Wallace Wade: I was there then...

[DukieInKansas]

We did it in '82 after a win vs UNC to cement TWO winning seasons in a row (6-5 in '81 and '82). It was the weekend before Thanksgiving, so student numbers were thin, but we managed to carry it to the Chapel via Wannamaker (?) Drive. Earlier that same season, after a 3-0 start and a huge win vs UVa, we students were feeling a little heady with hope and hundreds of oranges were taken from the PIT to be thrown on the field when we would inevitably defeat Navy - to make sure that all in attendance knew we were Orange Bowl bound! ... the Weauf Gods were watching and we lost to start on a four game losing streak.

In addition to being the cocky gunslinger as noted, Ben Bennett was also one of the best quarters players in North Carolina. IIRC, he had a deadly roll down the nose delivery.

Sad to see the track move out. Was on the team for 2 years. Two highlights: (1) getting smoked in the 200m by a future Olympian. Forget who, but I seem to remember that he wasn't even a sprinter - I think he was a hurdler. And (2) being mistaken for a minute for Chris Castor by an NFL scout from the Rams

Only played quarters with him once - anyone that got the quarter in the cup passed it to him. He would line them all up and bounce all the quarters in. And he got better the more he drank - it was a bit irritating.

[Olympic Fan]

What I remember about that Maryland game was that it had an absurdly early start time; 10:30 or 11.00 A.M. or some such. IIRC State and Carolina were playing later that day and maybe the State Fair was going on in Raleigh and I'm sure it seemed like a good idea at the time. But practically no one was in stands at kickoff and it just kept getting hotter and hotter.

And yes, 45-yards was a long way in those days.

Actually, it was a 10 am start time. The thing at the time was that there were believed to be thousands of football fans in the Triangle who were frustrated by the conflict in start times. On that Saturday Duke started at 10 am, UNC at 1:30 pm and NC State at 7:30 pm (at the time, they were the only school with lights). The idea was that all those fans could take in a football tripleheader.

Of course, it didn't work that way. Just 12,000 fans showed up or the morning game in Wade... and attendance at Kenan and in Carter-Finley was normal. We learned that there were very few "football" fans in the Triangle ... just Duke fans, UNC fans and State fans.

Atldukoe, you are right that the Duke-Maryland series was sporadic in he '50s-60's and even 70s. In the first three years of the ACC, Duke and Maryland were unbeaten in the league -- but shared two titles because they didn't play each other (Maryland did tie a game in '55 that gave Duke the outright title). in 1965, it ended up costing us a share of the ACC title. Duke finished 4-2 but didn't play Maryland. State and Clemson played everybody and were 4-3. But later, the ACC forced South Carolina to forfeit all its games. That didn't help Duke, which had beat SC, but both State and Clemson had lost to the 'Cocks and their record was changed to 5-2 ... and the officially shared the ACC title.

But not playing Maryland almost gave Duke a share of the 1975 ACC title. The Terps finished the regular season unbeaten in the ACC. But they didn't play Duke. The Devils lost five non-conference games, but was 3-0 in the ACC when they got screwed out of a win vs NC State (the ACC later issued a formal apology for the blown call that cost Duke the game). The next week, a dispirited Duke team went through the motions against a terrible (3-7-1) UNC and tied them. Duke finished 3-0-2 ... unbeaten in the ACC, but second to 5-0 Maryland.

[Nesto]

Was that a LONG minute or a short minute?

To me... very long. I'm sure to any objective observer... a double take.

[Atldukie79]

Actually, it was a 10 am start time. The thing at the time was that there were believed to be thousands of football fans in the Triangle who were frustrated by the conflict in start times. On that Saturday Duke started at 10 am, UNC at 1:30 pm and NC State at 7:30 pm (at the time, they were the only school with lights). The idea was that all those fans could take in a football tripleheader.

Of course, it didn't work that way. Just 12,000 fans showed up or the morning game in Wade... and attendance at Kenan and in Carter-Finley was normal. We learned that there were very few "football" fans in the Triangle ... just Duke fans, UNC fans and State fans.

Atldukoe, you are right that the Duke-Maryland series was sporadic in he '50s-60's and even 70s. In the first three years of the ACC, Duke and Maryland were unbeaten in the league -- but shared two titles because they didn't play each other (Maryland did tie a game in '55 that gave Duke the outright title). in 1965, it ended up costing us a share of the ACC title. Duke finished 4-2 but didn't play Maryland. State and Clemson played everybody and were 4-3. But later, the ACC forced South Carolina to forfeit all its games. That didn't help Duke, which had beat SC, but both State and Clemson had lost to the 'Cocks and their record was changed to 5-2 ... and the officially shared the ACC title.

But not playing Maryland almost gave Duke a share of the 1975 ACC title. The Terps finished the regular season unbeaten in the ACC. But they didn't play Duke. The Devils lost five non-conference games, but was 3-0 in the ACC when they got screwed out of a win vs NC State (the ACC later issued a formal apology for the blown call that cost Duke the game). The next week, a dispirited Duke team went through the motions against a terrible (3-7-1) UNC and tied them. Duke finished 3-0-2 ... unbeaten in the ACC, but second to 5-0 Maryland.

Thanks for the answer...I am surprised the ACC did not mandate a round robin.

[madscavenger]

A few a little off the beaten track memories:

a) Al Woodall. His MO: drop back 17 and go down (happened a lot).

b) Bob Matheson. My first down in the bowels mailbox at Duke had previously belonged to Bob Matheson. How did i know? i didn't get a whole lot of mail and was thrilled to see a postcard in the box. It was addressed to one Bob Matheson - something to do with the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club.

c) I spent part of a semester tutoring Leo Hart (and Randy Denton). My memory must be shot to hell, but i will swear on the Order of the Chair that the subject was calculus.

d) Kappa Alpha; Saturday night. Nuff said!

[oldnavy]

Only played quarters with him once - anyone that got the quarter in the cup passed it to him. He would line them all up and bounce all the quarters in. And he got better the more he drank - it was a bit irritating.

Ben and I worked together at a CC in Durham one summer as lifeguards. Actually he really didn't do much work even for a lifeguard, but we did go out a few times and yes, he was amazingly good at bouncing the quarter into the cup or glass.