They have left indelible footprints on the athletic fields and basketball and tennis courts of Terry Sanford High School. Now, they’ll be walking the red carpet in the Terry Sanford Booster Club Hall of Fame.
“We have had tremendous athletes, coaches, administrators, and supporters walk those halls,” Bryan Moore, the booster club president, said. “Many went on to accomplish great things in college athletics, professional careers, education and their communities.
“I felt we needed a permanent way to tell their stories and, just as importantly, let today’s students understand whose footsteps they are following.
“We also wanted this to be about more than statistics and championships,” Moore said. “Athletic accomplishments matter, but so does character, leadership, service, and the impact someone made on Terry Sanford and the Fayetteville community.”
The inaugural class comprised of George Armstrong, Franklin Clark III, Wayne Byrd, Gil Bowman, Chip Beck, Bobby Spicer Jr., Trey Edge, Bill Yeager, Demetria Davis, and Shea Ralph is scheduled for 5 p.m. Saturday at Highland Country Club.
More than 100 people, according to Charlotte Mixon, the booster club vice president, have registered to attend.
Tickets for the buffet dinner and induction are $100 each. To attend, send email inquiries by 5 p.m. today to tsboosterprogramvp@gmail.com or call 910-308-7612.
The school was formerly known as Fayetteville High School until 1968 when it was named for the late Gov. Terry Sanford, who served from 1961-1965. Sanford moved to Fayetteville in 1948. The last Fayetteville High School graduating class was 1968.
About the Inductees-Elect
George Armstrong, class of 1964, Fayetteville High School. As captain of the football team, he played quarterback, defensive end, and punter. He was a starting pitcher and outfielder in baseball and the team’s Most Valuable Player his senior year. Armstrong, along with his wife Carolyn Riddle Armstrong, has continued to support school athletic programs with financial benevolence for the baseball field, including batting cages and a press box, and a weight room and video screen at Armstrong Stadium.
Franklin Clark III, class of 1965, Fayetteville High School. A 6-foot, 10-inch center, he led the Bulldogs to a 25-1 record and the N.C. High School Athletic Association 4-A state title under Coach Len Maness before earning a Morehead Scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. At UNC, Clark helped Dean Smith’s Tar Heels to three consecutive NCAA Final Four appearances, including the 1968 finals against Lew Alcindor-led UCLA. A retired thoracic surgeon, Clark established the Fayetteville Ambulatory Surgery Center and developed Village Green Rehabilitation & Health Care Center, the Carolina Inn, and Carolina Highlands. Clark is a founding board member and chair of the Methodist University Cape Fear Valley Health School of Medicine that opened in June.
Wayne Byrd, class of 1963, Fayetteville High School. He was a three-sport athlete from 1960-1963 in football, basketball, and baseball. He was the Most Valuable Player on the 1963 football team, the 1962 MVP in baseball, and selected for the East-West All-Star Baseball Team. He played as a defensive back from 1963-1967 at Appalachian State University. He was inducted in 2008 into the ASU Athletics Hall of Fame. Byrd also was named Cumberland County Secondary Principal of the Year in 1983, Cumberland County Principal of the Year in 1992, and Wachovia Bank Principal of the Year in 1993.
Gilmar Bowman, boys and girls tennis coach and girls basketball coach. He spent 41 years coaching at Terry Sanford High School, where Bowman coached the boys tennis teams to a 585-41 record over 38 years and the girls tennis teams to a 368-46 record over 26 years. He coached the girls basketball teams for 32 years, earning 491 victories, multiple conference, sectional and regional championships, and three appearances in the state finals. An East Carolina University graduate and U.S. Army veteran, Bowman helped establish the Fayetteville Area Tennis Association, organized tournaments, and trained officials and Special Olympics tennis coaches. Bowman is a member of the Fayetteville Sports Club Hall of Fame and the NCHSAA Hall of Fame.
Charles Henry “Chip” Beck, class of 1974, Terry Sanford High School. He earned a golf scholarship to the University of Georgia, where Beck was a three-time All-America before joining the Professional Golfers Association Tour in 1978. He earned four PGA Tour victories. Beck tied for second at the U.S. Open in 1986 and 1989 and was runner-up in the 1993 Masters. He won the 1988 Vardon Trophy for the lowest scoring average on the PGA Tour. He competed on the 1989, 1991 and 1993 U.S. Ryder Cup teams, compiling a 6-2-1 record. Along his pro golfing way, Beck posted a 59 on October 11, 1991, at the Las Vegas Invitational to become only the second golfer at the time to break 60 in PGA Tour competition.
Robert “Bobby” Spicer Jr., class of 1979, Terry Sanford High School. One of the fiercest competitors in school history, Spicer was a Mid-South 4-A Conference selection in football, basketball, and baseball. He played offense and defense in football, was a starting guard and team leader for Len Maness’ basketball teams and a shortstop for the baseball team. He was voted Cumberland County’s Most Outstanding Male Athlete in 1979. The son of the late Major League’s Bob Spicer, he later led the Campbell University baseball team, batting .409 as a freshman to earn MVP and finished with a career .524 on-base percentage and .713 batting percentage. A retired bank executive, Spicer served more than five years as a member of the Terry Sanford Booster Club.
