Joseph H. McConnell '27 Joe McConnell had an integral part in one of Davidson's most successful eras in football. He graduated from Davidson in 1927 with a degree in chemistry and received his law degree in 1931 from the University of Virginia. He was a center on the 1926 football team which finished 7-2-1 and won the state championship with victories over Duke, N.C. State, and North Carolina and a tie with Wake Forest. Davidson was 20-6-4 in McConnell's three varsity seasons. He is a member of the Western North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. McConnell served as President of NBC, Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Co., Reynolds Metals Corp. and was chairman of COMSAT. In 1972 he received an honorary doctor of laws degree from Davidson. He has long been a strong supporter of Davidson and created the Joseph M. McConnell Scholarship in honor of his father, who was dean of the faculty and professor of history at Davidson. As a Davidson student McConnell was president of the senior class and president of the Pan Hellenic Council.
| Eugene T. McEver Eugene McEver didn't graduate from Davidson, but he coached the Wildcats' football teams (1936-44) and made his marks on Davidson College and the Davidson Community as surely as he was one of college football's all-time greats at the University of Tennessee. McEver graduated in 1932 from Tennessee, where he was a first team All-American and set numerous school scoring and rushing records. His single season record of 130 points in 1929 stood for 55 years. He is a member of the Volunteer's Hall of Fame and in 1954 was named to the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame. He settled in Davidson in 1936 and remained until his death in 1985. McEver was Davidson's head coach in the Depression and World War II seasons. He also coached at VPI and North Carolina and coached the Charlotte Clippers semi-professional team. He served as Town Administrator in Davidson for many years and was known as "Mr. Baseball" for his contributions to youth baseball in North Mecklenburg. The town's youth baseball field was built by McEver and is named in his honor.
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Emily J. Knobloch '82 Emmy Knobloch was one of Davidson's greatest tennis players ever and Davidson's first female All-American in any sport. She was named first team Association of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women All-American in 1982 when she finished fourth nationally. She had a four-year record of 86-19 for the Wildcats and led them to AIAW Division II state championships in 1979, 1981 and 1982. She was recipient of the Rebecca Stimson Award as Davidson's most outstanding athlete in 1982. She was captain of the 1982 women's tennis team. Emmy was an economics major from Atlanta and was named to Who's Who Among American College Students.
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Gordon B. Slade '70 Gordon Slade earned his place as one of Davidson's athletic greats in two sports - football and baseball - from 1967 until 1969. Slade led the '69 football team to its only Southern Conference football championship and only bowl appearance in the Tangerine (now Citrus) Bowl. In an October game against Richmond (that would eventually decide the Southern Conference championship) Slade was chosen National Player Of The Week by the Associated Press. As the Wildcats' quarterback in 1968 and 1969 he was second and fourth in national passing statistics. He completed 60 percent of his career pass attempts (441 of 732) and holds the career passing record with 5,046 yards. Slade hit .429 in baseball in 1968 to win the Southern Conference batting championship and finished fourth nationally. He was named to the All-Conference and All-NCAA District III teams. |
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