The Wolfpacker

May 2014

The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports

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88 ■ THE WOLFPACKER ■ PACK PAST half century for good reason: he did a little of everything and excelled at all of them. He was captain and star of the school's first Southern Conference football cham- pion (1927). He also played basketball un- der football/basketball coach Gus Tebell. He was a member of the baseball team, but double-timed in the spring as a member of the track and field team, often leaving the baseball field in his uniform to do his high jump, then return for his turn at bat. In 1928, he set the state record in the high jump — 6-1 1/4 — a record that was expected to last a long, long time. "He was one of those 'Saturday Ath- letes,'" Tebell once said of McDowall. "He never exerted himself during the week in practice, but he did unbelievable things in a pinch. I have coached many fine athletes, but I never saw one who could touch him." The Norris Cup, a precursor to the Alumni Athletics Trophy, was an award voted on by the students for the top stu- dent-athlete on State College's campus. McDowall, who won it in 1927 and '28, is the only person to capture it twice. In 1927, the most successful season in NC State football history until Earle Edwards arrived in the early 1950s, Mc- Dowall returned to his native state to face Florida, the hometown school that didn't bother to recruit him. It was a chance for personal redemption in a couple of ways, since it was the only time in his life that McDowall's father ever saw him play col- lege football. In the game, McDowall threw a touch- down pass and returned an interception 75 yards for a touchdown, both scores in the Wolfpack's 12-6 upset in Tampa. The win propelled the Pack to its only Southern Conference football title. McDowall helped solidify that trophy with a pair of 65-yard runs against David- son in Greensboro. Tebell's Pack won its final eight games that season to finish 9-1. McDowall left school in 1928 to take a head coaching position at Asheville High School, though he kept in touch with the folks in Raleigh because his younger brother Luke also played football at the school. In his lone season in Asheville, his football team won nine of 10 games and his basketball team won 21 consecutive contests. He returned to Florida in 1929 to be- come the head football coach at Rollins College in Winter Park. He was barely older than the players he coached, many of whom he recruited from the mountains of North Carolina. "He bought a big house near the cam- pus, with lots of different bedrooms," said McDowall's grandson Mason Blake, an attorney in Melbourne, Fla. "They all lived there with him and my grandmother and helped them raise my mother. "He always prided himself on the rela- tionships he developed as a coach and was always very proud of the accomplishments of his players." McDowall spent three decades as the football coach, physical education teacher and athletics director at Rollins. He earned a master's degree from Duke and became a professor of psychology at Rollins. He retired from active teaching in 1956, but remained part of the campus community until his death in 1969. He served as lieutenant in the U.S. Navy during World War II and was elected to several political positions in Orange County (Fla.). In 1965, he became the first NC State graduate and second Wolfpack representa- tive elected to the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, a year after legendary bas- ketball coach Everett Case was part of the inaugural class. In 1975, the halfback known as "Spindle Legs" was voted into the College Football Hall of Fame. McDowall's only daughter, Sally, had three children: two sons who live in Florida and a daughter who lives in Tennessee. "We couldn't be happier that he has been honored by NC State," Mason Blake said. "The school meant so much to him because of the opportunity it provided." ■ Tim Peeler is a regular contributor to The Wolfpacker. He can be reached at tmpeeler@ncsu.edu. Phone: 336-988-5814 Email: Kerry@GravesInvestigations.com Toll-Free: 877-638-8254 P.O. Box 49917 • Greensboro, NC 27419 Visit our website for a complete list of services. www.GravesInvestigations.com • Process Serving • Workers Comp • Skip Tracing • Threat, Security & Executive Protection • Child Abuse & Neglect Cases • Criminal/ Forensic Services • Marital Infidelity Cases Graves Investigations, Inc. Dr. Kerry Graves, MSW, CFI, TDI Professor of Criminal Justice Our Specializations Include: Proud Alumni of NC State McDowall twice won All-Southern Conference honors in football, basketball and baseball. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS 86,88.Pack Past.indd 88 4/29/14 4:22 PM

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