I often wonder whatever happened to some of our area and state sports figures. Such as:
n Daniel Carte: Considered one of the finest high school hitters to play in the Kanawha Valley in recent years, he went on to an outstanding college career at Winthrop. Carte was drafted by the Colorado Rockies, eventually coached at WVU, and is now a scout with the Chicago Cubs.
n Walter Chamberlain: A defensive standout for the Charleston High football teams that won three straight state championships from 1968-70, Chamberlain has remained in the city working for the state.
n Jeff Davenport: A baseball standout for Joe Craffey at East Bank in 1980, he went on to play at West Virginia Tech and is in the school's athletic Hall of Fame. He is now the senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Hurricane.
n Greenbrier Spring Football League: Several months ago there was a little buzz generated when the formation of the league was announced. My reaction was "these types of football leagues never really last long." Guess what? It didn't. It seemed to be incredibly under-publicized and it came and went before anyone really knew it happened.
n Blair Goheen: A former football and baseball standout at Huntington High, he pitched at West Virginia State for Cal Bailey in the early 2000s. He went to graduate school at Xavier, has a family, and is now a financial planner in the Cincinnati area.
n Zac Horan: He played on the last football team at DuPont High and the first football and baseball teams at Riverside. He played in back-to-back state championship football games in the fall of 1998 and 1999. He is now living in Kernersville, North Carolina.
n Brett Nelson: A 1999 St. Albans graduate and a state basketball player of the year, Nelson went on to play in college for Billy Donovan at Florida. He has coached at Marshall, UCF and Arkansas and is now an assistant at Marquette.
n Grayson Proffitt: A defensive back for the three-time state champion Charleston Mountain Lions from 1968-70, he has been a school teacher and administrator in Summerville, South Carolina.
n David "Duck" Riley: He went from starring as a running back in the coalfields of McDowell County to playing as a valuable running back at WVU under Bobby Bowden and Frank Cignetti. He helped lead Northfork High to a Class AA state football championship in the fall of 1973 and a AA state basketball title in the spring of 1974. After WVU he played for the Philadelphia Stars of the USFL and became a high school coach and athletic director in New Jersey. He is in the South Jersey Sports Hall of Fame. He is now retired and living in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he is still involved in football showcase camps.
n Chris Smith: A former basketball standout at Charleston High in the 1950s, Smith went on to star at Virginia Tech. He holds most of the Hokies rebounding records and in 2010 was selected by ESPN as the greatest player in Hokies basketball history. After living out of state for many years, he is now retired and living in Charleston.
n Steve Thornton: He was the quarterback of the 1971 Nitro football team that finished 9-1, losing only to Dunbar. He earned a scholarship to Marshall, where he played in the fall of 1972. He recently moved back to the area and serves as a chaplain for Thomas Hospital.
n Danny Williams: A two-time winner of the Kennedy Award in football at DuPont, Williams went on to play quarterback at WVU for Bobby Bowden. He eventually went to medical school and is now Dr. Dan Williams in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
n Mike Williams: The younger brother of Dan Williams, Mike was a quarterback at DuPont from 1974-76. He played in the 1977 North-South game and earned a scholarship to WVU. He is now the chief administrator for CAMC General Hospital.
Contact Frank Giardina at flg16@hotmail.com.