Almost Heaven

On Monday, May 2, I found myself sitting with hundreds of my friends, packed around tables for eight in the Gastonia Conference Center.

The occasion was the Annual Inductees Banquet for the Gaston County Sports Hall of Fame.

I arrived after the dinner and during the comments of recently retired ACC Commissioner John Swofford, who explained that it was not the quality of competition, but the size of market that prompted the ACC expansion committee to skip over West Virginia.

When he said, West Virginia, I thought ‘almost heaven’ and John Denver’s voice rang in my head.

Sitting there among so many people who have been part of my life was almost heaven. Across from me was my brother, Greg, a replica of our tall, gentle father. Beside me was Steve Culbertson, the most remarkable athlete with whom I ever played.

To my left was my friend, Mike Sumner who played basketball at Belmont Abbey and beside Mike, his good friend, Phil Ford, the most remarkable basketball player of his time.

The five inductees for 2022 were deserving. I did not know Cherryville’s Stan Crisson. A friend accepted the award on Stan’s behalf as he was too frail to travel from Florida.

We learned that Stan was the leading receiver for three years on excellent Duke football teams. From Florida, Stan said his love for North Carolina and Cherryville has never diminished.

My good friend, Bob Frye, carried the Duke banner further as both a football and baseball star.

Surrounding Bob was a large family including sons, Bobby who spoke eloquently on his father’s behalf, and Toby sitting with his beautiful wife, Jennifer. Bob’s sister Iris Work and nephew, Mike Brunnemer, and a host of other family and friends were there to celebrate the occasion.

A friend of Claude “Doc” Saunders described a great friendship with a truly good man. Doc was a star basketball player at Highland High School. He made a name for himself as an accomplished football official for high school games in western North Carolina. His wife predeceased him, and his final years, though supported by faithful children and grandchildren, were lonely times.

Doc’s granddaughter, who told us she was 12-years-old when Doc died, talked about how well her grandfather could dance. She said he could do all the dances from the 1960’s, including the "baked potato."

I had the privilege and honor of introducing my football coach, the great Joe Eller. Joe’s health has been failing, so his wife, Pat spoke on his behalf.

Growing up in Cramerton, my friend, Art Shoemaker and I knew about a great athlete ahead of us named Joe Eller. Joe starred at Cramerton High School and received a full scholarship to play football at Appalachian State where he lettered all four years.

When Joe retired from teaching and coaching high school football, he began organizing golfing outings for seniors. Pat told us that soon he and his silver-haired pals were playing every day. Every day, she said with emphasis.

My lifelong friend, Gary Holland sat at Joe’s table. Gary was the best football player on my high school team. Joe personally drove him to Appalachian to introduce him to the college coaches there. But the U.S. Marines, Vietnam, and a purple heart ended Gary’s great athletic career.

Last, but certainly not least, was Nicole Woods. Growing up in west Gastonia, Nicole started playing basketball as a young girl. A star at Hunter Huss High School, she earned a basketball scholarship to Belmont Abbey College and then played professionally overseas.

But her most rewarding accomplishments have come from coaching. She is now an assistant coach for the UNC Charlotte women’s basketball team, champions of the 2022 USA Conference.

What struck me that night was all the people who were there supporting others. One-third of the conference center came to celebrate the induction of Nicole Woods. I saw tears of joy on many faces.

Nicole said, “Athletics knits us all together.”

We are all woven together into the fabric of life. One thread that knits us closer, as Nicole expressed it, is our love of sports.

For me, it was baseball, basketball and football. I was OK at everything, great at nothing. As a high school pitcher, I am certain I never retired Stanley’s great hitting shortstop, Johnny Rudisill.

But I loved the games, my fellow players, even my competitors, and the great coaches like Joe Eller; Don Saine, who sat nearby; and, certainly, Nicole Woods who is coaching still.

All around me that night were people who have been a part of something I love. It brought back memories of throwing or catching or shooting or hitting a ball with teammates and opponents.

We were there celebrating sports and the best among us. What a night. It was not West Virginia. But it was almost heaven.

Michael K. McMahan is a resident of Gastonia.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Almost Heaven in the Gastonia Conference Center