Catawba Hall of Fame
Six to be inducted April 10

STAFF REPORTS
SALISBURY POST

Six former student athletes will be inducted into the Catawba College Sports Hall of Fame on April 10, during the Hall of Fame's 22nd anniversary festivities.

The inductees are (with grad year): Lisa Kearns Ball (1988), Lexington; Charles A. Beatty (1984), Charlotte; Donald M. Davis Jr. (1974), Albemarle; Horace E. Medford (1961), Asheville; David T. Snyder (1968), Danville, Va.; and Richard (Dick) Williams (1957), Salisbury.

The induction ceremony, sponsored by the Catawba College Chiefs Club, and luncheon will be held in Kirkland Lobby of the Abernethy Physical Education center at 1 p. m.

The Catawba College Sports Hall of Fame was founded in 1977 and this year's inductees will bring the total members to 109.

Ball will be the seventh woman inducted into Catawba's Hall of Fame. Nan Whitley (1974) was the first, inducted in 1993.

Following are the achievements of l999's inductees:

LISA KEARNS BALL

Ball was an outstanding women's basketball player at Catawba from 1984 through 1988. She left as and still is the school's all-time leading scorer with 1,812 points.

At graduation, Ball held 13 school records, and seven of those still stand, including: Most 20-point games (39), 11 consecutive 20-point games, fields goals in a season (252) and field goals in a career (776).

She still has three of the top 10 best scoring seasons in Catawba women's basketball history with 567 points as a freshman, 548 points as a junior and 442 points as a junior. She looked like a cinch for 2,000 career points, but limited playing time as a senior yielded just 255 points.

Ball is fourth all-time in free throw shooting (252-344 73%) and sixth in field goal percentage (776-1,755 44%). A guard, most of her shots came from outside, prior to the three-point field goal being instituted. Three-point field goals came into play during Ball's senior year and she made eight of 23 attempts.

Ball who also had 156 career assists, earned All-Carolinas Conference and All-NAM District 26 honors in 1986 and 1987.

A Dean's List student as well, Ball was a NAIA ScholarAthlete and went on to pharmacy school at UNC-Chapel Hill. She is currently a registered pharmacist at Thomasville Community General Hospital.

A native of Denton, Ball played basketball at Denton High School (now South Davidson). She was recruited to Catawba by Harold Higgins and coached here by Bill Haggerty and Gary Peters. The Lady Indians' best season during Ball's career was a 17-15 campaign during her sophomore year.

Ball and her husband, Buddy, reside in Lexington with their eight-month-old son, Davin.

CHARLES A. BEATTY

Beatty, a four-year baseball player at Catawba (1981-84), is looked upon as one of the best hitters in school history. He holds the Catawba record for batting average in a career, hitting .409 (171 for 418).

In addition, Beatty hit .504 as a senior (62 for 123), the second highest average in school history and highest for anyone with over 100 at bats.

e also holds school records for career slugging percentage (.739) and home runs in a game, slugging three vs. Pfeiffer on April 29, 1981. He hit .427 as a freshman that same year.

Beatty's other career numbers include 34 home runs (four shy of the school record), 112 runs batted in, 108 runs scored and 32 doubles. He hit 11 of his homers as a senior in 1984 and had a .902 slugging percentage that year.

Beatty, who also played football as a freshman, was a catcher in 1981, right fielder as a sophomore and first baseman in 1983-84. His one regret was that the team, without adequate pitching depth, struggled to a 53-79 record during his career.

He was an outstanding student athlete at Charlotte Olympic High School. He is currently district manager and a financial planner for Lutheran Brotherhood Financial Services. He and his wife, Angela, reside in Charlotte with their sons, Lucas (6), Cason (4) and daughter, Grace (2)

DONALD M. DAVIS JR.

Davis quarterbacked the Indians from 1970-73, concluding his career as Catawba's all-time leading passer. Davis threw for 4,411 yards, the most until Mike Warfield came along in the late 1980s. Davis now ranks fourth all-time behind Warfield (6,923 yards), Kevin Brown (4,807) and Ken Avent (4,618).

An All-Carolinas Conference performer in 1971 and 1973; Davis fired 35 career touchdown passes, third all-time behind Brown (53) and Warfield (42). Davis was also a three-time All- NAIA District 26 quarterback, 1971-73.

Davis ranks sixth in school history in total yardage gained with 4,602 yards in 1,001 plays, an average of 4.6 yards per play. He rushed for 191 yards during his career.

Along with end Jim Bucher, Davis holds the Catawba record for the longest pass completion, a 97-yard play against LenoirRhyne in ls72. The Indians won that game, 27-3.

Four different receivers who played at least two years with Davis rank in Catawba's top 10 pass catchers - Bucher (5th), Vince Haydock (3rd), Harry Balestieri and Mike Dickens, tied for seventh place.

Davis is a senior vice president and loan officer with Bank of Stanly. He and his wife, Brenda, reside in Albemarle. They have one daughter, Cresta Nicola, a registered nurse in Albuquerque, N.M.

HORACE E. MEDFORD

Medford was a two-sport standout at Catawba, playing baseball (1959-61) and basketball (1957-61).

In baseball, Medford was an outstanding pitcher, compiling a 17-0 record (over three seasons) before suffering his first collegiate loss. He ended up 19-3, with an earned run average of 3.69.

