By Mike London
mlondon@salisburypost.com
North Rowanís football program has featured many tremendous running backs.
Mark Sturgis Sr., Darryl Jackson, Bennie Geter, Nathaniel Hyde and Jimmy Heggins all rank among the countyís all-time top 30 in career rushing yardage, but Mike Steele, who played in the schoolís early days, remains the only Cavalier to run for five touchdowns in a single game.
Steele, who earned letters in four sports at North, died suddenly recently at age 65. A memorial service was held for him in Kingsport, Tenn., on April 23.
A 1963 North graduate, Steele played football and ran track for coach Burt Barger, and he cherished the three football game tapes Barger once dropped off at his parentsí house. Over the years, those old tapes allowed him to relive his high school highlights on the gridiron many times.
Steele was a 185-pound bull of a fullback ó the Post liked to call him ěThe Steele-driving man,î ó and he was quick enough to run sprints for the track team. He was versatile. He was a fine punter. He kicked PATs. He started at cornerback on defense.
Steeleís baseball career didnít last long ó just one letter. He loved baseball, but Barger was the track coach, and he sort of insisted that his football guys run track.
Steele was a starter on Northís first championship basketball team and averaged 6.7 points per game. The 1963 Cavaliers, coached by Walt Baker and featuring Gilbert Sprinkle, Chip Palmer, Mike Lester, Steele, David Chapman and Don Grubb, won 16 games in a row, went 14-0 in the NPC and finished 18-3.
ěWhat I remember about Mike is how tough he was,î Barger said. ěHe was a good all-round athlete. He was a great track man for us.î
North opened in 1958, and Bargerís first football team in Spencer promptly went 0-10. By 1961, however, the Cavaliers were 9-1, losing only to Mooresville and sharing the NPC championship with the Blue Devils.
It was the game following that Mooresville setback ó the Cavaliers were a bit angry ó in which Steele made history. His big night came on Oct. 13, 1961, against Central Davidson. Steele ran wild in Bargerís single-wing offense. He followed massive senior lineman Robert ěHossî Myers for one big gain after another.
North won 59-6 ó still the highest-scoring output in school history. Steele had four TDs by halftime on runs of 20, 45, 24 and 6 yards. He located the end zone from 25 yards out in the second half.
No one made much of a fuss at the time. No one realized it was that big a deal. There were no interviews. Steele made his standard trip to Winkís for a postgame hotdog and spent the night at a buddyís house.
The 1962 season meant more to Steele because he was a senior and North won its first outright NPC title and qualified for the WNCHSAA playoffs for the first time. North beat Davie 7-6 in the 1962 regular-season finale to clinch the championship. Steele scored the touchdown.
Steele scored three TDs often as a senior, including back-to-back weeks against East Rowan and Childrenís Home of Winston-Salem. After the season, he was voted the Postís Back of the Year.
Barger helped Steele get a scholarship to N.C. State, and he headed to Raleigh with the idea of being a teacher and coach. He roomed there with QB Jim Donnan, who would become a celebrated coach.
Steeleís career with the Wolfpack began with a bang ó a touchdown on his first carry for the freshman team in 1963 ó but a knee injury slowed him down.
He was part of the 1965 Wolfpack team that finished tied for third in the ACC with a 4-3 record but was later declared co-champion, along with Clemson.
On the field, South Carolina and Duke shared the ACC crown with 4-2 league records, but months after that season ended, the Gamecocks forfeited all ACC wins due to a pair of ineligible players. Newly hired South Carolina coach and AD Paul Dietzel reported the violation by his predecessor, and ACC Commissioner Jim Weaver made the ruling.
Two of the victories South Carolina forfeited had come against Clemson and N.C. State. Those two schools suddenly were 5-2 instead of 4-3, vaulting them ahead of Duke, which had only played six league opponents.
Duke partisans were understandably miffed. Decades went by before the 1965 Wolfpack got much credit. An official ring ceremony is now in the works.
When N.C. State coach Tom OíBrien was informed of Steeleís loss of health, he had Steeleís championship ring sent to the family. Steele died before he got to see it, but the huge keepsake will remain in the familyís possession forever.
ěI hate that we lost Mike,î the 91-year-old Barger said. ěHe came to see me often over the years, and I saw him just about a year ago, and he was doing well. We stayed pretty close.î
After his days at N.C. State, Steele got an offer from the grocery chain we now know as Food Lion and spent much of his working life opening new stores. One of those stores was in Kingsport. That became his adopted home, but he still has family in Rowan County. Steeleís daughter, Jamie Pruitt, is a teacher at China Grove Middle School.
Steele was an inspiration to many North athletes who followed him, and whenever the record book is opened up, his name is still there.
When the Post caught up with Steele by phone for a ěFriday Night Legendsî story in 2009, he was amazed ó and thrilled ó to learn he still owned a record. It has stood nearly 50 years, so maybe heíll always have it.
Northís J.R. Neely caught five scoring passes in 1997, and Mark Sturgis Jr. had four rushing TDs, plus a punt return for a score, in 2003.
But only one Cavalier ever rushed for five touchdowns in a single night.