Trey Edge, class of 1986, Terry Sanford High School. The son of Junior Edge, quarterback for the UNC at Chapel Hill in the 1963 Gator Bowl, Edge was a three-year starter for the Bulldogs and quarterbacked TSH to the NCHSAA 4-A finals. He was selected to the All City-County team as a defensive back in 1983, the 1984 All City-County team as quarterback and the 1985 East-West All Star game. He was a point guard for the basketball team and a four-year starter for the baseball team. He later played football at UNC. Today, he is the radio and podcast “Voice of the Bulldogs.”
Demetria Davis, class of 1998, Terry Sanford High School. A track and field standout, Davis earned a full athletic scholarship to the University of South Carolina, where she was named All-America. She pursued a professional track and field career, competing internationally for the United States. Among the highlights of her athletic career, Davis won a gold medal at the 2003 World Championships in Paris. Davis served on the staff for the 2024 USA Track and Field Olympic team in Paris. Other accomplishments are 2021 Mrs. South Carolina International and 2021 North Carolina Mother of the Year by American Mothers, Inc. Davis is a minister with Force of Life Fayetteville.
William “Bill” Yeager, head football coach, Terry Sanford High School. An offensive and receivers coach in the 1970s under Mackie Hall and Len Maness, Yeager succeeded the late John Daskal as head coach in 1991. He was named 1995 North Carolina Prep Football News 4-A Co-Coach of the Year and selected in 1998 as East head coach for the East-West All-Star game. He became head coach at Gray’s Creek High School in 2002, leading the Bears to an 11-2-0 season and being named Cumberland County Coach of the Year. He spent three seasons as an assistant for the fledgling University of North Carolina at Pembroke football program before returning to Terry Sanford as a volunteer assistant coach. Bill Yeager Field was named in his honor on October 21, 2022.
Shea Ralph, class of 1996, Terry Sanford High School. Considered the most gifted basketball athlete in school history, Ralph scored 3,002 career points and averaged 33 points per game. She averaged 39.1 points per game as a junior and once scored 61 points in a game. She was named 1996 USA Today National High School Player of the Year. Ralph attended the University of Connecticut, where she scored a career 1,678 points and ranked among the school’s career leaders in assists, steals and field-goal percentage. She led the Huskies to the 2000 NCAA national championship and earned Big East Conference Player of the Year and All-America honors. After coaching five seasons at the University of Pittsburgh, she returned as an assistant coach at Connecticut, where the Huskies reached 12 NCAA Final Fours and won six national titles. Ralph has been head coach at Vanderbilt University since 2021 and last season led the Commodores to the Sweet 16 and was named the Associated Press Women’s Coach of the Year. Ralph is a 2024 inductee into the N.C. Sports Hall of Fame. Ralph is the daughter of Marsha Mann Lake, who was a 1975 All American selection for UNC and represented the United States in the 1973 World University Games, winning a silver medal along with the late Pat Summitt, who coached Tennessee from 1974–2012.
The hall of fame selection committee, according to Mixon, was comprised of Moore, Mixon, Amanda Mitchell, Shannon Moorehead, and Sam Guy.
‘A Great Evening Planned’
Nine of the 10 inductees-elect, Mixon said, will attend the ceremony. Robert Ralph, Mixon said, will accept the honor on behalf of his daughter.
“We have a great evening planned,” Mixon said. “A red carpet will be laid out for our inductees, and cheerleaders on either side cheering them on as they come in. We have some students from the Terry Sanford orchestra that will be playing songs during the cocktail hour.
“We will also have certain athletes representing their sport that will greet that specific inductee. For example, one of our stellar golfers (Taft Courie) will be greeting Chip Beck and acting as his escort.
“We’ve got a historical review of Terry Sanford and how all our inductees made an impact throughout the years,” Mixon said. “We are super excited about showing these inductees their presence at Terry Sanford has impacted other student-athletes in the past and for years to come.”
Epilogue
Bryan Moore said the induction is about honoring the past, preserving history and inspiring the next generation of student-athletes.
“I felt we needed a permanent way to tell their stories and, just as importantly, let today’s students understand whose footsteps they are following,” he said. “That really became the reasoning behind creating the hall of fame.”
George Armstrong, Franklin Clark III, Wayne Byrd, Gil Bowman, Chip Beck, Bobby Spicer Jr., Trey Edge, Bill Yeager, Demetria Davis, and Shea Ralph are hall of fame-bound. They’ll literally be walking the red carpet and reliving yesteryear’s memories of some of the best days of their lives.
Bill Kirby Jr. can be reached at billkirby49@gmail.com or 910-624-1961.
