Class of 2007
Coach Delmer Wiles
There is one man, one coach, who time and again is thanked profusely and hailed as an inspiration in speech after speech at the annual Mount Holly Sports Hall of Fame banquet: Coach Delmer Ray Wiles.
His drive was unstoppable and his conditioning regimen legendary.
A graduate of Cannon High School and Wofford College, the late Delmer Ray Wiles moved to Mount Holly to coach the Mount Holly High athletic teams in 1960.
Over a 12-year period, his high school football teams earned an 86-30-5 record including two state titles in 1963 and 1967 and seven conference titles. His baseball teams earned a 124-59 record and seven conference titles. His Mount Holly Hawk teams prided themselves on discipline, superior conditioning, and strategy.
As a coach, Wiles was known for his conditioning regimen and his team building skills. When he was coaching, his teams were winning against teams that outweighed them and sometimes out-skilled them. The other teams would weigh in at an average of 200 while the Mount Holly players at averaged 160. But their coach had built into them a cohesive unit and expected them to win. Period.
Robert Black
Robert Black, initiated into the Mount Holly Sports Hall of Fame in 2007, came to Mount Holly in 1950 after graduating from the Shenandoah Conservatory of Music in Virginia.
A local legend, he was the acclaimed band director for Mount Holly schools for 35 years. He married Betty Moore of Cairo, West Virginia in 1948 and they had three sons.
Robert was a choir director of the First United Methodist Church for 32 years and played the trombone professionally for many events in the Charlotte area.
He played for hundreds of stars, including Judy Garland and Elvis Presley. He always played in the Summer Theatre performances at Ovens Auditorium, and for Ice Capades and the Barnum & Bailey Circus events.
Mr. Black's spring concerts were always played before a packed auditorium and spanned the spectrum of music, including classical music, theme songs from "West Side Story" and "Shaft", and various pop/rock music by the likes of Chicago. Mr. Black's goal was simple: perform to perfect, but always making it fun for the band members and the audience.
His high school bands were renowned in the region for their music and marching abilities, and they made Mount Holly High school football game half times something special. "Football Friday Night" was never more exciting than at Costner Field, and the bands served as an inspiration to the well-coached, highly successful football teams of his childhood classmate, fellow teacher, and best friend, the late Coach Delmer Wiles.
The fondest memory of Robert Back for many will always be the last few moments of the 2008 Mount Holly Sports Hall of Fame when the gathering of 280 attendees rose to their feet to be led in a thunderous version of the Mount Holly High School anthem by Mr. Black, who wielded his baton with a wicked grin. He strictly instructed the crowd that "We are going to sing this song and we are going to sing it twice!" And they did...and they sang it loud...and of course, they sang it TWICE.
Always encouraging (sometimes VERY loudly) his students to "give me 100 percent!" his desire for excellence was based on supporting the Mount Holly Hawks, the East Gaston Warriors, and the Mount Holly community.
Robert Black was never an athlete or coach similar to those found in other sports Halls of Fame. His induction into the Mount Holly Sports Hall of Fame in 2007 was due to his role as a "coach" and motivator of young people both in the classroom and on the field.
The band members were always honored to represent the Mount Holly community and accepted the personal challenge by Mr. Black. The students' goal was to make their band director proud. To this day, every band member will speak of their pride in playing for one of the kindest, loving - but most demanding - teachers they ever had.
The state contest performances in Greensboro and Marion almost always were rewarded the highest level possible, a "superior" ranking.
Mr. Black was truly the "Leader of the Band" and is missed by his students, family, and community
