CityView Magazine

Sports T hey came from different backgrounds and eras, but two of Fayetteville’s newest Hall of Fame inductees both agree on one thing: football was the key to their success. Wayne Byrd and Reggie Pinkney were both inducted into their respective college Halls of Fame this fall – Byrd Fame By Eddie Dees for two at Appalachian State University and Pinkney at East Carolina University. Byrd played at the old Fayetteville Above | Reggie Pinkney was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame at East Carolina University. To this day, Pinkney admits, purple and gold still run through his veins. Right | Appalachian State University recently inducted Wayne Byrd into its Hall of Fame. Following their college football careers, both Byrd and Pinkney worked as school principals. 58|Winter 2008/2009 High School under legendary Coach Buddy Lupper and graduated in 1963. After playing quarterback and defen- sive back on an undefeated team his senior year, Byrd went to Appalachian and eventually become a teacher and a coach. “Being a coach is all I ever wanted to be,” he said. “I hadn’t planned on going to Appalachian, but I’m glad I did.” Appalachian State is glad he did, too. Byrd started as a defensive back for four years, 1963 to 1966, serving as a two-year captain and earning All- Conference honors twice. He was all- district, all-state and honorable mention All-American his senior year. He intercepted seven passes in 1965 and in 1966, setting the second best re- cord in school history for single season interceptions. He returned two inter- ceptions for touchdowns against West- ern Carolina University in 1966, a single game and single season record that still stands. “High school football instilled a love of the game in me, and I never really thought about doing anything else,” Byrd said. “We had a lot of good football players at Terry Sanford, and I was just fortunate to be a part of that.” After graduating from Appalachian, Byrd coached a year at Burns High

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