Most of the people inducted into the N.C. Sports Hall of Fame are retired from athletics by the time they’re honored. At the annual banquet Thursday in Raleigh, an exception was made for the “Voice of the Tar Heels” and one of the University’s most successful coaches.
Radio announcer Woody Durham and UNC women’s soccer coach Anson Dorrance were inducted for their prevailing contributions to sports in North Carolina.
Reese Edwards, executive director of the N.C. Sports Hall of Fame, said both men are representative of the ideal balance that is vital to the selection process. “We look for athletic achievements that have brought honor not only to the athletes but to the state as well,” he said.
Former UNC wrestling coach Bill Lam was also honored last week with a Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award, presented by the state chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Lam retired in 2003 after winning 15 ACC titles during his 30-year career at UNC and was named National Coach of the Year in 1982 and mentored five NCAA champions.
Lam said he’s honored by his induction, but any award given to him was made possible by his athletes. “You don’t really win awards; other people win ’em for you,” he said.
Dorrance also said he’s appreciative of his Hall of Fame induction. “It meant all kinds of things on all kinds of different levels,” he said.
He won 18 NCAA championships during his 26-year tenure at UNC and earned the National Coach of the Year honor six times.
“You have to go with Anson’s achievements on the soccer field, not only at North Carolina, but nationally and internationally as well,” Edwards said.
