Sports Legends of the Carolinas

Tight end Wesley Walls, who had the best years of his 15-year NFL career with the Carolina Panthers, is this week’s guest on “Sports Legends of the Carolinas.” There are only five members of the Carolina Panthers Hall of Honor who actually played for the team — Walls is one of them, having been inducted in 2019. In Part 2 of our conversation, Walls reflects on concussions and the wear and tear of his football career; his one regret from his playing days; and the gifts of humility and gratitude. 

A listener note: Walls mentions one-time teammate and fellow Mississippi native Brett Favre multiple times in our conversation. I spoke with Walls before news broke of Favre’s alleged involvement in a welfare fraud scandal in Mississippi.

Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. McClatchy's director of audio is Davin Coburn. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends .

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Tight end Wesley Walls, who had the best years of his 15-year NFL career with the Carolina Panthers, is this week’s guest on “Sports Legends of the Carolinas.” There are only five members of the Carolina Panthers Hall of Honor who actually played for the team — Walls is one of them, having been inducted in 2019. He is also a longtime Charlotte resident, a grandfather, and one of the best storytellers I’ve ever interviewed.

Walls was a star for the Panthers from 1996 to 2002, making five Pro Bowls in a 7-year span. In Part 1 of our conversation, he remembers the best team he ever played on; bar brawls with Ric Flair and Kevin Greene; and Walls' mother giving up her dreams so that he could chase his.

In Part 2 of our conversation, Walls reflects on concussions and the wear and tear of his football career; his one regret from his playing days; and the gifts of humility and gratitude. For that, subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts.

A listener note: Walls mentions one-time teammate and fellow Mississippi native Brett Favre multiple times in our conversation. I spoke with Walls before news broke of Favre’s alleged involvement in a welfare fraud scandal in Mississippi.

Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. McClatchy's director of audio is Davin Coburn. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends .

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Charlie Scott, this week’s star of the “Sports Legends of the Carolinas” series, was the first Black basketball player on scholarship at the University of North Carolina. In many ways, he was the Tar Heels’ version of baseball player Jackie Robinson, dealing with the racism inherent in that time period while gracefully excelling in his sport. In Part 2 of our conversation, Scott looks back at the historic Black power salute by American sprinters at the 1968 Olympic Games; why he thinks the ‘80s were the true golden age of the NBA; and the most important lesson legendary UNC coach Dean Smith ever taught him. 

Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. McClatchy's director of audio is Davin Coburn. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends .

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Charlie Scott, this week’s star of the “Sports Legends of the Carolinas” series, was the first Black basketball player on scholarship at the University of North Carolina. In many ways, he was the Tar Heels’ version of baseball player Jackie Robinson, dealing with the racism inherent in that time period while gracefully excelling in his sport. The way Scott handled himself during those turbulent times so impressed then-UNC student Roy Williams that, when he and his wife later had their only son, they named him "Scott."

An All-American at UNC in 1969 and 1970, Charlie Scott won a gold medal in the 1968 Olympics, an NBA championship with the Boston Celtics in 1976, and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018. In Part 1 of our conversation, he discusses his path from New York to Chapel Hill; dealing with abusive fans at away games; and how success on the court translated to acceptance off of it.

In Part 2 of our conversation, Scott looks back at the historic Black power salute by American sprinters at the '68 Olympic Games, why he thinks the ‘80s were the true golden age of the NBA, and the most important lesson legendary UNC coach Dean Smith ever taught him. For that, subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts.

Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. McClatchy's director of audio is Davin Coburn. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends .

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, The Observer’s “Sports Legends of the Carolinas” project welcomes Charlotte-native and World Golf Hall of Famer Davis Love III.

Love, 58, has recorded 21 PGA Tour victories in his illustrious career, including a PGA Championship and two PLAYERS Championships; Sept. 22-25, he will lead the U.S. Presidents Cup Team against the International Team at Charlotte's Quail Hollow Club. Much of the talk in professional golf today, however, is focused on the creation of PGA Tour competitor LIV Golf. In Part 2 of our conversation, Love pulls no punches about the damage currently being done to the game on and off the course; whom he faults for the turmoil; and why he believes players' earning potential on the Saudi-backed LIV series is a giant red herring. 

Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. McClatchy's director of audio is Davin Coburn. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends .

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, The Observer’s “Sports Legends of the Carolinas” project welcomes Charlotte-native and World Golf Hall of Famer Davis Love III.

Love, 58, has recorded 21 PGA Tour victories in his illustrious career, including a PGA Championship and two PLAYERS Championships; Sept. 22-25, he will lead the U.S. Presidents Cup Team against the International Team at Charlotte's Quail Hollow Club. In Part 1 of our conversation, Love sits down to discuss why, at the tail end of his career, it means so much to him to captain a Presidents Cup team in his hometown; what he and vice captain Fred Couples will take away from the upcoming tournament; and how Love helped first introduce Michael Jordan to the game of golf.

Much of the talk in professional golf today, however, is focused on the creation of PGA Tour competitor LIV Golf. In Part 2 of our conversation, Love pulls no punches about the damage currently being done to the game on and off the course; whom he faults for the turmoil; and why he believes players' earning potential on the Saudi-backed LIV series is a giant red herring. For that, subscribe to the show on Apple Podcasts.

Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. McClatchy's director of audio is Davin Coburn. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends .

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, The Observer’s “Sports Legends of the Carolinas” project welcomes one of the most recognizable faces in Carolina Panthers history, former Pro Bowl quarterback Jake Delhomme.

At 47 years old, Delhomme is now a Panthers team radio broadcaster, and a successful horse breeder in his native Louisiana. He and I spoke in The Observer’s recording studio, and on Part 2 of our conversation, Delhomme looks back at his time as a locker-room prankster; choreographing a perfect two-minute drill; and the Super Bowl ring that got away. 

Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. McClatchy's director of audio is Davin Coburn. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends .

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, The Observer’s “Sports Legends of the Carolinas” project welcomes one of the most recognizable faces in Carolina Panthers history, former Pro Bowl quarterback Jake Delhomme.

At 47 years old, Delhomme is now a Panthers team radio broadcaster, and a successful horse breeder in his native Louisiana. He and I spoke in The Observer’s recording studio, and on Part 1 of our conversation, Delhomme discusses current quarterback Baker Mayfield and the Panthers’ prospects for the upcoming season; how Delhomme brought a taste of his upbringing in Cajun Country to Charlotte; and the legacy of X-Clown, the play that won the Panthers a double-overtime thriller in the 2003 playoffs.

Part 2 of our conversation is available exclusively for subscribers on Apple Podcasts.

Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. McClatchy's director of audio is Davin Coburn. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends .

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former Clemson University head football coach Danny Ford, who in 1981 became the youngest football coach ever to win a national championship, when he was just 33, is today's guest on The Observer’s new “Sports Legends of the Carolinas” project.  

Now 74, Ford is a full-time farmer, growing all sorts of vegetables, as well as hemp as part of a pilot program run by the state of South Carolina. We recorded this conversation at Ford’s kitchen table, and on Part 2 of this episode Ford recalls the difficulties with the Clemson administration that ended his time with the Tigers; the impact of new name, image and likeness endorsement deals on the future of college football; and how much luck goes into a national championship season.

Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. McClatchy's director of audio is Davin Coburn. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends .

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former Clemson University head football coach Danny Ford, who in 1981 became the youngest football coach ever to win a national championship, when he was just 33, is today's guest on The Observer’s new “Sports Legends of the Carolinas” project. 

Now 74, Ford is a full-time farmer, growing all sorts of vegetables, as well as hemp as part of a pilot program run by the state of South Carolina. We recorded this conversation at Ford’s kitchen table, and on Part 1 of this episode Ford reflects on his career on the sidelines; why he walked away from the game at the age of 50; and laying the foundation for the powerhouse Clemson has become.

Part 2 of our conversation is available exclusively for subscribers on Apple Podcasts.

Sports Legends of the Carolinas is hosted by Scott Fowler. It's produced by Jeff Siner and Kata Stevens. McClatchy's director of audio is Davin Coburn. For lots more on the show, visit https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sportslegends .

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices