Five inducted into Hall of Fame

After a long four-year wait, members of the Sampson County Sports Club recently came together and held its seventh induction ceremony to the club’s Hall Of Fame. Held in the auditorium at Union High School on March 17, the ceremony inducted five new members as part of the 2022 Class. Those honored were James Darden III, Fred Applin, Al Britt, Chris King, and Bobby Purcell.

The night began with a reception held in Union’s commons area before the official ceremony transitioned to the auditorium.

Sports Club President Tim Pope greeted everyone in attendance and announced the honored guests for the evening, which included Sampson County Schools Superintendent David Goodin, and Faye Gay, wife of the late Nathan Gay, who was inducted into the first class in 2003.

Goodin kicked off the night by posing the question: “How good do you want to be?”

“If your answer is to be good enough to get by then a commitment to excellence is not necessary,” he answered. “But, if your honest answer is ‘I want to be the best,’ then you must make a total commitment to excellence.” Goodin further explained the sacrifices that are necessary in committing oneself fully to achieve the goals set out before them. He then segued his remarks to cast a light on the hard work that the honorees had put in to get to where they are.

“The five gentlemen we’re here to honor this evening have lived lives that have exemplified a commitment to excellence. They have aspired to be the best both on the field of play and in their personal and professional lives. We are proud to be a part of their induction into the Sports Club Hall of Fame.”

With that, the 2021-2022 class was formally introduced and presented their spots in the Hall of Fame. Kicking things off was Thomas Pope introducing James Darden III. Darden was a member of the Clinton High School basketball team from 1961 to 1965. Following his senior year campaign, Darden was selected as Most Outstanding Player and went on to continue his basketball career at Methodist University from 1965-1969. He was a team captain in 1969 and helped lead the Monarchs to their first ever conference title in any sport. Darden averaged 23.0 points per game in 1969, possesses the record for most career rebounds at 1,206, has the highest career rebound average of 13.4 and most career free throws made at 536.

“It’s an honor to be here,” Darden said. “It means everything that my family is here tonight. My family has been a part of Dark Horses Athletics since 1936. My dad played football there in 1936, 37, 38, and 39. He was one of the very first Dark Horses. It’s gone through my generation, my son’s generation, and my grandson James is currently a distance runner. So, we’ve been around for four generations and have upheld the Dark Horse tradition for 86 years.” It was evident as Darden spoke that he is prideful of the Clinton Athletics Program as he reflected on the tradition and heritage that has been molded there throughout the years. He is also clearly a family man, speaking highly of and cherishing his loved ones.

Next up on stage was Fred Applin, who was introduced by Larry Bass. Applin was a four-sport athlete at Lakewood High School from 1976-1980, being a member of the basketball and baseball teams, but it was the sports of football and track where Applin excelled. Following the 1979 and 1980 seasons, he was named Male Athlete of the Year. After high school, Applin played football at Elon University and was a member of the 1980-1981 NAIA National Championship team. He was also a member of the Track and Field team. Applin began his coaching career as a volunteer Assistant Coach under Coach Randy Wiel with the University of North Carolina Men’s JV Basketball team in 1987. From 1988-1993, he was a member of the women’s program as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator before leaving the University of Houston for the Associate Head Coach position with the women’s team there. From there, Applin made coaching stops at the University of Washington, Wake Forest University, the University of Texas, East Carolina University, and was the head coach for nine seasons of the Charleston Southern University Women’s Basketball team. In 2021, Applin took his current position as the Associate Head Coach at N.C. Central University.

Applin was quite emotional during his speech, signifying just how much this moment meant for him, especially in the presence of his family.

“I’m back home, so I can let this emotion out,” Applin told the crowd. “Lakewood High School…Sampson County…it’s the best. I’d like to thank the Sampson County Sports Club, especially the committee and getting that call from Tim Pope.” Applin spoke on various people that have been impactful upon his life, drawing inspiration from those that repeatedly told him ‘If you’re going to be great, you’ve got to work hard.’

