Yuku free message boards

From: The Fayetteville Observer,
Published on Saturday, April 21, 2007

At 80, Galbreath reflects on steller athletic career

By Michael N. Graff
Staff writer

His big and brawny hand now shaking with age, Carl Galbreath points to every certificate and plaque hanging on the walls of his wood-paneled den.

MULTIMEDIA

A look back at Carl Galbreath's life
PowerPoint presentation | PDF format

Slide show: Carl Galbreath's 80th birthday

Wearing a maroon North Carolina sweatshirt, he explains them all, from the diploma he earned from E.E. Smith High School in 1945 to his Society of Golden Eagles certificate commemorating the 50-year anniversary of his graduation from N.C. Central in 1999.

On the shelves, he keeps the trophies and the yearbooks and whatever else he cant hang.

Hes saved almost every press clipping in a scrapbook that would cause most people his age to wonder what theyve done with their lives.

Galbreath loves losing himself in memories, and he enjoyed one of the most amazing trips back last weekend at his 80th birthday celebration. About 100 friends and family members traveled from the reaches of the East Coast to celebrate the life of one of Fayettevilles athletic treasures, a two-sport star who was one of the citys first recorded great black athletes.

At the Holiday Inn Bordeaux on Saturday, Galbreath watched a slideshow tribute to his life. It covered his childhood growing up on the old Fayetteville State campus through his retirement from Seventy-First High School, where he was the assistant principal.

He then delivered a speech. Hed worked on it all week.

And I still left out a lot of things, he said on Monday from his home. I know I left out a lot of thank yous, but I hope those people will understand.

An open book

Galbreath, who worked for nearly 40 years in education after a short but stellar athletic career, overflows with stories.

After graduating from E.E. Smith as an all-state football player, he played football and basketball at North Carolina College, now N.C. Central.

He played in the first Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association mens basketball tournament, which has ballooned into a multimillion dollar yearly event. Playing alongside his brother, Frank, Carl helped the Eagles win that initial tournament in 1946.

He then gave up basketball to concentrate on football.

I only played basketball one year, he said. But it was a good one.

He was an All-CIAA running back all four years and was a Little All-American twice.

After graduating from college, he played one season in the Ontario Rugby Football League. He says he believes he was Fayettevilles first professional football player.

He nickname was the Hipper-Dipper.

I was more shift and glide, he says.

He also may be N.C. Centrals proudest alumnus. Nearly 60 years after his graduation, Galbreath still has the N.C. Central Eagles logo on his license plates, and each room in his home has a bit of Eagles history.

He remembers getting a pink slip in his mailbox in college warning him that if his marks kept slipping he could be kicked off the football team.

My grades improved tremendously after that, he laughs.

He knows his options as an athlete were limited because he was in his prime in the 1940s and 50s, when black athletes were first beginning to gain acceptance on a national sports scene.

But in recalling his life, he rarely mentions race.

I dont care whether your skin is white, black or green or whatever, I dont ever treat you (differently), he said. I see people. I didnt put anybody down.

More than an athlete

Galbreaths motto is Let your actions speak for you.

While his stories start and end with athletics, hes much more.

He served in the Korean War. He worked with the U.S. Postal Service in Philadelphia, parks and recreation in Chapel Hill, and with space studies at Duke University.

But mostly, he was an educator, having taught in Washington, N.C., Charlotte and Fayetteville.

He coached a state championship baseball team at Anne Chestnutt when it was a high school.

The final 18 years of his career, he worked as the assistant principal at Seventy-First.

Growing older

Galbreaths health limits him now. He spent two years in dependent care following a pair of heart attacks and several minor strokes.

But hes improved his speech and motor skills since leaving hospice care in 2003.

He reads a scripture of the Bible every night something that not only helps him spiritually, but also gives him a mental exercise.

Naturally, he credits his athletic background for his ability to survive the health issues.

I wear a hearing aid now. My teeth are falling out. Ive got problems with my eyes, he says. But Im a fighter. Thats the way I want to go out fighting.

Galbreath was in fine condition to be the man of honor at his birthday, though. He and his wife of 34 years, Deggie, stayed in the hotel all weekend. They had picnics and dinners with the out-of-town guests.

It all led up to the memory-laced slideshow, which was narrated by his 34-year-old son, Kharlon.

I didnt know I was that popular, Galbreath says, his humbled voice softening.

Staff writer Michael N. Graff can be reached at graffm@fayobserver.com or 486-3591.