Two local coaching greats are among seven inductees who have been selected to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) Hall of Fame.
The late Jack Holley of Teachey and the late Joe Miller of Wilmington will be inducted posthumously into the NCHSAA Hall of Fame at a spring banquet in Chapel Hill. They’ll be honored Oct. 18 at Kenan Stadium on the campus of The University of North Carolina during the Tar Heels’ game against Georgia Tech. The University of North Carolina has designated the day as the 30th annual NCHSAA Day, according to a press release from the NCHSAA.
“These individuals joining the Association Hall of Fame this year have had a tremendous impact on high school athletics across North Carolina,” said NCHSAA commissioner Davis Whitfield. “Their accomplishments are impressive, but the character they exemplify and the lives they touched are truly representative of what the NCHSAA stands for. Their selection maintains the standards of excellence established by our previous inductees, and we are proud to honor these deserving individuals.”
Joe Miller
The late Joe Miller, who died unexpectedly earlier in the year, was an outstanding coach and athletic administrator, with his time in North Carolina at New Hanover High School and in the New Hanover County central office.
Read related story: Longtime football coach dies
Born in Sewickley, Pennsylvania, Miller graduated from Western Carolina University and began his coaching career in Georgia and Florida before a couple years as an assistant football coach at Kansas State.
He arrived at New Hanover High in Wilmington in 1974 and was head football coach there for 20 years, compiling a brilliant 186-56-1 mark with nine conference championships. He also coached New Hanover to slow pitch softball state championships in 1975 and ’76.
He moved to the central office in New Hanover, serving as county athletic director from 1994 to 2011. He was a member of the Board of Directors of the NCHSAA as well as the Board of the North Carolina Coaches Association and also served a term as president of the N.C. Athletic Directors Associatoin (NCADA) Board.
Read related story: NCAA Sweet 16: A family affair for Wilmington’s Joe Miller
Miller is a member of the NCADA Hall of Fame and the Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame.
Jack Holley
The late Jack Holley won more high school football games as a head coach than any other coach in North Carolina history.
He was born in Ashton, and went to New Hanover High School, where he played on state championship teams in several different sports before going to Guilford College and graduating in 1963. Holley coached for 46 years at a variety of stops, including Tabor City, Wallace-Rose Hill, Hallsboro, West Columbus, South Columbus and Harrells Christian Academy.
He had two major stints at Wallace-Rose Hill, from 1982-92 and then from 1997-2008. During his tenure, his teams won an amazing 412 games against 96 losses and nine ties, including numerous conference championships, which has put him in the top ten of football coaches nationally. Holley also coached in both the North Carolina Coaches Association East-West all-star games and the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas.
Holley has been inducted into both the Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame and the Guilford College Sports Hall of Fame.
Joining Miller and Holley in the NCHSAA Hall of Fame’s 28th class are Ralph Holloway of Morehead City, Chris Norman of Shelby, Moyer Smith of Chapel Hill, Rick Strunk of Carrboro and Jerry Winterton of Cary.