“Put God first,” he said, recalling all the things he had been told. “Work hard, believe in yourself, and never stop working. Dream big and never, ever forget where you came from and those who helped you.” Applin paid homage to his fellow friends, teammates, and coaches that helped make him who he is. Applin also reflected on his days as an athlete with Lakewood as well as the time when he broke his ankle.

“I stepped in a face mask. I was told I would never play sports again and that was the first time my mom ever heard me say a curse word,” he recalled. “The doctors told me I’d never play sports again…but I told her I may miss basketball but I’m not going to miss baseball and I will run track. And, I went on to play sports at Elon.” Applin concluded his remarks by highlighting his family and thanking them for their support on his journey.

Hobbton’s Al Britt was next on stage with Kenny Bass introducing him. Bass shared the long relationship that the two have held over the many years, including the time when Britt was named over Bass as the head coach of the Hobbton Football team. Bass shared that in the long run, this was a minor setback in their otherwise close relationship, recalling that they have been great friends since the late 1950s. Britt has a teaching career that includes stops at South Johnston, Hobbton, Clayton, and Clinton. He spent 30 years at Hobbton, where he was head coach of the football team, J.V. basketball team, and track. At the helm of Wildcats football, Britt went 181-106 and was also the 1993 State 1A Football Champions. Britt was also the head coach at Clinton in 2002 where he went 14-1 in a season that ended with a loss to Cummings in the East Regional Final. Britt then served as Sampson County Athletics Director from 20011-2018. Other career highlights include serving as assistant coach in the East-West All Star game in 1994 as well as serving on the board of directors for the NCHSAA and the NCFBCA.

“Our families are number one,” Britt said. “I’d like to thank my family here tonight. I’ve got folks that have come from near and far here tonight – cousins that I haven’t seen in two years. And they came here tonight. My cousins that are here – their moms and dads taught me what family is all about.” In continuing paying tribute to his family, Britt mentioned that he wasn’t exactly an easy child to his parents.

“My mom and dad took up a whole lot when I grew up,” he said. “I wasn’t easy and I couldn’t decide what I wanted to do. But my mom and dad never gave up on me. I could always come home no matter what – and there a lot of what’s,” he exclaimed. “But they always let me come home.” Britt recalled that he knew he didn’t want to be a farmer or a mechanic as others in his family were. His passion, as he recalled, was sports, which influenced his decision to go back to school to become an educator and a coach.

Inductee number four on the night was another Hobbton standout, Chris King. Bass had the privilege of also introducing King to the stage, but likely more impressive was Bass coached King during his time as a member of the Wildcats basketball team. King left quite the mark on Sampson County Athletics after tallying a career total 2,481 points – a feat accomplished with the making of just two 3-point baskets. After graduating from Hobbton, King attended Wake Forest University where he continued to make an impression. He was named Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Week four times and was also named by the Wake Forest basketball team as their Most Outstanding Player all four seasons. King was the 45th pick in the 1992 draft by the Seattle Supersonics and was the first pick by the Vancouver Grizzlies in the 1995 expansion draft. King also made stops with the Utah Jazz and teams around the world from Spain, to France, to Japan before retiring in 2008.

“I want to thank my family and extended that was able to make it tonight,” King said. “I’m really proud that my son was also able to make it tonight. He’s 6’8” as well,” he joked. “I’d also like to say thank you to to Coach Bass for teaching me everything to make me a better player and a better person.” King went on to discuss his time growing up, working on farm land and using that hard work as motivation to continue to work hard as he got older.

“All I did was work hard. I can remember working in the tobacco fields and digging sweet potatoes and all those things we did here in Sampson County and it made me work harder on the basketball court and made me think if I could continue to work that hard it would take me places.”

“It was a great ride, I had a lot of fun, and I have some great people to thank,” King continued. “Especially the Herring’s. David Herring was one of my biggest supporters. He showed up at my house one Christmas morning and had bought me my first set of Michael Jordan shoes and Jordan sweatsuits – it just motivated me and I could never forget that and I wanted to mention that to the Herring family and how that meant a lot to me.” King also shared a memory he had of Bass, who helped him pass his SAT by taking him to classes in Chapel Hill designed to help prep him for the test.

