Sports Legends of the Carolinas

Phil Ford, one of the best players in University of North Carolina basketball history, is this week’s guest on “Sports Legends of the Carolinas.” The 1978 National Player of the Year and a longtime assistant basketball coach at UNC, Ford held UNC’s scoring record for 30 years (despite playing in an era with no three-point shot), until Tyler Hansbrough broke that record in 2008. He still ranks No....

Judy Rose, this week’s guest on “Sports Legends of the Carolinas,” was a trailblazing athletic director for the UNC Charlotte 49ers for 28 years, before retiring in 2018. Under her leadership, the 49ers won 70 league titles in 14 sports.  In Part 2 of our conversation, Rose reflects on fundraising in the modern era of college sports; name, image and likeness endorsement deals for current athletes;...

Judy Rose, this week’s guest on “Sports Legends of the Carolinas,” was a trailblazing athletic director for the UNC Charlotte 49ers for 28 years, before retiring in 2018. Rose was also only the third woman to serve as an AD of a Division I school, and the first to be named to the NCAA Men’s Basketball Committee. Under her leadership, the 49ers won 70 league titles in 14 sports.  Rose, who was once...

Former Davidson basketball coach Bob McKillop, this week’s star of “Sports Legends of the Carolinas,” is the first person I’ve interviewed two separate times for this series. I first sat down with McKillop in late May, shortly after he had finished his 33rd season as the head basketball coach at Davidson. Then, 17 days later, McKillop retired in an emotional press conference and announced he would...

Former Davidson basketball coach Bob McKillop, this week’s star of “Sports Legends of the Carolinas,” is the first person I’ve interviewed two separate times for this series. I first sat down with McKillop in late May, shortly after he had finished his 33rd season as the head basketball coach at Davidson. The Wildcats had won 27 games and made it to March Madness, where they lost a 74-73 thriller...

Dawn Staley, star of this week’s episode of “Sports Legends of the Carolinas,” has had one of the most sensational careers in women’s basketball history. Currently the head women’s basketball coach at South Carolina, Staley’s Gamecock squads won national titles in both 2017 and 2022, and will be favored to repeat as national champions during the 2022-23 season.  In Part 2 of our conversation, Stal...

Dawn Staley, star of this week’s episode of “Sports Legends of the Carolinas,” has had one of the most sensational careers in women’s basketball history. Currently the head women’s basketball coach at South Carolina, Staley’s Gamecock squads won national titles in both 2017 and 2022 and lead the nation in women’s basketball attendance every year. Under Staley, USC has also made the Final Four in f...

Tight end Wesley Walls, who had the best years of his 15-year NFL career with the Carolina Panthers, is this week’s guest on “Sports Legends of the Carolinas.” There are only five members of the Carolina Panthers Hall of Honor who actually played for the team — Walls is one of them, having been inducted in 2019. In Part 2 of our conversation, Walls reflects on concussions and the wear and tear of...

Tight end Wesley Walls, who had the best years of his 15-year NFL career with the Carolina Panthers, is this week’s guest on “Sports Legends of the Carolinas.” There are only five members of the Carolina Panthers Hall of Honor who actually played for the team — Walls is one of them, having been inducted in 2019. He is also a longtime Charlotte resident, a grandfather, and one of the best storytell...

Charlie Scott, this week’s star of the “Sports Legends of the Carolinas” series, was the first Black basketball player on scholarship at the University of North Carolina. In many ways, he was the Tar Heels’ version of baseball player Jackie Robinson, dealing with the racism inherent in that time period while gracefully excelling in his sport. In Part 2 of our conversation, Scott looks back at the...

Charlie Scott, this week’s star of the “Sports Legends of the Carolinas” series, was the first Black basketball player on scholarship at the University of North Carolina. In many ways, he was the Tar Heels’ version of baseball player Jackie Robinson, dealing with the racism inherent in that time period while gracefully excelling in his sport. The way Scott handled himself during those turbulent ti...

