I can imagine what the current Raiders — Eason, Nolan, Hill, Douglas, Ritter, Taylor, et al — must have been thinking. Probably some mix of respect, amusement, and “will this be us five decades on?” If at 18 I had stood in 1974, watching a collection of grandfatherly figures from 1924 — some still trim and in good stride, others a bit stooped and slower apace — gathering for recognition, my thoughts may have been the same.
Oh, to have again the youth and vigor to chase that pop fly swirling in the breeze of a sunny mid-April afternoon, or adjust to the curve when you were anticipating something faster. But you should have seen our athletes do those things a half-century ago!
Members of the 1974 state 4-A baseball champions were on hand for special recognition Saturday, April 13, at Raider Field. Present were several of the players who performed the feats to bring the title home 50 springs ago: Charlie Davis, Henry McDuffie, Eddie McLean, David Quick, Randy Wilkerson, and Ronnie Yarbrough. With head coach George Whitfield sidelined by a sudden illness, Coach Hal Stewart — with his trademark good humor and cheer — took the helm, tossing the first pitch to ’74 catcher Randy Wilkerson.
The school and the 2024 Raiders proved the finest of hosts. Coach Eric Brown wants to instill a return to the school’s winning traditions, and it showed with fine hospitality and tasty traditional baseball fare of burgers, ‘dogs, and sodas. A respectable number of former athletes and coaches, from before and since the 1974 edition, were also present to mark the day.
There was plenty of “who is he,” and, “we’re glad he made that long drive to be here.” And there were stories … some to remain in the misty memories of long yesteryears, and some that still cause muscles to ache from the recall of endless postgame wind sprints. But others were spurred along by a scrapbook of the coverage by former Daily Journal sports editor Bill Futterer III. Bill had excelled in telling the story of that magical season.
Usually taciturn and quick to see credit passed along to others, Ronnie Yarbrough coached the Raiders to multiple successes in the ’90s and early 2000s. But he produced pitching and hitting exploits of his own in 1974, and can be forgiven for his brief smile as he shared Futterer’s 50-year old account of it with his daughter, whose son, Collin Hill, currently patrols the outfield.
Meredith Allen Norwood was at the park in memory of her father, ’74 shortstop Greg Allen. She wowed at photos of her dad leaping high. She should have seen him then. Greg rarely obeyed the law of gravity; his range nearly required a passport. His batting average typically flirted with the coveted .400.
Henry McDuffie was steady at the plate, and at covering first sack. Before this team had gelled to championship form, they traveled to Fayette- ville for a mid-March tilt against tough conference foe E.E. Smith — a game that rain and lightning would end after five innings. With Smith men on base and one out in that last frame, Henry turned an unassisted double play after diving to snag a sharp line drive ticketed to tie the game.
The state championship series against home-standing Durham High typified a season of both close calls and slugfests. An opening 3-2 thriller behind Chuck McLean’s mound efforts was followed by game 2’s drubbing of the hosts behind Herbie’s Dawkins’ cagey mix of fastballs and off-speed curves. But Steve Hodges launched a first inning homer from the “Bull Durham” ball yard, made famous by the 1988 Kevin Costner film, that remains the stuff of Raider lore — certainly among the veterans. The 2-run shot barely missed neighboring Wake County, prompting one wag on Saturday to repeat the “Crash Davis” line: “anything that travels that far oughta have a stewardess on it!”
I join my teammates from long ago in saluting this year’s edition of the Raiders. Thank you for remembering and honoring us. You all are already making some good memories and, trophies or not, simply have fun out there.
Someone will remember you.
Douglas Smith, Rockingham
