A Brief History of Triangle Sports

Starting March 11, sports betting will be legal in North Carolina, but getting to this point was not an easy path. From the scandal of the Dixie Classic in the early 60's to the controversial vote for the NC Lottery, the state has a contentious history with gambling. 

Brian Murphy from WRAL News and Tim Donnelly from 99.9 The Fan explore the history of sports betting in North Carolina. What did it take to get to this point, and how will it change sports and sports fans going forward.

Season 3 of A Brief History of Triangle Sports will be available March 11, 2024. (That's the same day you can place your bets...legally of course.)

The Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks only lasted one season, but the World League of American Football carried on until 2007. At the end, it was known as NFL Europa. Though newly elected NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was quick to shut it down, the European league was a great incubator for football coaches and talent. In this episode we hear from former Carolina Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme and former East Carolina head coach Steve Logan, both alumni of NFL Europe, on their memories of the league.

Michael Kennedy was the equipment manager for the Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks. Not a glamourous role, but  there wasn't much that was glamourous about the World League of American Football. Kennedy, like the players and head coach Roman Gabriel, simply wanted to be part of this sports world. He had a front row seat for the one and only season of the Skyhawks. He shares what it was like to travel with the team, and what happened to all that glorious Skyhawks gear.

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Until a few years ago, alcohol at college sporting events was a delicate dance in hypocrisy. Back in 1991 without a special exemption, the sale of alcohol was not allowed at public university facilities. You could always tailgate with your own booze before the game and universities would hold private events where alcohol was available, but there was no public sale. The Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks played at NC State's Carter-Finley arena. The prohibition of beer sales presented a loss of revenue for the team and frankly a lack of fun for fans. It was yet another loss for a team that was already having a terrible season.

Losing ain't easy. Losing for a whole season, well that's another level of pain. It wasn't just hard on players and coaches. As a broadcaster, Tony Haynes had a front row seat to the Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks' losing season. Tony talks with Joe Ovies about the challenge of covering a team with an 0-10 record, and the toll of the season on everyone involved.

For one disappointing season, the Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks didn't give fans much to cheer for. But the team did give hope to the men on the field. For Wilson Hoyle (former kicker from Wake Forest) and Mark Maye (former UNC QB), being part of the Skyhawks gave them the chance to keep their football careers alive for one more season. Hoyle and Maye look back on their experience as Skyhawks, and despite their dismal 0-10 record, they actually do have happy memories of being on the team.

The Carolina Panthers played their first game in 1995. Behind the scenes, there had been years of negotiations over whether or not North Carolina--or the "Carolinas" collectively--could support an NFL team, and exactly where that team should be located. Of course Charlotte is the home of the Panthers today, but it wasn't the only city in contention. How close did Raleigh come to having an NFL team?

The Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks. For some of you, that team will ring a bell. But for most sports fans in the Triangle, they're probably wondering why Joe Ovies is going to devote a few podcast episodes about the defunct World League of American Football franchise that never won a game in their lone season played in 1991. The goal? To highlight how, despite the massive misstep in thinking a minor league football team would work at Carter-Finley Stadium, the Raleigh Durham Skyhawks provide a fascinating jumping off point to a very important time in our area of North Carolina.

The World League of American Football wasn't supposed to be a minor league for the NFL. Owners truly believed it could be an independent product that would stand alongside the NFL…but you can't fool American football fans. The league began in 1991 In its inaugural season it consisted of ten teams, including the Raleigh-Durham Skyhawks, a team that played exactly ONE season and won exactly ZERO games. The legacy of the Skyhawks is non-existent, but the team is a perfect subject for a nebulous time in the Triangle. There was a push for an NFL expansion franchise and a grand vision for Triangle Central Park, basically our version of the Meadowland that would bring more professional sports to the area. It also helped set the table for huge changes in college athletics including an ironic twist over the sale of beer at college stadiums. Joe Ovies hosts season 2 of A Brief History of Triangle Sports. Coming February 15.

In this 2-part season finale to "Brief History of Triangle Sports", Joe Ovies revisits what it was to be part of an online community at the turn of the century and how message boards provided a runway for some websites to become legit coverage outlets for NC State and North Carolina. Part 2 focuses on the Tar Heels' online culture, featuring conversations with the founder of Tar Heel Blog and a current contributor to the SB Nation website who honed his UNC sports takes on the InsideCarolina message boards.

In this 2-part season finale to "Brief History of Triangle Sports", Joe Ovies revisits what it was to be part of an online community at the turn of the century and how message boards provided a runway for some websites to become legit coverage outlets for NC State and North Carolina. Part 1 focuses on the Wolfpack's online culture, featuring conversations with the remaining caretaker of The Wolf Web, one of the original contributors to StateFans.com, and one fan who turned his passion for the Pack into a successful podcast.

The Raleigh IceCaps played in Dorton Arena from 1991 until 1998. They didn't win any division titles or ECHL championships, but they won the attention of sports fans in the Triangle and helped build inroads for the eventual arrival of the Carolina Hurricanes. Former IceCaps captain Jim Powers and winger Paul Strand joined 99.9FM The Fan's Joe Ovies to discuss their experience playing for a minor league hockey team on Tobacco Road.