This week, The Observer’s “Sports Legends of the Carolinas” project welcomes Charlotte-native and World Golf Hall of Famer Davis Love III. Love, 58, has recorded 21 PGA Tour victories in his illustrious career, including a PGA Championship and two PLAYERS Championships; Sept. 22-25, he will lead the U.S. Presidents Cup Team against the International Team at Charlotte's Quail Hollow Club. Much of t...

This week, The Observer’s “Sports Legends of the Carolinas” project welcomes Charlotte-native and World Golf Hall of Famer Davis Love III. Love, 58, has recorded 21 PGA Tour victories in his illustrious career, including a PGA Championship and two PLAYERS Championships; Sept. 22-25, he will lead the U.S. Presidents Cup Team against the International Team at Charlotte's Quail Hollow Club. In Part 1...

This week, The Observer’s “Sports Legends of the Carolinas” project welcomes one of the most recognizable faces in Carolina Panthers history, former Pro Bowl quarterback Jake Delhomme. At 47 years old, Delhomme is now a Panthers team radio broadcaster, and a successful horse breeder in his native Louisiana. He and I spoke in The Observer’s recording studio, and on Part 2 of our conversation, Delho...

This week, The Observer’s “Sports Legends of the Carolinas” project welcomes one of the most recognizable faces in Carolina Panthers history, former Pro Bowl quarterback Jake Delhomme. At 47 years old, Delhomme is now a Panthers team radio broadcaster, and a successful horse breeder in his native Louisiana. He and I spoke in The Observer’s recording studio, and on Part 1 of our conversation, Delho...

Former Clemson University head football coach Danny Ford, who in 1981 became the youngest football coach ever to win a national championship, when he was just 33, is today's guest on The Observer’s new “Sports Legends of the Carolinas” project.   Now 74, Ford is a full-time farmer, growing all sorts of vegetables, as well as hemp as part of a pilot program run by the state of South Carolina. We re...

Former Clemson University head football coach Danny Ford, who in 1981 became the youngest football coach ever to win a national championship, when he was just 33, is today's guest on The Observer’s new “Sports Legends of the Carolinas” project.  Now 74, Ford is a full-time farmer, growing all sorts of vegetables, as well as hemp as part of a pilot program run by the state of South Carolina. We rec...

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a NASCAR hall of famer who has made his own indelible mark in the family business. Earnhardt — or simply “Dale Junior,” as his fans call him — is the son of legendary racer Dale Earnhardt Sr., who won seven NASCAR Cup titles before dying in a last-lap crash at the Daytona 500 in 2001. Now 47 years old, Earnhardt Jr. and I spoke at his race shop in Mooresville. And on Part 2 o...

Dale Earnhardt Jr., our latest interview subject for The Observer’s new “Sports Legends of the Carolinas” project, is a NASCAR hall of famer who has made his own indelible mark in the family business. Earnhardt — or simply “Dale Junior,” as his fans call him — is the son of legendary racer Dale Earnhardt Sr., who won seven NASCAR Cup titles before dying in a last-lap crash at the Daytona 500 in 20...

Muggsy Bogues remains the shortest player ever to play in the NBA at 5-foot-3. Bogues stayed in the league for 14 years, most notably as the point guard for the exciting Charlotte Hornets teams of the 1990s that also starred Larry Johnson, Alonzo Mourning and Dell Curry. At age 57, he still lives in the Charlotte area today. In Part 2 of our conversation, we discussed Bogues playing himself in the...

Muggsy Bogues remains the shortest player ever to play in the NBA, at 5-foot-3. Bogues stayed in the league for 14 years, most notably as the point guard for the exciting Charlotte Hornets teams of the 1990s that also starred Larry Johnson, Alonzo Mourning and Dell Curry. At age 57, he still lives in the Charlotte area today. We sat down in Bogues’ home, inside a memorabilia room full of keepsakes...

Over nearly 30 years at The Charlotte Observer, Scott Fowler has built an unparalleled rolodex of hardwood heroes, gridiron greats, hall-of-fame coaches, and sports media luminaries throughout the region. Now, thanks to access fans won’t get anywhere else, Fowler sits down with icons from the area — including Muggsy Bogues, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Jay Bilas, and more — to hear the unfiltered, untold s...