Wolfpack's 1957 & '67 Squads To Be Honored

Two of late football coach Earle Edwards’ most celebrated teams will be honored at the NC State-Clemson football game on Sept. 22, in recognition of the 40^th and 50^th anniversary of their accomplishments.

The 1957 Wolfpack squad won the school’s first ACC football championship, behind the offensive exploits of halfbacks Dick Christy and Dick Hunter. Playing at Riddick Stadium, the Wolfpack compiled an 7-1-2 record. It won the league championship in dramatic fashion, when Christy scored all of NC State’s points in a 29-26 victory over South Carolina in Columbia, S.C., on the final day of the season.

It was the first of three outright and two shared ACC championships in Edwards’ 17 years as head coach. The 1967 squad featuring the famed “White Shoes Defense” that included All-America defensive end Dennis Byrd and decorated defensive back Freddie Combs climbed to No. 3 in the national polls, the highest ranking in school history, following a road win at No. 2 Houston. The Wolfpack won its first eight games before losing its final two games of the regular-season.

The Wolfpack was invited to play in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis, where it beat Georgia 14-7, to finish the season 9-2 and record the first post-season victory in NC State football history. The nine wins stood as a school record until 2002, when the Philip Rivers-led Wolfpack finished 11-3.

Members of both the 1957 and ’67 squads and the coaching staffs have been invited to a casual reception at the Brownstone Hotel on Hillsborough Street on Sept. 21 and will be recognized during the NC State-Clemson game. 

Any member of those teams that has not yet received an invitation should contact NC State assistant athletics director Dick Christy at (919) 865-1510 by Sept. 10 to RSVP for the event.

North Carolina State University Athletics

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