July 2, 2025
For Immediate Release: Contact Joe Browning, jpb3213@gmail.com, (910) 352-0628

GWSHOF INDUCTING FIVE IN UPCOMING CLASS OF ’26

WILMINGTON, North Carolina – The Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame will celebrate its 20th anniversary by inducting five individuals during the organization’s induction weekend on May 15-17, 2026.

The honorees feature standouts from the sports of surfing, baseball and women’s basketball, as well as youth coaching and administration. Bill Curry (surfing), Fred Lynch (basketball/high school athletic director), Ron Musselman (baseball), Ed Wilson (youth coaching) and Tamera Young (women’s basketball) will join the pantheon of Wilmington sports greats. Wilson will be inducted posthumously.

“We’re thrilled to honor these five individuals for their contributions to the Wilmington sports community,” said Louise McColl, chairperson of the GWSHOF. “It’s always difficult to select the finalists from so many nominees, but this class is certainly deserving. We hope everyone in the community will come out and support our honorees during this special weekend for them and their families.”

The GWSHOF was founded in 2005 under the direction of Hall of Fame Coach/Administrator Bill Dooley and 18 inductions have been held. A total of 79 individuals from various sports or fields have been recognized through the years.

Plans for the 2026 induction weekend have been finalized. An introductory luncheon will be conducted on Friday, May 15, 2026, at the Wilmington Convention Center followed by the Joe Miller Memorial Golf Tournament on Saturday, May 16, 2026, at the Wilmington Municipal Course. The weekend hits a crescendo with the banquet and formal induction ceremony on Sunday, May 17, 2026, at the convention center.

Bill Curry

A graduate of John T. Hoggard High School and resident of Wrightsville Beach, N.C., Curry rode a wave of success – literally – during a highly-decorated career in surfing. He was inducted into the East Coast Surfing Legends Hall of Fame in 2004.

Curry’s breakout year came in 1979 when he won the East Coast Longboard Championship and he became the first surfer from North Carolina to rise to Men’s Division Eastern Surfing Champion in 1980.

Curry then placed fifth overall at the U.S. Amateur Surfing Championships in 1981 and captured the first of many Iron Surfer Awards. In 1982, he was named the outstanding surfer at the East Coast and U.S. Surfing Championships.

He competed for Team USA in 1988, finishing third in the Open Longboard competition in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, before earning a spot on the United States Surfing Federation’s 1993 team, where he captured first place in the Longboard Division and Senior Longboard Division.

Fred Lynch

Lynch’s name has become synonymous with E.A. Laney High School athletics since his arrival nearly five decades ago.

A native of Rutherford, N.C., Lynch has amassed 50 years of service with New Hanover County Schools, including 46 years at Laney. He spent 36 years as the boy’s basketball coach and has served as athletic director for the last 30 years. While he has also coached baseball, tennis and girl’s basketball for the Bucs, Lynch’s bread and butter has always been basketball.

Lynch was Laney’s basketball chief for (xx) years and closed out his career with a 426-242 record, winning six conference championships, seven conference tournament crowns, the Eastern Regional title and State Runner-up in 1999.

Lynch racked up a myriad of honors on the bench. He was named Mideastern Conference Coach-of-the-Year seven times, served as head coach of the East-West All-Star game in 2006 and coached in the NC/SC Carolina Classic in 2011.

Lynch became Laney’s athletic director in 1993. He has served on the North Carolina Athletic Directors Association (NCADA) Board of Directors and was recipient of the group’s Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2021, he was inducted into the North Carolina Athletic Directors Hall of Fame.

A 1975 graduate of Winston-Salem State, Lynch was also inducted into the Laney Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012.

Ron Musselman

Baseball has always been Musselman’s first love and it carried him all the way to the sport’s highest stage during a remarkable pitching career.

A Wilmington native, Musselman enjoyed success at every step of his baseball career. It started on the junior level with the Winter Park Optimist All-Star Team, playing on the first team to win the state tournament.

Musselman was an All-Conference hurler for John T. Hoggard High School’s state championship team in 1972 before entering the collegiate ranks with the Louisburg College squad for two teams in 1974-75. In Louisburg, Musselman went a combined 20-5 over two seasons, earning All-Conference honors both years and leading the Hurricanes to the Junior College World Series in 1975.

It was then on to Atlantic Coast Conference power Clemson for Musselman, who continued to shine. He was a two-time All-Conference performer for the Tigers and helped the club advance to the College World Series in his two years with the program. Musselman fashioned an identical 20-5 record on the NCAA Division I level and still holds Clemson’s single season shutout season with four shutouts.

Musselman was drafted three times before starting his big league career with the Seattle Mariners. He pitched one season with Seattle in 1982 and appeared in two seasons for the Toronto Blue Jays in 1984-85. Musselman’s career numbers include 48 games in the majors, with a 4-2 record and 3.73 earned run average.

Ed Wilson

Few people have had the impact on youth sports in Wilmington as Wilson, who coached and mentored young boys on the city’s baseball diamonds from 1956 to the mid 1980s.

Wilson was one of the original Winter Park Optimist Little League coaches when the league was formed in 1956. He coached the Hanover Center team to an impressive 15 league championships, 10 county titles and two state crowns. In one span, he coached the team to a then-world record 50 consecutive victories, a record that stood for more than 60 years.

Wilson died on Jan. 6, 2016, and left of legacy of longevity and success as a youth baseball coach.

Tamera Young

Tamera Young parlayed a successful prep career into a record-setting college resume before landing as a first-round draft pick in the WNBA.

Young grew up in the Port City and was an exceptional player at E.A. Laney High School. She was a three-time All-Conference pick from 2002-04 and was Mideastern Conference Player-of-the-Year in 2003 and 2004. A McDonald’s All-American nominee, Young scored 1,518 points and snared 791 rebounds with the Bucs, who retired her No. 11 jersey.

Young took her talents to the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia and made a major impact on the program at James Madison University. She led the Coastal Athletic Association in scoring and rebounding and earned First-Team and Player-of-the-Year honors in the league in 2008. Young averaged 20.4 points and 10.4 rebounds during her senior season, breaking or tying five school records. Overall, she made 127 career appearances for the Dukes, scoring 2,121 points with 112 double-figure scoring outings. She finished her JMU career first in scoring average, steals, games started, double digit scoring games and consecutive double-digit scoring contests.

Young was the eighth overall pick by the Atlanta Dream in the 2008 WNBA draft. She played one season in Georgia before sparking the Chicago Sky to three Eastern Conference semifinals and the WNBA Finals in 2014. Young wrapped up her WNBA stint with the Las Vegas Aces in 2018 and 2019. In 2024, she served as an assistant coach for the Chicago Sky.

Young’s playing career wasn’t over, however. Her professional career featured stops in Israel, China, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Turkey, France and Latvia.