Sports

Banquet Honoring Caswell's Hall of Famers Held Saturday

Venessa Corbett, Lindsey Page, Jack Pointer Jr., Ralph Shatterly, Claude “Sleepy” Taylor, Steve Walker, Neal Watlington, and Carl Willis were the honorees selected for the Caswell County Athletic Hall of Fame.

Photos courtesy of the Caswell County Athletic Hall of Fame Committee / As pictured in the banquet program, top row, left to right, Venessa Corbett, Lindsey Page, and Jack Pointer, Jr. Middle row, left to right. Ralph Shatterly, Claude "Sleepy" Taylor, and Steve Walker. Bottom row, left to right. Neal Watlington and Carl Willis.

Eight individuals were officially inducted into the newly established Caswell County Athletic Hall of Fame at a banquet held on Saturday, October 10.

"To our inductees, your grit on the field and court, and your character also - it has inspired generations," Committee Member Alfreda Corbett said during her welcoming remarks.

She encouraged those in attendance to take the opportunity to revisit unforgettable moments, offering "may you be reminded that greatness is born from hard work, and the legacy built here in Caswell County will endure forever."

The committee received 15-20 nominations, selecting eight to be inducted in this inaugural year. Committee Member Mike Talbott explained that those not selected for this year, would remain in the nomination pool for future consideration.

Inductees were presented with plaques, with plans for each to also have a plaque hung on display at Bartlett Yancey High School.

Photo by Shannon Moretz / Guests, honorees, and committee members enjoyed dinner catered by Occasions Catering & Southern Cuisine at Saturday's banquet.

Photo by Shannon Moretz / Mel Battle said that the Caswell County Athletic Hall of Fame has been "in the works" for several years and warned those gathered that "if you wait too long and people are not recognized, people tend to forget them."

Photos by Shannon Moretz / Those in attendance were all smiles at Saturday night's Hall of Fame banquet.

Venessa Corbett

Corbett was inducted into the Elon Athletics Hall of Fame in 1992. She starred at Elon University, after an outstanding career at Bartlett Yancey High School. Venessa’s No. 55 jersey is displayed in the rafters of Elon’s Schar Center following the February 16, 2020 ceremony retiring her jersey. Venessa’s 2,430 career points still stands today as the most by any athlete in Elon history.

Venessa Corbett was unable to attend the banquet due to a prior commitment but her mother, Cordie Corbett was there on her behalf. Alfreda Corbett introduced her, asking that she share a bit about her daughter.

“I’m proud of her, but she scared the life out of me,” Corbett said of her daughter, explaining that when Venessa first wanted to try out for the 8^th grade basketball team, her pediatrician said she would not be able to play, but her heart was set on it, and she was determined. She would go on to set scoring records at Elon.

“I’m proud to be her mother,” Corbett finished.

Lindsey Page

He won over 500 games as the boys’ basketball coach at Bartlett Yancey High School. He also coached baseball for fifteen years and was the school’s Athletic Director for twenty years. Page coached Bartlett Yancey to the 3A State Championship in 1988, when the Buccaneers won the school’s only Basketball State Championship with a 31-1 win-loss record. Page was inducted into the North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s Hall of Fame in 2012.

Mel Battle announced the induction of Lindsey Page, sharing that Page, who has always been an avid runner, had a secret cure for leg cramps.

“Let me defend myself,” Page chuckled as he stood to accept his plaque. He went on to share that the most memorable part of his induction with the North Carolina High School Hall of Fame was having both hamstrings cramp up on him during the ceremony. No surprise since he had just finished playing two softball games earlier in the day? His cure for those cramps? Applying Ivory soap.

“I appreciate this honor,” Page said, quickly giving thanks to his wife of 67 years, Myra Page. “My wife has been a stalwart companion because coaching takes you away a lot of nights, although she was there at most games.”

Page shared that he and his wife had four children, 15 grandchildren, and 39 great-grandchildren.

Jack Pointer, Jr.

Jack Pointer was a “jack of all trades” in the Caswell County School System. After many outstanding years as the Bartlett Yancey softball coach, the school’s softball field was named after Jack, who also served as an assistant principal at Bartlett Yancey High School for most of his latter years in the Caswell County School System. Jack was a staunch supporter in all sports at Bartlett Yancey his entire career at the school.

Mel Battle introduced Jack Pointer, Jr., noting that the two had worked together at Bartlett Yancey for years. He described Pointer as an “avid supporter of all supports at Bartlett Yancey and as a firm disciplinarian, emphasizing that he was “tough, but fair.”

Pointer, who has faced significant health issues in recent years, was in attendance at the banquet, his eyes sparkling brightly as people stopped to speak to him.

His son, John Pointer, shared that his father had been a good athlete in his younger years and was at every game, both home and away when he was an Assistant Principal at Bartlett Yancey.

“He supported the young men and women, the athletes of Caswell County, like no other,” Pointer said of his father. “He got thrown out of many a basketball game when he was assistant coach. I remember as a young man, as a freshman wrestling on the wrestling team, and got hit in the face and blood went everywhere. And when I got the blood out of my eyes, I looked up, my dad was standing on the mat, nose to nose with the referee.”

“I asked him several times, over the last year or so, what was the most meaningful thing, the most important thing you did in your life thus far,” Pointer shared. “And every time I ask him this question, he says the same thing – the children, the young men and women of Caswell County, and helping them succeed was the number one achievement of his life.”

Photos by Shannon Moretz / Saturday night's banquet provided an opportunity to reminisce and reconnect.

