East Carolina icon "Big
Ed" Emory passes
From staff reports
©2013 Bonesville.net
All rights reserved.
Player, coach and educator
Ed Emory, a member of the East Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame, died
Friday in Wadesboro after a lengthy illness. A native of Lancaster, SC,
Emory was 74.
An all-star lineman tagged with the
nickname "Big Ed," Emory lettered for the Pirates from 1957-59,
developing a fierce, lifelong loyalty to the school.
Emory used his academic and football
experiences at East Carolina as a foundation for building an impactful
career in both the high school and college ranks. In 1980, he leapt at
the opportunity to return to his alma mater as head coach, succeeding
Pat Dye. His five-year tenure at
the helm of the program produced one of the most remarkable seasons in
school history. In 1983, the Pirates finished the season ranked 20th in
the Associated Press poll after compiling an 8-3 record against one of
the nation's toughest schedules.
The losses during that milestone campaign were by narrow margins in
down-to-the-wire road thrillers to eventual national champion Miami,
sixth-ranked Florida and their fellow Sunshine State powerhouse, Florida
State. Among the victories were a 22-16 win at N.C. State and a 13-6
upset at Holiday Bowl-bound Missouri.
A succession of future NFL players came
out of Emory's ECU program, including Earnest Byner, Tootie Robbins,
Jody Schultz and Reggie Branch.
Playing as an Independent, with most games on the road against a steady
lineup of powerful opponents, the Pirates recorded a 26-29 record under
Emory before he was dismissed after going 2-9 in 1984.
Sorely disappointed over his firing, Emory
never lost his loyalty to the Pirates. He redirected his energies to the
high school ranks, where he achieved considerable success as a principal
and a coach. From 2001 to 2006,
Emory's Richmond County High Raiders were one of the state's most
successful programs, producing a 77-7 mark and losing only one regular
season game during the span. It
was during that prodigious term at Richmond High that Emory received
word that he would receive an honor that he had long coveted but thought
might never come. Spurred by an upwelling of pressure from alumni and
fans and lobbying by former players, Emory was selected in 2003 for
induction into the ECU Athletics Hall of Fame.
In the years before and after Emory's
enshrinement, Bonesville's Ron Cherubini authored a number of articles
for this site and for Bonesville The Magazine based on extensive
interviews with Emory. Cherubini's "Pirate Time Machine" package on
Emory in the 2002 Bonesville The Magazine, which
chronicled Emory's career and his affinity for his alma mater, may have
helped prompt the surge of support for Emory that culminated with his
Hall of Fame enshrinement the following year.
A limited number of original copies of the
2002 Bonesville The Magazine that featured Cherubini's "Pirate
Time Machine" package on Emory are available by contacting
this site's editor.
PAGE UPDATED
01/05/13 06:25 AM.
Copyright © Bonesville.net. All rights rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in any fashion. Information from
Bonesville staff members, East Carolina University, Conference USA
and other sources was used in composing and/or compiling the articles
and data on this site. This site is editorially independent and is not
affiliated with East Carolina University or Conference USA. View
Bonesville.net's
privacy policy. For advertising or
other information, e-mail
editor@bonesville.net.
*You are viewing an
alpha version of Bonesville Mobile. You may view this trial version
of Bonesville Mobile at no charge. After alpha and beta testing are
completed, a subscription version of Bonesville Mobile will be
available at a nominal price. Bonesville Mobile incorporates minimal
and non-obtrusive advertising. |