University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: A Carolina Treasure
January 6, 2006 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 6, 2006
The following story originally appeared in the January 2004 issue of Tar Heel Monthly.
By Adam Lucas
A cougar is gnawing on your arm and Hugh Morton doesn't seem concerned.
Truth is, he doesn't even notice the fact that the cougar seems to enjoy the taste of your shirt. You're a little worried that once the sharp-toothed cat finishes the appetizer, he's going to move on to a main course of arm meat. The 4-month-old recent addition to Grandfather Mountain's animal collection--he was flown in on a private plane, treatment usually reserved for heads of state or even more important people, like Roy Williams--isn't big enough to eat you whole, but judging by the size of his teeth and claws, he could make a good start.
Morton, meanwhile, is more concerned with his camera. The digital age has dawned for some photographers, but Morton still prefers to use reliable Kodak film. Right this second his camera is being a little ornery as he tries to load his next roll.
Eventually the camera is loaded, the cougar cooperates, and the picture is taken with all parts of Morton's visitor intact. He's used to taking pictures while his visitors look slightly uneasy--he's owned Grandfather Mountain and its fantastic collection of creatures for half a century, and an entire wall upstairs in the Nature Center is filled with photos of visiting dignitaries keeping the company of bears, cougars and various other animals you don't run into in Chapel Hill. There are United States Presidents--"I've met the ones I wanted to meet," Morton says without a hint of bravado--Hall of Fame baseball players, famous evangelists, and basketball coaches.
"We've got a real rogues gallery up there," Morton says with a smile.
All those rogues have come to Grandfather Mountain at some point in the last 50 years, come to see Morton, the mountain, and its animals. Ted Williams went fishing here. Billy Graham had his picture taken with Mildred the Bear, the longtime mascot of Grandfather who was so gentle that Morton used to bring her into the Grandfather Mountain café at lunch and watch her amaze his customers.
Holding prominent places in the rogues gallery are a collection of famous Tar Heels. There's no definitive book or movie about the University of North Carolina athletics over the past 60 years, but there is one definitive man: Hugh Morton. You might not recognize the name or the face--it's usually obscured by a telephoto lens--but you'd recognize the pictures.
He's photographed every important Tar Heel athlete of the past half-century, beginning with Charlie Justice and stretching through Raymond Felton. He'd like to have more shots of Felton, in fact, but his publisher has him on an extensive book-signing tour to promote his new book, "Hugh Morton's North Carolina." A collection of 256 of Morton's photos spanning politics to sports to nature, it's a virtual pictorial history of the state of North Carolina. His photographs of Choo Choo Justice spawned a relationship that continued through Justice's death in October, when Morton was one of the first people notified of Justice's passing. But before the book's release, Morton was skeptical that anyone would buy it.
"I was afraid the wildlife and scenic pictures would turn off the politics and sports people, and vice versa," Morton says. "But Bill Friday, the man who talked me into doing it, said, `No, it's all North Carolina.'"
Friday was right. The first printing sold so quickly that a second printing had to be ordered before Christmas just to fill the holiday rush.
The popularity of his book has added several dates to Morton's busy winter calendar, keeping him criss-crossing the state to sign books rather than holding down his customary photo spot at the Smith Center.
It's from that spot that he has captured some of the most memorable images of Tar Heel hoops ever shot. Vince Carter's favorite picture of himself in a Carolina uniform, a high-flying photo taken just before Carter slammed through a dunk against California, was shot by Morton. Carter liked the shot, taken just before Christmas, so much that he requested a handful of color prints as gifts for his family members.
"As an enthusiastic alum of North Carolina, I couldn't give him anything of value, because that would be a violation," Morton says. "So I gave Linda Woods, one of the secretaries in the basketball office, three color prints. I hope she helped Vince with his Christmas shopping."
Morton makes a habit of that generosity. He provided photos to this publication for our 20th anniversary retrospective on the 1982 national champions, shots that included several pictures of a young Michael Jordan. Other newspapers charge up to $500 apiece for reproduction rights to their vintage shots of Jordan. Morton's charge?
"Oh, no charge," he said at the time. "I just love to be able to support the University."
He also provided many of the photos used in Dean Smith's recent autobiography. Morton's relationship with Smith dates back almost to the day Smith arrived in Chapel Hill. When Grandfather Country Club opened, it was a frequent golfing destination for the Tar Heel coaching staff.
Smith, in fact, is a member of that rogues gallery on the third floor of the Grandfather Mountain Nature Center, including a shot in which Mildred is serving as Smith's caddy and the all-time winningest coach appears to be asking the bear for his club. Later, Morton also snapped a shot of Smith and Roy Williams holding a bear cub.
The comforting news--at least as the cougar continues to eye your arm hungrily--is that both Smith and Williams survived that encounter. They're just two of the millions of satisfied customers who have left Grandfather smiling over the past 50 years.
On this morning, 50 of the newest visitors are filling the Nature Center lobby. It's two busloads of schoolchildren on a field trip, and they've come to visit Grandfather's wonders on a brisk fall morning.
Morton looks them over, watches them squeal and run and laugh.
And then he turns to you, smiles, and softly says just one thing.
"I wouldn't trade my job for anything in the world."
Click here to send your best wishes to Hugh Morton.
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and can be reached at alucas@tarheelmonthly.com. He is the coauthor of the official book of the 2005 championship season, Led By Their Dreams, and his book on Roy Williams's first season at Carolina, Going Home Again, is now available in bookstores. To subscribe to Tar Heel Monthly or learn more about Going Home Again, click here.