Ralph Shatterly

After graduating from Bartlett Yancey High School in 1957, Ralph Shatterly coached wrestling for 32 years in Rowan County, before retiring in 1995. Ralph’s wrestling teams won championships in four different decades. The Yanceyville native was also an assistant football coach in the fall and track coach in the spring at North Rowan High School for 22 years and then for 11 at West Rowan High School. Shatterly was inducted into the North Carolina Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2011. He was inducted into the Salisbury-Rowan County Hall of Fame that same year. Ralph was inducted into the North Carolina Athletic Directors Association Hall of Fame in 2014.

Lindsey Page introduced the late Ralph Shatterly, and invited his brother, David Shatterly to say a few words. Shatterly shared stories of his brother excelling as a student athlete. He described him as a dedicated coach who believed that coaching is what God called him to do.

“My brother loved Caswell County,” Shatterly said, sharing that he used to call every afternoon, never failing to ask about people back home. “He never forgot his roots here in Caswell County.”

Claude “Sleepy” Taylor

Claude “Sleepy” Taylor scored 2,000 plus points at Bartlett Yancey High School and he remains the fourth leading all-time leading rebounder in the history of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association. After graduating from Bartlett Yancey in 1974, Sleepy went on to an outstanding career at Middle Tennessee State University, where he scored over 1,000 points and was named to the University’s Hall of Fame. Sleepy averaged 33 points plus per game in both his junior and senior years at Bartlett Yancey and he’s no doubt the best basketball player from the county.

Mel Battle announced the selection of Claude “Sleepy” Taylor, who was unable to attend the dinner.

Battle explained that Taylor had played one year for him at Dillard Junior High School, noting that he was easy to coach.

“You just tell the team to give him the ball and get out of the way,” Battle said.

William “Jitters” Lea accepted the plaque on Taylor’s behalf.

“Sleepy was a friend of mine,” Lea said, thanking the committee for selecting him for the Hall of Fame. “He was a great basketball player. Sleepy was a great athlete. He could’ve been a great soccer player. He could’ve been a good football player. It didn’t matter. Some guys, some people are artists. Sleepy was an athlete, and a great human. He’s a great guy.”

Steve Walker

A 1949 graduate of Elon College, Steve was inducted into the Elon Sports Hall of Fame in 2000. An outstanding infielder, the man with major league defensive skills, was named to the All-Conference Team in his sophomore, junior and senior seasons at Elon. Steve also played five plus years of professional baseball. Everyone that I know who saw Steve Walker play, said that he could have played Major League Baseball if his bat had been anywhere as outstanding defense as a middle infielder.

Mike Talbott introduced the late Steve Walker, sharing that he was just 16 when he first met Walker. The two played for the Blanch-Milton Softball team. Walker was 51 at the time, but Talbott still remembers him as the best second baseman he ever played with. Walker served in the US Army from 1943 to 1946, serving in the Pacific Theater during World War II.

Walker’s niece and nephew, Tia and Kelly, accepted the plaque on his behalf.

“It’s an honor to have him inducted into the inaugural honorees, so very special to us,” Tia shared. “I knew he had good eyes. When he was in the Pacific, they made him a range master. His eyes were so good that they made him a range master. He was teaching the other riflemen how to shoot better.”

Neal Watlington

Neal became the first baseball player from Caswell County to play Major League Baseball in 1953, when the then Philadelphia A’s recalled him from Triple A Ottawa of the International League. Neal played professionally for twelve years, before retiring in 1958. Upon retiring from professional baseball, he coached the area’s American Legion Baseball team for numerous seasons. In 2016, Watlington received France's Legion of Honour medal for his combat services to help liberate that nation during World War II.

Mike Talbott introduced the late Neal Watlington, noting that out of 4,052 plate appearances, he had only struck out 194 times. Talbott shared that Watlington and several of his friends had been instrumental in creating the Caswell County Summer Pro Baseball League and later coached the American Legion baseball team.

His son, Stuart Watlington, accepted the plaque on his behalf after introducing six members of the American Legion team – Vernon Williamson, Eddie Strader, Russell Watlington, Jerry Yates, Bobby Brewer, and Bob Aldridge. Watlington, who had served as bat boy for the team, explained that he had invited them because he knew that if his father were there, that American Legion team would have been who he would have wanted there with him because he loved them all so much.

Carl Blake Willis

After pitching collegiately at UNC Wilmington Carl began his Major League Baseball career with the Detroit Tigers in 1984. Carl helped the Minnesota Twins win the 1991 World Series, as a set-up relief pitcher. Carl pitched in the Major Leagues for nine years. Currently the Pitching Coach for the Cleveland Guardians of the American League, Carl is known as one of the best pitching coaches in the Major Leagues. Carl has been the pitching coach for five Cy Young Award winners, the second most in MLB history.

Alfreda Corbett introduced Harold Williamson who explained that Willis was unable to attend the banquet as his team, the Cleveland Guardians was playing Game 1 of the American League Division Series.

“I want to take a moment to thank the selection committee for honoring me with this tremendous honor,” Willis said in a prerecorded message. “To be recognized by your hometown, your home community, your home county. It’s truly an honor and it’s something that I’m very, very proud of, as is my family.”

Willis also congratulated the other inductees saying, “it’s an honor to be inducted alongside not only elite athletes, but elite people, and I feel like that’s what represents Caswell County and what Caswell County is all about.”

Caswell County Athletic Hall of Fame Committee Members are Mel Battle, Mike Talbott, Alfreda Corbett, and Lindsey Page.

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