Tickled Pink

One of the facts of life about getting old is as you try to teach your children about life as they move along in life you tend to repeat stories.  People get tire of the same old stories but today I am going to rehash some of a story from my past because I am just too happy to hold back.

You have heard me say here before about my adventures as the batboy for the Ahoskie American Legion baseball team.  My time was 1963-64- 65.   During that time I saw several players past through that program that they became greater in sports or life as they continued their journey through life.

I have also told of the story that my father loved high school football and every Friday night we were following Ahoskie High or when the playoffs rolled around our conference champion of the Albemarle conference.  So we saw a lot of football through almost all of November every year as I was growing up. 

My two favorite players from Legion ball during my time were twins Freddie and Francis Combs from Winfall.  In 1962 led by quarterback Francis Combs and halfback Freddie Combs Perquimans High won State football titles in 1962 and 1963.  I remember watching Perquimans beat Havelock at the new Ficklen Stadium at ECU when only one side of the stadium was the cement stadium and the far side was bleachers.

The best my memory serves me Freddie on one play took a toss sweep around the left end and broke out in the open with only one man to beat and as that player tried to tackle him Freddie jumped right over top him and continued on for about a 70 yard touchdown.  I remember the score as 34-7 Perquimans.  I thought Freddie Combs was the fastest man alive.  Didn't have stop watches and such to tell us how fast he really was but he could scoot.

On the baseball field Freddie was the shortstop and pitcher.  He was a right good pitcher but he had a teammate by the name of Jimmy Hunter on his team so nobody noticed how good he was as a pitcher in high school.  He pitched plenty in Legion but boy could he play shortstop.

Both the Combs brothers sign with N C State and Freddie is going to be a defensive back on the football team and play baseball and Francis is going to play baseball.  Once I heard my two hero's were going to State right then and there I became a Wolfpack fan.  I had liked them all  Carolina, Duke, ECU, Wake until  the spring of 1964.

Freddie became an All American defensive back for the Pack and appeared on the Bob Hope show  when they announced the team nationwide.  He also led the nation in punt returns.  His senior baseball season he played the outfield in 1968 when the Wolfpack went to the College World Series for the first time.

Over the years about the only time I would see Freddie or Francis was at State football, basketball or baseball games.  The spring of 2013 I wrote a story about the Ahoskie Legion team championship season of 1963 and since 2013 was the 50th anniversary of that team I interviewed all those on the team for the article.  We spent a good hour talking about life back then.

Today I am tickled pink  to know that this past week Freddie Combs was announced to be one of the 2015 inductees  into the North Carolina Sports Hall Of Fame.  I almost feel like I'm going in the Hall of Fame to know one of my hero's has made it.