Cole, Deitz, Greene to be inducted into Hall of Fame

Tickets are $15 and are available at Sylva Insurance Agency or from any Hall of Fame board member. For ticket information, call 586-2512.

The Cullowhee High School 1975 state 1-A championship baseball team will be honored as will the 1961 all-star team that represented Sylva in the Senior League World Series.

Outstanding senior athletes will be named from both county high schools, and student-athletes will receive scholarships. A Patron Award will be presented.

The Hall of Fame is seeking donations to help defray expenses. Sponsorships are $325 and memberships are $25 with all levels of giving appreciated. Scholarship sponsors are $500. Checks should be made payable to Jackson County Athletic Hall of Fame and mailed to Sports Editor, P.O. Box 307, Sylva, N.C. 28779.

Following is a brief look at the inductees:

James "Buddy" Cole - Cole is a Jackson County native and a 1949 graduate of Cullowhee High School and a 1958 graduate of Western Carolina University.

He played basketball and baseball in high school and at Campbell before he transferred to Western. His 1949 Cullowhee team reached the state basketball tournament at Chapel Hill.

Cole was a physical education instructor at Campbell when he became the school's first soccer coach in 1963. During his 13 season's at the helm, the Camels went 138-48-7 and won five district and three area championships. His 1970 squad finished third in the NAIA tournament and he was named national coach of the year.

Cole also served as dean of students and director of alumni at Campbell. In 1997, he was inducted into the Campbell University Sports Hall of Fame.

He is retired and lives in Milford, N.J.

Boyce Deitz - Deitz was involved with nine state championship football teams spanning four decades. He was an all-conference and All-Western North Carolina guard on Sylva-Webster teams that won state 2-A titles in 1965-66 and was an assistant coach on Golden Eagle 2-A championship squads in 1972-73. As a head coach, his Swain teams won the state 2-A crown in 1979 and state 1-A titles in 1985 and 1988-90.

Deitz is a native and lifelong resident of Jackson County. He also wrestled at S-W, where he graduated in 1967. After graduating from Western Carolina University in 1971, he returned to his high school alma mater as an assistant football coach. He also coached wrestling and baseball for the Eagles.

In 1977, Deitz became head football coach at Swain and served in that position for 20 years. He returned to the Jackson County school system as head football coach at Smoky Mountain from 1997-99 before retiring with a 218-72-2 record.

Deitz lives in Sylva and is regional outreach and development director for the athletic department at Western Carolina.

Dave Greene - Greene is an Indiana native, who became an outstanding basketball and track coach at Sylva-Webster High.

He played basketball at Richmond (Ind.) High, where he graduated in 1960. He played basketball for Western Carolina in the early 1960s before transferring closer to home and graduating from Ball State in 1965.

Greene returned to Jackson County as men's basketball coach for Sylva-Webster in 1969 and held that position through 1977. He returned to the sidelines for the 1986-87 and 1987-88 campaigns, the final two years before the consolidation with Cullowhee.

Greene's record was 168-74. His teams won or shared five conference championships and claimed three conference tournament titles. In 1972 and 1975, the Golden Eagles won district championships and advanced to the state 2-A tournament.

Greene coached track for 20 years at Sylva-Webster and Smoky Mountain and led his teams to eight conference crowns.

He also was an assistant football coach.

Greene is retired and lives in Sylva.

Back to Sports: 04/12/01.