To channel the premise of ESPN's "30 For 30" documentaries, "what if we told you" some of the most anticipated matchups between North Carolina, NC State, and Duke players didn't happen during the ACC basketball season, but in the summer on NC Central's campus? That's exactly what happened at the height of the Greater North Carolina Pro-Am, a summer basketball league with a brief history itself. The Sports Shop's Erroll Reese and Hoop State's Webb Wellman joined 99.9FM The Fan's Joe Ovies discuss the origin of the NC Pro-Am and it's lasting impact on the North Carolina basketball scene.

The world of Triangle sports is filled with personalities. Iconic players, legendary coaches, must-read columnists, and local sports anchors who brought highlights directly into your living room. There are so many front facing people in this business, it's easy to forget there are exponentially more people behind the scenes who are important and keep this whole thing running. You might not know Rusty Helser, who has been at Capitol Broadcasting for decades, but you do hear his work every day. Helser literally grew up on NC State's campus, helped establish radio networks as a production director, and developed personal relationships with those famous sports personalities. 99.9FM The Fan's Joe Ovies finally reversed roles for Helser and got him in the studio to tell his story.

Thanks to the wonders of modern technology, it's pretty easy to be a touring musician who wants to keep up with their favorite sports. Scores, highlights, social media and the ability to watch a game live is all right there on your phone. That wasn't the case in 1989, when Mac McCaughan cofounded the band Superchunk and independent music label Merge Records. While McCaughan and his bandmates were helping shape a burgeoning scene in Chapel Hill and playing gigs at the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, there was incredible college basketball being played just down the way. McCaughan joined 99.9FM The Fan's Joe Ovies to discuss how he became a Duke fan, kept up with Triangle sports while touring, and how music culture intertwines with sports culture.

The Global Basketball Association had big plans. It was right there in the name, but the GBA would never achieve their goal of becoming a worldwide professional basketball league. Lasting one full season with 11 teams scattered throughout the south and midwest beginning in 1991, the Global Basketball Association had issues from the jump. Most of the GBA's problems were financial, but some of it also had to do with misreading the market. That's how Raleigh ended up with a franchise, dubbed "The Raleigh Bullfrogs." Chris Corchiani joined 99.9FM The Fan's Joe Ovies to discuss how the former ACC standout loved his time playing at Dorton Arena (aka the Lilly Pad) for the Bullfrogs despite terrible court conditions, lack of fans, and money woes.

To say the recruitments of Raleigh's own John Wall and Harrison Barnes out of Ames, Iowa in 2009 had massive ripple effects for Duke, North Carolina, NC State and other college basketball programs would be an understatement. Bomani Jones, who was hosting a local radio show in the Triangle before going national with ESPN and HBO, found himself in the middle of it all. He essentially became a one-man recruiting news source before Wall committed to Kentucky and upped his media profile. However, Jones learned a valuable lesson in how the recruiting news sausage is made thanks to Duke and UNC influencers jockeying for information over where Barnes might land later that year. Jones joined 99.9FM The Fan's Joe Ovies to discuss how each story played out, and how his experience in the Triangle helped shape his unique perspective on national discussions regarding the Blue Devils, Tar Heels, and college football at large.

Jeff Gravley covered 31 ACC Tournaments, 20 Final Fours, two Super Bowls and the 2016 Rio Olympics during his career with WRAL. Not bad for a kid out of Oxford who turned his dreams of playing professional sports into a career that put him in the middle of it all. Along the way he developed relationships with other personalities that came through the area, including the late Stuart Scott, who helped influenced his work. And while the big events were always exciting for Gravley, it was the smaller moments like the time he caught up with Michael Jordan at Five County Stadium during the NBA Hall of Fame player's minor league baseball stint that he'll never forget.

Former Carolina Hurricanes TV play-by-play John Forslund joined the Hartford Whalers organization shortly before the franchise moved to North Carolina. A commitment from former GM Jim Rutherford allowed Forslund to grow his career at the same time as the Hurricanes were growing their fanbase. Through several highs such as the Stanley Cup and lows that included a decade of missing the playoffs, Forslund kept it objective regardless of what ownership, players, and fans might've thought about his work.

Mick Mixon called his last Carolina Panthers game on January 9th, 2022 after 17 years of play-by-play for the NFL franchise. But calling Mixon a play-by-play guy is selling him short. He was a storyteller more than a sportscaster, and helped paint the picture for some of the biggest moments in North Carolina sports history. Mixon grew up in Chapel Hill and eventually came back home to be part of two NCAA basketball championship runs for the Tar Heels. Mixon left the world of collegiate sports for the NFL in 2005, where he carved out his own style of broadcasting during what was arguably the height of the Panthers franchise with Cam Newton at quarterback. Mixon joined Joe Ovies discuss his career and provide behind the scenes perspective of several memorable moments.

David Glenn, former editor of the ACC Sports Journal, took a recruiting newsletter into full blown print product and eventually on to online platforms. Recruiting coverage opened doors into Triangle college programs that would eventually help him provide incredible insight into some of the biggest stories of the 90s and 00s. From Matt Doherty's exit at North Carolina to NC State's wild coaching search following Herb Sendek's departure, Glenn joined Joe Ovies to discuss the evolution of media coverage and his own transition to successful regionally syndicated radio host.