“I knew I wanted to be the best I could be and I knew that if I passed the SAT, I’d have a chance.”

The final inductee of the night was Bobby Purcell, who was introduced by Tommy Sloan. Purcell has a storied career, most notably with NC State University. He is a graduate of Clinton High School, NC State University, and the University of Georgia. While enrolled in the Masters of Sports Management program at the University of Georgia, Purcell worked as a volunteer graduate assistant coach under Vince Dooley and later served as an intern with the Atlanta Falcons. Purcell joined the NC State football team as a part-time assistant coach under Monte Kiffin in 1981. In 1983, new head coach Tom Reed named Purcell the recruiting coordinator. In 1987, Purcell became the Assistant Director of the Wolfpack Club. In 1991, Purcell was named the Executive Director of the Wolfpack Club and held that position until retiring in 2020. During his time as director, the Wolfpack Club averaged raising over $15.7 million per year for 25 years and in all had raised over a half-billion dollars in student-athlete funds. In addition, he served as the National Association of Athletic Development Directors president in 2004-2005 and was named their University Division Fund Raiser of the Year in 2007. In 2014, he was recognized with their Lifetime Achievement Award. Purcell’s other accomplishments with the Wolfpack Club have been the $45 million Wolfpack Pride Campaign, the Campaign for N.C. State Students, the Goal Line Drive Campaign, the Batter Up Campaign, Advantage Wolfpack Campaign and the Building Futures Campaign. He also oversaw the construction of the Wendell Murphy Football Center and the C. Richard Vaughn Towers at Carter-Finley Stadium. In 2020, Purcell was also inducted into the NC Sports Hall of Fame alongside Debbie Antonelli, Muggsy Bogues, Mack Brown, Dennis Craddock, Dr. Charles Kernodle, Mac Morris, Trot Nixon, Julius Peppers, Judy Rose, Tim Stevens and Donnell Woolford.

“I want to thank Jesus Christ,” Purcell opened with. “Without Jesus I wouldn’t be up here tonight.”

“I want to thank my family. When you work in athletics you’re never at home. Your family has to make a lot of sacrifices and I want to thank my family for that. I only wish my parents were here – I know they’d be quite proud.”

Purcell also wanted to honor Pope for his efforts in continuing to strive to make the Sports Club a prestigious program.

“Let me tell you about Tim Pope,” he said. “He does all of this pretty much by himself. It’s a tremendous undertaking and a lot of work. Tim’s family is a lot of the reason I’m here tonight. My brother and I worked on his father’s farm and I knew then I wanted to go to college and do something else,” Purcell joked. “I’m honored to be a part of this class. It’s a very special class.”

Purcell also shared stories and memories of each of the members of this class, including a funny moment when Purcell said that he was convinced he had successfully recruited King to NC State. As he has done in the past, Purcell also paid honor to the city of Clinton and all the people from his hometown that have impacted his life and in the way that he conducts himself today.

In the opening speeches of the ceremony, a lot of emphasis was placed on how the Sports Club became a legit presence today. Coach James Lewis and Faye Gay spoke on how Fes Turlington and Nathan Gay pursued the creation of the Sports Club and its associated Hall Of Fame. As Gay put it, “Fes Turlington had a dream – a dream of having a Sampson County Sports Hall of Fame, honoring the inductees. He asked Nathan to come along beside him and dream that dream with him.”

She continued to describe the efforts the two men put in to getting funds going for the program. Sadly, both men passed away before the completion of the building that was to house the Sports Club. Fortunately, the dream lived on within the passion and commitment of two more men.

“It was with the help of Tim Pope and Tommy Macon. Had it not been for these two gentlemen, I don’t think we’d be here tonight,” Gay lauded. “They did a lot, and I do mean a lot, to finish the building and get it started.”

With that, Gay presented a plaque and picture of gratitude to Pope and Macon for the work and effort that they have put into the Sports Club. Pope was also honored with the Founders Award. Today, Pope and Lewis help man the Sports Club and Gay stressed that the two will be busy with revamping taking place in the weeks and months to come. The museum is located at the County History Museum Complex at 313 Lisbon Street.