Medford started 21 of 32 games on the mound, with 10 complete games. He struck out 102 batters in 166 innings and earned All-Carolinas Conference honors in 1961.

In 1960 as a junior, Medford was a perfect 7-0 on the mound, including a one-hit performance against East Carolina on March 7. The one hit came on the first pitch of the game that day.

In basketball, Medford, a 6-6 center, scored 1,121 points in 106 career games, and still ranks 28th among Catawba's 36 1,000-point scorers.

Medford was a key member of Catawba's 1960 North State Conference champions, averaging 12.2 points per game. He scored a career-best 381 points that season. Medford also pulled down 288 rebounds in 1960, an average of 9.3 per contest. He averaged 8.3 rebounds (482) over 58 games during his junior and senior years.

Prior to coming to Catawba, Medford was captain and all-conference at Erwin High School in Asheville. He was all-district and most valuable player in the state AA tournament in 1957.

Medford resides in Asheville, where he has had a 26-year career in education. He coached football, basketball (boys and girls) and golf on the middle school level from 1974 through 1993. He currently teaches at William Randolph Elementary School.

Medford has one son, Richard (25).

DAVID T. SNYDER

Snyder played basketball under legendary coach Sam Moir between 1964 and 1968. A 6-8 center, Snyder was the first Catawba player in school history to score 1,000 career points and pull down 1,000 rebounds.

He concluded his career with 1,398 points, still good enough for 14th place amoung Catawba's 36 1,000-point scorers. Snyder had 1,226 rebounds, third all-time behind Garland Davis (1,652) and Bill Bailey (1,480).

Snyder recorded the fifth and sixth best rebounding seasons in school history, grabbing 376 boards in 1967 and followed that with 399 during his senior year.

Moir, whose teams won 546 games in 34 seasons at Catawba, once said of Snyder: ''Of all of the players I coached, Dave Snyder probably showed the most improvement of anybody, from the time he arrived, through his senior year.''

Also during his senior season, Snyder made 195 of 316 field goal attempts, a .617 percentage, good enough for 10th place among NAIA national leaders. That percentage still ranks as sixth best for one season in school history.

Snyder earned All-Carolinas Conference honors in 1966 and averaged 12.9 points and 13.8 rebounds per game for his career - 108 contests.

Catawba compiled a 57-53 record during Snyder's career, including a 22-9 mark in 1968.

Prior to his Catawba career, Snyder played high school basketball in Sommerdale, Pa.

Snyder is executive director of the Danville (Va.) YMCA, his 28th years with that organization. Prior to Danville, Snyder was associated with YMCAs in High Point, Springfield, Ill. and Orlando, Fla.

He resides in Danville with his wife, Gayle. He has two sons, Kyle (24), of Lockheed-Martin in Marietta, Gal, and Sean (21), a student at Virginia Tech.

DICK WILLIAMS

Williams was a football letterman (1953-55) at Catawba, but also came back and enjoyed great success as the Indians' baseball coach (1989-94).

Currently coordinator of the Catawba College Chiefs Club, a position he has held since l994, Williams has had a long and distinquished career in education and public service.

A Morganton native, Williams was drafted out of high school by the New York Giants baseball team in 1947. He was progessing through the minor leagues when he was drafted into the U.S. Army for duty in the Korean War.

Having lost four crucial baseball years to military service, Williams decided to change his life's direction. He was recruited by Catawba to play football and he enrolled in 1953.

Williams was a fullback for the Indians.

By 1956, Williams had moved into a student coaching role, a move which led to his life's work. '

Upon graduation in 1957, Williams was hired as athletic director and head football and baseball coach at East Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte. He remained at East Mecklenburg for the next 31 years, 28 of those as athletic director.

Williams coached football for four years and baseball for two, but also coached track, cross country and golf. He founded the Metrolina Relays, an annual track meet for the local high schools. That event was renamed the Dick Williams Relays in his honor in 1988.

He also served as the Mecklenburg County Summer Recreational Program director in 1970-83.

Upon retirement from the school system in 1988, Williams returned to Catawba to coach the baseball team. Under Williams, the Indians won 137 games over five seasons while losing just 69.

The Indians won back-to-back South Atlantic Conference championships in 1992-93, including a perfect 21-0 league season in 1992. That 1992 squad also had the highest winning percentage in NCAA Division II, a 38-7 record, and set 33 school records. Catawba advanced to the NAIA District 26 playoffs in both 1992 and 1993. In 1994, the Catawba baseball most valuable player award was renamed in Williams' honor, an award sponsored by the Salisbury Civitan Club.

Other honors include the 1977 Order of the Long Leaf Pine, presented by North Carolina Gov. Jim Hunt, for distinguished service; president of the N.C. Coaches Association, 1973; president of N.C. Athletic Directors Association, 1974; N.C. Athletic Director of the Year, 1978; member of the national high school rules committee, 1978-82; and lifetime member of the Optimist Club.

Williams is a member of First Baptist Church in Salisbury and is currently president of the Salisbury Civitan Club.

He and his wife, Paula, reside in Salisbury. They have two sons, Chip, owner of Williams Company of America, a public relations and marketing firm in Mooresville, and Mark, of RJ Reynolds/Nabisco in Charlotte.