N.C. high school great, Tar Heel standout Streater passes
June 21, 2009 By Charles Alston of North Carolina
ASHEBORO - According to a report by WRALSportsFan.com, former North Carolina high school sports star and UNC football standout Steve Streater has died. Streater passed away Friday at Randolph Hospital, a hospital nursing supervisor informed the website.
Streater, who grew up in the mountains in Sylva and played high school sports at Sylva-Webster High School, now known as Smoky Mountain High School, was 50 years old.
Streater starred on the 1980 North Carolina football team, the last Tar Heel squad to win an Atlantic Coast Conference Championship. He was the team's punter and star defensive back.
His hopes for a professional career came to an end in 1981 while returnng from a tryout with the Washington Redskins. He was severely injured in a car accident. He broke his neck which left him paralyzed. He was wheelchair-bound the rest of his life.
Streater was a star athlete at Sylva-Webster and still holds state records for pitching today.
He is the state's leader in pitching wins in a career (61), in a season (23, 1977), shutouts in a season (12, 1977) and innings pitched in a season (165, 1977).
His senior season (1977), he set the then-record for strikeouts (227) for a season and a career (553). He led Sylva-Webster to the NCHSAA 3-A state title in 1977. |
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