Tar Heel Trio Joins N.C. Sports Hall Of Fame

RALEIGH—All-America pitcher Scott Bankhead, tennis star Laura Dupont and golfer Donna Andrews headline the 2018 class of inductees for the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.

The announcement was made Tuesday. This year's 15-person class is the largest in several years. Other inductees include an Olympic Gold Medal speed-skater, a veteran major league umpire and one of the top administrators in the NBA.

But the trio of former Tar Heels rank among the biggest names in the class.

Bankhead posted a 24-3 record in three years at Carolina and then spent 10 seasons in the major leagues. The Raleigh native went 9-0 with a 2.38 ERA as a sophomore in 1983. He then won first-team All-America honors the following spring with an 11-0 record and a 1.50 ERA. He had been a third-team selection in 1983.

His career winning percentage of .889 still equals the best in school history.

He signed with Kansas City following his junior season, but pitched in the 1984 Olympics before joining the Royals.

Bankhead had a career record of 57-48, while pitching with five teams. His best seasons were with Seattle in 1989 (14-6 and a 3.34 ERA) and Cincinnati in 1992 (10-4 and a 2.93 ERA).

Dupont won the U.S. collegiate tennis championship in 1970 and was named the state's AAU Athlete of the Year.

She began her professional career in 1972 and reached a career high of ninth in the U.S. rankings in 1977. She won the U.S. Clay Court Singles Tournament that same year.

Dupont was rated as one of the best doubles players in the world, pairing with Pam Shriver and Barbara Jordan for most of her career. She won the New Zealand singles and doubles titles in 1975 and the doubles title at the South African Open in 1976.

Among her other wins were singles titles at the 1976 German Open, the 1977 Argentine Open and the 1979 Canadian Open. She was the U.S. Open 35-and-over champion in 1984.

She also was a leader in the establishment of the WTA. She served as a board member in its early years and WTA treasurer and vice president between 1975 and 1981.

Andrews captured the North-South Amateur titles in 1984 and 1988 and won All-America honors at Carolina in 1989

Andrews joined the LPGA Tour in 1990 following her career at Carolina. Her first pro win came in 1993 and she finished the year ranked ninth.

She added three more tournament victories in 1994. They included the Nabisco Dinah Shore, an LPGA major. She finished fifth in the final tour rankings.

Andrews was third at the 1992 U.S. Open and second in 1993. Her other top major showing was second in the 1998 LPGA Championships.

She was the top-ranked American on tour in 1998 and finished third on the money list.

She served on the LPGA's Executive Committee and was president of the players' division for two years.

She started work as an analyst for ESPN in 2004 and also taught at Pine Needles Resort with Peggy Kirk Bell.

This year's Hall of Fame class also include Joey Cheek, who won an Olympic Gold Medal in the 500 speed-skating competition at Turin in 2006 and a Silver Medal in the 1,000; Joe West, the longest tenured major league umpire; and Fred Whitfield, top assistant to Michael Jordan with the Charlotte Hornets.

Other selections are former major league pitcher Hal "Skinny" Brown; Chris Cammack, a four-time All-ACC third baseman at N.C. State; Duke's Wes Chesson, a football star in the 1970s; Mindy Lou Fitzpatrick, a basketball All-America at South Carolina and later an East Coast surfing champion; Bill Hayes, the winningest football coach at both North Carolina A&T and Winston-Salem State; longtime high school coaches Jack Holley and Paul Jones; Mike Martin, the veteran baseball coach at Florida State; and Frank May, a major league pitcher from 1917 to 1932.

This year's 55th induction banquet will be Friday, May 4, at the Raleigh Convention Center. Ticket information for the banquet is available at ncsportshalloffame.org or (919) 845-3455.

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