We have three castaways, that have not yet got into the Guilford County Sports Hall of Fame and we have already opened the door to them and invited them into our Hall of Fame, here at Greensborosports.com and they are:
Al Thomy-sportswriter
Tripp Welborne-football/basketball player
Stanley Turner-basketball and football player
*****UNCG is will conducting their Hall of Fame ceremonies on Sunday and it will be good to see former sports information director Ty Buckner, heading into the Spartans’ hall….*****
About our three inductees…..
Al Thomy…..Former sportswriter for the Greensboro Daily News and the Greensboro Record….Sportswriter for the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the Houston Chronicle, The Sporting News and many other nationally known publications….Wrote a weekly column for ESP Magazine for several years and has been a regular contributor to NASCAR SCENE and a number of racing periodicals over the years….Was a pallbearer at Ty Cobb’s funeral and was an extensive friend and acquaitance of the Cobb family….He conducted the key interview with boxer Rocky Marciano that was carried by newspapers all over the world….One of the first and key journalist to cover the Atlanta Braves and the Atlanta Falcons….Was on hand to cover the early days of the Super Bowl as a featured journalist…..Has pretty much done it all and covered it all over the years in sports and the key part is…….Al was born in Greensboro….He’s a graduate of Greensboro Senior High School, now Grimsley High School and also graduated from Guilford College…..He covered Bob Jamieson back when Jamieson was just starting out….Al is the man and he is in, in my opinion…..
Tripp Welborne…I’ll let the Wikipedia numbers speak for Tripp….from www.wikipedia.com:
Sullivan Anthony “Tripp” Welborne (born November 20, 1968 in Reidsville, North Carolina) is a former professional American football defensive back who played safety for one season for the Minnesota Vikings of the NFL.
Playing defense for the University of Michigan Wolverines, he was a hard-hitting back who also handled punt returns. The Greensboro, NC,(Page High School where he starred in both football and basketball) native was a two-time consensus All-American (1989, 1990) selection. Welborne recorded 238 tackles in his three years in the defensive secondary and returned 67 punts for 773 yards. During his senior year (1990), Welborne set a single-season record for punt return yardage with 455. Welborne moved from wide receiver to defensive back after his freshman year and intercepted nine passes during his career. He played on three Big Ten Conference championship teams (1988-90), and the Wolverines compiled a record of 36-11-1, with three top ten finishes during his career at Michigan. Welborne was also named All-Big Ten Conference in 1989 and 1990.
Welborne was selected by the Minnesota Vikings in the seventh round (180th pick) of the 1991 NFL Draft, ahead of notable players such as Shawn Jefferson and Keenan McCardell. Welborne appeared in two games for the Vikings during the 1992 season, his only season in the NFL….
Welborne did it all while at Page and his football teams won three state championships in his time spent with the Pirates and the basketbal teams he played on were equally impressive….
Stanley Turner…Charlie Sanders, former All-Pro tight end with the Detroit Lions and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, wrote to us about his fomer Dudley Panther teammate Stanley Turner…..
“Stanley Turner is a true friend and I will let that stand on it’s own merit. What he contributed in junior high and senior high school will also stand alone. He set himself apart from the norm as a multiple participant in sports. He never let his physical stature become his down fall, but instead realiized that attitude and desire would dictate his outcome.
As a member of the Dudley High School Athletic program that included being one of the state’s fastest high school runners in the 100 yard dash, he also showed that same speed and quickness to be one of the best returners and big play makers as a football player….More than anything, I remember it was his skills he showed on the basketball court. The art of ball handling vs a press by the defense was done with both confidence and consistency….His sharpe shooting and clutch free throws kept us in and won a lot of games….Though he was not always the one with highest score at the end of the game, he was the one that made the offense work….
Stanley was a total athlete that made a great impact no matter what sport he participated in during his high school career….I am sure that if you dig deeper into his high school career, you will find how much of positive factor he was for the Dudley Athletic program….It would be an honor to see him in the Hall of Fame……”
That’s Charlie Sanders on behalf of Stanley Turner……
There they are, should be bring in more….
We will let this serve as their Hall of Fame, until the Guilford County Sports Hall of Fame sees fit to let them in……
As you know i have been on this for 2 years to get tripp into guilford county sports hall of fame, here is a link to my last post on this and you can also see a video of tripp from his high school days here as well.
http://triadwatch.blogspot.com/2010/06/tripp-welborne-denied-again-for.html
youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMqiW9jFfZw
news 2 segment
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNMuWSmR6aQ&feature=related
Here is a complete bio of Tripp Welborne’s High School Career at Page High School from the years of 1985 to 1987 with football being a fall sport in his senior year of 1986
-NC vs SC All-Star football (1986 Shrine Bowl)
-NC Football State Champs ’84 & ’85
-1st team All-State ’85 & ’86 (’86…selected in 2 positions WR & DB – only one other player in state history had accomplished this… “Choo Choo Justice”)
-1986 NC Player of the Year (Football)
-1986 Guilford County Player of the Year (Football)
-1986 Parade All American (ranked #1 WR in nation)
-1986 Shrine Bowl (NC vs SC All-Star football)
-1987 East -West All-Star Football game (selected but did not participate)
-1987 1st team All-State (Basketball)
-1987 Guilford County Player of the Year (Basketball)
-1987 McDonalds All American basketball nominee
-1987 East-West Basketball All-Star game