewater region of Virginia. "Very soon after graduating, I gave the minimum contribution to the Pirate Club, and I felt like I was doing something. And really, everyone who contributes is doing something to help East Carolina. I then got a couple of season tickets, and that began what today is a 40-plus year odyssey of doing what I can to help.

"This is always going to be my university. I'll always be a supporter, and I'll always love East Carolina, no matter who the coach is or who's in the athletics department. We need the best shot we can have at winning, and unfortunately that's often dependent upon how much money you have. If you're a season ticket holder and in the Pirate Club, you're being counted on as a supporter. We need to continue to grow and get bigger."

In today's college athletics environment, and with ECU's move to the American Athletic Conference, support takes on an even bigger importance, Englert said.

"I know the day we were accepted into the AAC was probably the day that saved the East Carolina athletics department," he said. "We would be in some trouble right now if we were not in the AAC. It's a great conference with great schools, great universities, and the television coverage we get for football and basketball is very good. Folks take it a little bit for granted, I think, that we're in such a good league.

"We just have to keep pushing that message out there. We're in a big boy league, and the league is wisely pushing the issue by adopting the Power 6 brand. We may be a little behind on resources, but we're not far behind competitively. Don't give up. We're going to come back, and it could very well be soon. We've got a lot of great talent on our football team. Who knows what they can do. Be optimistic and stick with your support. Remember why you're an ECU fan."

Englert has been vocal in the past with his view that withholding funds from the Pirate Club and not purchasing season tickets is the wrong way to go. In fact, he said, doing so only harms the ultimate goal of all Pirates fans.

"The bottom line is, to be competitive takes money, and withholding that money has the opposite affect," he said. "I wish everyone would think about it like this: What does East Carolina mean to you, and how important is it to your life? How much has it been a part of the successes in your life? We've had some really good times, and we're going to have more really good times."

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