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ECU Tradition Deserves Boost
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Pirate Notebook Special
Saturday, September 8, 2001
By Denny O'Brien |
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©2001 Bonesville.net
Pirate Heroes Have Earned
More Visibility
Over in Raleigh, workers recently applied the finishing touches to the enclosed end
zone at Carter-Finley Stadium's south end. The renovations serve as a
conspicuous indicator of a new
era of N.C. State football.
Unchanged, however, are the signs that hang from
Carter-Finley's upper deck on the
stadium's west side. Names like Ritcher and Holt are a permanent fixture and serve as constant reminders of the school's football
history.
In Chapel Hill, names like Justice and Taylor spur the memories of vintage
Tar Heel fans, bringing a rush of pride from yesteryear, when Carolina teams competed among the nation's elite on the gridiron. Kenan Stadium has
also undergone a facelift or
two, but the foundation on which the Tar Heel program was built the players
is the contemporary generation's core of reference to the past.
In Greenville, Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium has seen extensive upgrades, too. An 8,000-seat
upper deck, plush new club level and giant video scoreboard have advanced the facility to
state-of-the-art
standards, while the new brick wall and shrubs that line Bagwell Field
lend a feel of tradition to the setting.
Later this fall, East Carolina will introduce the newest major addition to
its sprawling complex the
yet-to-be-officially-named strength and conditioning center. The new facility will be second to none, promising to be the centerpiece for
ECU athletics for years to come.
Unlike its brethren to the west, though, ECU's 43,000-seat
football castle bares little evidence of its storied past, save for the bowl
signs that line the chain-linked fences behind each end zone. While the
school pays
tribute to its team accomplishments, little visible recognition is given to the
individuals responsible for them.
One such individual Carlester Crumpler is an East Carolina legend. After
one of the greatest careers in the history of N.C. prep athletics,
'Crump' signed on as a Pirate and made lasting waves as a lanky running back.
He slashed, slid and powered his way to 2,889 career yards in the early
'seventies, an ECU record that
stood for over 20 years before it was surpassed by Junior Smith in 1994.
Crumpler remains very much a part of the
ECU football mystique as an analyst for the Pirate Sports Network. It seems
only fitting that future Pirate runners should have the privilege of looking up at Crump's name
and aspiring to match his legacy.
And what about Jeff Blake, the quarterback whose impact on Pirate
football is immeasurable? His performance during the storybook '91 season
alone is permanently ingrained in the minds of the ECU faithful.
Who could forget his legendary two-point lunge against Pittsburgh? One could
argue that was the two most important yards in ECU football history. How
about the Peach Bowl performance against N.C. State? It was the stuff of
storybook legend.
You can hardly talk about that '91 team without mentioning Robert
Jones, a name which would fit an ECU ring of honor like an Isotoner glove. What's
more, the two-time All-America went from Peach Bowl to Super Bowl in just
one year.
Coaches, too, would be worthy of induction, especially one Clarence
Stasavich. Ole 'Stas', the only Pirate skipper to guide the Pirate ship to
three consecutive nine-win seasons, tallied 50 total victories during
his career a benchmark that endured for three decades as the most wins by
an ECU coach.
Stasavich elevated ECU football to new heights, landing the school a
spot in the Southern Conference in 1965 and laying the foundation on which
modern-day Pirate football has been built.
And just imagine what could line the Dowdy-Ficklen upper deck(s) 20 years
from now. The list would be long and memorable.
For instance,
David Garrard quite likely would have his plot reserved, perhaps even accompanied by
a
retired "#9". Future Pirate signal callers would take the field with dreams
of having their names etched along side of ECU's most prolific passer.
Stories of comebacks and hurricanes, along with a healthy dose of humility,
will always accompany Garrard. A glance at Garrard's signage would instantly
prompt memories of that trademark point to the heavens which followed each
touchdown for which the quarterback was responsible.
Then there's another coach a transplanted Okie named Steve
Logan who's had an impact along the way, steering ECU to four bowl berths,
not to mention emphatically removing the Pirates from the homecoming slot on
opponents' schedules.
Though the coach has already surpassed Stasavich's victory
total, the numbers are not what fans will remember the most. Logan's name will bring to mind landmark wins over elite
opponents and the profound transformation of the program's status from
hunter to hunted.
The fans will also fondly recall the swashbuckling manner in which Logan's teams won.
They'll talk about the "riverboat gambler" and exaggerate about
the
on-side kicks and fake punts.
They will pass time in the tailgate fields swapping their favorite 'Loganisms'
be it the "you don't go to
East Carolina with a weak heart" proclamation that followed a
victory over South Carolina in '96, or his prediction that the region and
the state would have an "emotional hemorrhage" leading up to the
Pirates' 2001 matchup with rival North Carolina.
In addition to being the school's winningest coach, Logan will long be
thought of by the media as
the most quotable in addition to being remembered by fans as the most
unpredictable.
Certainly, others would be worthy of having their names
honored names like Bill Cline, Dave Alexander, Danny Kepley and Terry Long
come to mind.
Any way you look at it, there is no shortage of East Carolina football
heroes and plenty of new concrete on which to display their names.
Etching a few of those names along the upper deck of
Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium would go a long way towards kindling the kind of
affinity for tradition the Pirate football program has earned.
Appropriately, such an overdue tradition would nurture
reverence for a storied past, adding another rock-solid
layer of what Logan likes to refer to as "fabric" to the program.
Then, in the final analysis, there are the ECU football
players of the future. Who's to say one of them won't be inspired by the names of the heroes who preceded him to become the
greatest Pirate of all?
Send an e-mail message to Denny O'Brien.
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archives.
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