Coach Ferebee one of the greats
By Bob Waggoner
For the Salisbury Post
I recently learned that Salisbury High School recognized 11 individuals for their stellar coaching careers at the school, reaching as far back as the 1930s when Bill Ludwig began his. It is astonishing to me that Joe Ferebee, one of its most distinguished coaches, was not included in the inaugural group.
He was a member of the teaching and coaching staffs from 1947 to 1956. During this period, his baseball teams won 77 games while losing only 32 — a .706 winning percentage. This outstanding record included a 1955 state championship, which I understand was a first for the high school and the city in what was then considered one of the three major team sports. Coach Ludwig’s 1955 football squad followed this up in the fall with the school’s second state championship; a marvelous accomplishment for the two teams that added luster to the school’s reputation for excellence in sports.
As the American Legion coach, his teams were state champions four times, runner-up four times and winners of a combined 27 league and area titles. His 1955 team made it to the Legion World Series in St. Paul, Minn.
He left the high school in 1956 to join the Pfeiffer College faculty as history professor and head baseball coach, later becoming athletic director as well. There he was selected coach of the year five times in the Carolina conference, won 10 conference championships, five NAIA District 26 crowns and 667 games, which established the games-won record for four-year college coaches in North Carolina.
He retired from college coaching in 1987, thus ending an exemplary career in baseball noteworthy for its durability, the fundamental soundness and winning consistency of his teams, and his excellence as a leader, student and teacher of the game. Over his career, he took each program to its highest level and in doing so won a combined 1,438 games.
A highly respected peer in the coaching profession wrote he was “one of the most dedicated baseball men in the state, with a great love and appreciation for the positive outcome it has had for the thousands of young people who have played at all levels.” He is a member of numerous halls of fame, to include the prestigious North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.
It’s a shame the high school missed an opportunity to recognize and honor a truly exceptional coach and human being.
Please accept my heartiest congratulations on the fine manner in which the paper publicized the event.
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Salisbury native Bob Waggoner is a 1952 graduate of Boyden High School and lives in Charlotte.