Those were the days….Back when you had Tom Wall and Carl Scheer calling the Guilford College Quakers men’s basketball games on 1320 WCOG radio…Carl Scheer came to Greensboro and was a practicing attorney here in town, and Carl hung up his shingle downtown on Friendly Avenue, right near the old public library, and today where most of the Elon Law School stands…Carl had a small street-front office and he did his legal work from there, but Carl Scheer had more than just everyday legalities on his mind, Carl Scheer had a sports vision and he became one of the most well-known figures in ABA and NBA basketball history….
But, you have to remember, before Carl Scheer was running the old Carolina Cougars, the Denver Nuggets, and later on the Charlotte Hornets, and inventing the “Slam Dunk Contest” for the ABA and NBA All-Star games, he had to get his basketball and sports roots connected somewhere, and it all got going right here in Greensboro, back when Carl Scheer was announcing Guilford College Quakers basketball games on 1320 WCOG radio….
Yes, it was right here in Greensboro and Carl was the color commentator for play-by-play man Tom Wall, and the two became a “dynamic duo”, calling/announcing Guilford College Quakers basketball on WCOG…It was the standard in the city back in those days, Tom Wall and Carl Scheer calling/announcing Guilford College Quakers basketball…Greensboro was named the “All-American” city, and WCOG was all over that recognition and WCOG was all over covering Guilford College Quakers basketball, because back in the late 60’s and early 70’s, the Guilford College Quakers were your local All-American college basketball team..
The Guilford College Quakers had David Smith, Jerry Crocker, Tom Ennis, Bo Whitaker, Pat Morarity, Bert Feik, M.L. Carr, Lloyd Free, Greg Jackson, Ray Massengill, Steve Hankins, Robert Kent, Johnny Ralls, you name them, Guilford had them and they also had big Bob Kauffman and that is where Carl Scheer really comes into the big-time sports picture…
Bob Kauffman(6’8 center) was named an NAIA All-American basketball player coming out of Guilford College in 1968…
More on Kauffman from Wikipedia:
Kauffman, from Scarsdale, New York, played collegiately at NAIA Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina, from 1964–1968, playing under Coach Jerry Steele.
The 6-foot-8, 240-pound center is credited with turning the Quakers into an NAIA basketball powerhouse that won 86 games with three straight trips to the NAIA Tournament in his four seasons.
Kauffman scored 2,570 points on 64% shooting with 1,801 rebounds in his 113-game career. He averaged 22.7 points and 15.9 rebounds in his career. He has Guilford records for single-game rebounds (32), single-season rebounds (698, 1967–68), career field goals (943), single-season field goal percentage (.712, 1967–68), single-season free throws (273, 1966–67), career free throws (684) and single-season free-throw attempts (344, 1966–67).
Kauffman graduated with a history degree in 1968.
Carl Sheer was there at Guilford College calling/announcing all of Bob Kauffman’s college basketball games and Carl Scheer had that legal background, so now with Bob Kauffman being ready to go the pros, Carl Scheer saw the opportunity, and he seized the opportunity and Carl Scheer became Bob Kauffman’s sports agent…Kauffman was drafted as the third pick overall in the 1968 NBA Draft, just behind Elvin Hayes and Wes Unseld, so Kauffman did well with that NBA Draft, and Carl Scheer was there to represent him…Kauffman started out with the Seattle Supersonics, and later played for the Bulls, the Hawks, and the Buffalo Braves, and Kauffman’s best days were with the Buffalo Braves…
The third overall pick in the 1968 NBA Draft, and he/Bob Kauffman was coming right out of tiny Guilford College in Greensboro, N.C., but this was the “All-American” city, and we had Carl Sheer right there on the scene guiding and representing Bob Kauffman…
Carl Scheer used his representation of Bob Kauffman as a catapult into the world of professional basketball, in both the ABA and NBA….
But now, as all of the dust settles, you have to remember Carl Scheer went “Big-Time”, but it all began for him right here in Greensboro, N.C., where he was announcing college basketball games, alongside Tom Wall, on the old WCOG/1320 AM…
Carl Scheer got it all going/rolling right here, just off of West Friendly Avenue and New Garden Road, in the old “Cracker Box Gym”, on the Guilford College campus….
More on Carl Scheer below, and you can still hear those games on the old WCOG radio, and they would be playing that tune, “Going to Kansas City, Kansas City here we come”, for the trip to the NAIA National Basketball Championship Tournament, in Kansas City, Missouri…..
from www.greensboro.com:
DECEMBER 14, 1936 – DECEMBER 13, 2019 Carl Scheer, 82, died peacefully in his sleep on December 13, 2019.
A graveside service will be held on Tuesday, December at 17, 11:00 a.m. at the Greensboro Hebrew Cemetery, and a memorial service will be held on Wednesday, December 18 at 3:00 p.m. at Temple Beth El in Charlotte.
Carl was born on December 14, 1936 in Springfield, MA. He graduated from Middlebury College and received his law degree from the University of Miami Law School.
Carl and Marsha settled in Greensboro, where he practiced law before NBA Commissioner Larry O’Brien made him Assistant Commissioner of the NBA.
This began a 50-year career in professional sports that included roles with the Carolina Cougars, Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, Charlotte Hornets, Charlotte Checkers and Greenville Grrrowl. Carl is best remembered as creator of the All-Star-Game’s “Slam-Dunk Contest.”
Carl was predeceased by his parents, Robert and Minette Scheer and his sister, Helene Hauss. Surviving are his wife of 60 years, Marsha Krieger Scheer; son, Bob Scheer (Joe Woodard), daughter, Lauren Quick (Clinton); nieces Ellen Tobin, Leah Landau and Julie Stephens as well as an extended family. Above all, Carl was proud of and dedicated to his family and friends. He had a huge heart and gave his wisdom, advice, support and love to countless people. He will be sorely missed and fondly remembered by all who knew him. The family asks with gratitude that memorials in Carl’s name be made to Temple Beth El, 5101 Providence Rd., Charlotte, NC 28226.
from the National Post and Field Level Media, CLICK HERE:
Carl Scheer, the first general manager of the Charlotte Hornets and the man credited with creating the slam dunk contest, died Friday at 82.
The Hornets released a statement Saturday crediting Scheer for building the 1988-89 expansion team.
“The Hornets organization mourns the loss of Carl Scheer,” the statement read. “As our first president and general manager, he built the franchise from the ground up and laid the foundation for our city’s love affair with the Hornets.
“Carl was a true pioneer whose innovative ideas such as the slam dunk contest changed the NBA. His contributions to professional basketball in the state of North Carolina are unmatched … and his knowledge and love of the game will be missed.”
Scheer also served as team president and GM of the Denver Nuggets, ushering the franchise from the ABA into the NBA in 1976. Highlights of his tenure there included hiring coach Doug Moe and acquiring All-Star talent such as David Thompson, Alex English and Dan Issel.
Thompson starred in the ABA’s first-ever dunk contest in 1976. Scheer and his staff created the event, featuring five ABA stars competing for $1,200 in prize money at halftime of the All-Star Game. Julius “Dr. J” Erving won the original event and helped to establish its ongoing popularity by taking off from the free-throw line for an iconic dunk.
Scheer’s 50-year career also included nearly two years as GM of the Los Angeles Clippers, stints as director of two minor league hockey teams — the Charlotte Checkers and Greenville (S.C.) Growl — and as GM of the ABA’s Carolina Cougars.
Scheer, who had suffered from dementia in recent years, would have turned 83 on Saturday. He is survived by his wife, Marsha, son Bob and daughter Lauren.
–Field Level Media