May 8, 2003

Former North Carolina standouts Danny Talbott and Sue Walsh are two of six outstanding North Carolina athletes that will be inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame at the 40th annual induction ceremonies in Raleigh on May 21. The inductees will be introduced at an afternoon news conference at the N.C. Museum of History. Formal induction will come during an evening banquet at the North Raleigh Hilton.

The 2003 inductees are: Betty Springs Geiger of Raleigh, Mike Gminski of Charlotte, Earl Smith of Fayetteville, Danny Talbott of Rocky Mount, Sue Walsh of Chapel Hill and Buck Williams of Potomac, Md.

The N.C. Sports Hall of Fame, with 206 members, was established in 1963 and is housed in the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh. The 4,000-square foot exhibit includes sports memorabilia ranging from a Richard Petty race car to the Homestead Grays' uniform worn by the late Walter "Buck" Leonard, who played baseball in the Negro National League, to the NBA Championship Ring of Boston Celtics star Cedric "Cornbread" Maxwell.

The Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. and on Sunday from noon until 5:00 p.m. Admission to the Museum is free.

Biographical data on the UNC inductees is as follows:

DANNY TALBOTT
A three-sport star at Rocky Mount High School, Talbott led his teams to state championships in football, basketball, and baseball in the 1962- 63 academic year. At the University of North Carolina he was the 1965 ACC football Player of the Year and in 1966 was the league's baseball Player of the Year. The versatile Rocky Mount resident was the ACC Athlete of the Year in 1966, also. He played one year of professional baseball and spent three seasons in the National Football League.

SUE WALSH
In the 1980s Walsh was almost unbeatable in the water at the University of North Carolina. Her 36-2 dual meet record earned ACC Swimmer of the Year honors three times, and never lost in backstroke events. She was a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team and won the gold medal in the 100-meter backstroke in the 1983 Pan Am Games. She resides in Chapel Hill.