Art Chansky’s Sports Notebook is presented by The Casual Pint. YOUR place for delicious pub food paired with local beer. Choose among 35 rotating taps and 200+ beers in the cooler.
Carolina has now lost two of its athletic pioneers in October.
Last week, I wrote about the late Randy Wiel, the first foreign player in Dean Smith’s program that started a trend when he arrived from Curacao and graduated in 1979.
Earlier in the month, Ricky Lanier passed away at age 76. He was the first black scholarship football player at UNC and in the ACC and was among the first in the South. He had a spectacular high school career in Williamston and starred for the 1966 E.J. Hayes High School championship team that was rated among the best in the country.
Lanier set the North Carolina record for the most touchdowns in a game, passing for eight and running for five as a junior in Hayes’ 80-0 win over Snow Hill. That is a record that still stands in the prep annals of the Tar Heel State. Lanier was also a National Merit Scholar finalist and a sought-after recruit before deciding on UNC.
Carolina coach Bill Dooley learned of Ricky and began recruiting him as a junior in the class of 1967. The road to Chapel Hill had been paved by Charlie Scott, who became UNC’s first black scholarship basketball player in 1966 and helped Dooley recruit Lanier, entertaining him during his official campus visit in Scott’s freshman year.
Freshmen weren’t eligible for the varsity in those days, so Lanier starred for the frosh team. When he moved up to Dooley’s varsity in 1968, he played behind senior quarterback Gayle Bomar and split time with Paul Miller and John Swofford for the 1969 and ’70 seasons, which had All-American running back Don McCauley, a first round pick by the Baltimore Colts in the 1971 NFL draft.
In 1969, Lanier set the UNC record with 174 yards rushing in a game by a quarterback. He thrilled Tar Heel fans when he pulled the ball down and began to scramble and was given the affectionate nickname “Wrong Way Ricky.” He was on Dooley’s first bowl team in 1970, when the Tar Heels finished second in the ACC and were invited to the Peach Bowl in Atlanta, where they lost to Arizona State.
Lanier’s achievements on the field and in the classroom led to later entrance into the UNC Trail Blazers Club with Scott and other athletes and students who were pioneers in their respective fields. Lanier also became friendly with several local families who supported him in the brave new world he had stepped into.
Other teammates in 1968, ’69 and ‘70 were All-ACC offensive tackle Paul Hoolahan and sophomore linebacker John Bunting, who went on to star for the Eagles in the NFL and later served as Carolina’s head coach from 2001-2006.
In September of 2022, the (then) Riverside High School Athletic Department in Williamston cited Lanier for “Breaking barriers and setting an example for our future student athletes.”
His memorial service on October 12 was attended by many of his friends and former teammates.
chapelboroaudio.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/2025/10%20-%20October/21/Art%27s%20Notebook%20102125%20-%20FINAL.mp3
Featured image via UNC-Chapel Hill/Jon Gardiner
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
Chansky’s Notebook: The Pioneer Chapelboro.com.
Hence then, the article about chansky s notebook the pioneer was published today ( ) and is available on chapelboro ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Chansky’s Notebook: The Pioneer )
Also on site :
- 2010s Rock Band Announces Tour for 10th Anniversary of Debut Album
- Nuclear neighbors and a two‑front threat: Why India needs a rocket force
- Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,431