Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 5, 1992 TAG: 9203050394
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-14 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB McLELLAND CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"I used to walk down the halls at Jefferson and see all those boys who played football for me and who weren't playing basketball and said they needed something to do to keep busy during the winter," Carter said during a recent telephone call from Arcadia, Fla., where he is living in retirement.
"Then there were those little kids who were too small to play the so-called major sports; they needed something like wrestling," said Carter, who was undefeated in two of his three wrestling seasons at Kent State University.
Since there were no high schools with wrestling teams, Jefferson had to compete against prep and military schools and state college freshmen teams.
Finding a place to practice also was a problem. Carter said practices were held on the stage of the school's auditorium, in an attic loft and in a garage at the school. Sometimes, the squad even walked several blocks down the street to practice in the old YMCA building.
When Carter took his first Jefferson team to the state AAU meet in Richmond in 1948, only six teams were entered. Two were from public schools, Granby of Norfolk and Virginia School for the Deaf and Blind; one was from Ocean View Athletic Club; and the rest came from YMCAs in Richmond, Norfolk and Roanoke.
The meet had no age restrictions, but contestants had to be amateurs.
Today, 210 public high schools in the state compete in the sport. Twelve Roanoke Metro public high schools, as well as private school North Cross, now offer the sport. And there are competitive teams at all junior and middle schools.
"That's interesting," said Carter, who left Jefferson in August 1951 to form a family construction firm in Cleveland. "Wrestling is something all schools should have. It's a sport where any kid can compete on an equal level. I am happy that so many Roanoke schools have wrestling. I like to think that I had a little something to do with it all."
Carter's first squad left that 1948 meet with two individual champions, Wallace Coffey (115 pounds), who had to win three matches to claim his title; and Johnny Campbell (191). Campbell, just out of military service, won by default. No one else entered his weight class.
A year later, the University of Virginia and the Virginia High School League sponsored the high school division of the tourney, which also included several military and prep schools.
Jefferson, which finished second to champion Granby, had four individual winners - Coffey (120), Jim Bob Barnes (112), Jimmy Webb (133) and Bobby Cheatham (154).
As the sport grew, William Fleming High School began a wrestling program in 1950. It was not until the mid-1950s, though, that the Virginia High School League sponsored the first state tourney limited to high schools. It was 1971 before there were separate tourneys for AAA, AA, and A schools.
Carter, who also lettered in football and track at Kent State, said that during the early days, he never encountered a problem with school or fan support. Several meets were scheduled after school, and all the students were admitted free.
Carter produced numerous champions. By 1954, even though Carter had left the program, Jefferson had earned 13 state titles from 12 athletes and ranked second to Granby for state titles by a school.
Some members of Carter's first squad remember him not only being tough and demanding but also a motivator.
"He was one tough cookie," said George Preas, who won state titles for Carter at both 175 pounds and as a heavyweight. "I tell you one thing, we were all in shape. He ran us a lot but mostly, we just wrestled. He made us all better athletes and men. We all loved him for it."
Preas, a former Virginia Tech and Baltimore Colts football player, said his early wrestling experience had much to do with his football success.
Carter, said Wallace Coffey, "was a man you feared and respected at the same time.
"He was the kind you never wanted to meet in a dark alley. He knew wrestling because he was a winner himself. And he knew how to teach it. He kidded around with us but when he talked, we knew we had better listen," said Coffey.
Billy Kerfoot, who played football and wrestled for Carter, credits Carter for giving him more agility and quickness. "Nick could motivate you. He was the type of coach who just made you want to get better. He was an inspiration to us all, and I thank him for that."
by CNB