Joe West, a quarterback for Elon's football teams in the early 1970s, is now a Major League Baseball umpire.
Former Elon University quarterback and current Major League Baseball Umpire Joe West '74 has been named one of the 15 members of the 2018 class of the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, the organization announced Tuesday, Jan. 9.
Along with West, the new class includes Donna Andrews, Scott Bankhead, Hal "Skinny" Brown, Chris Cammack, Joey Cheek, Wes Chesson, Laura DuPont, Mindy Ballou Fitzpatrick, Bill Hayes, Jack Holley, Paul Jones, Mike Martin, Frank "Jakie" May and Fred Whitfield.
West was born in Asheville and graduated from Rose High in Greenville. He is the longest-tenured umpire now working in Major League Baseball with more than 40 seasons under his belt. So far, West has worked in six World Series, nine League Championship Series and three All-Star games.
During his time in the maroon and gold, West passed for 3,373 yards, ninth-highest in in program history. In 1973, West completed 132 of 255 passes for 1,836 yards and 18 touchdowns. The previous season he tossed 15 touchdowns as he completed 123 passes for 1,584 yards. His play helped Elon capture conference titles in 1971, 1972 and 1973. The 1973 squad finished as the national runner-up at the NAIA level. West was inducted into the Elon Sports Hall of Fame in 1986.
Read a 2010 Magazine of Elon article about West's accomplishments here.
The N.C. Sports Hall of Fame was established in 1963. A permanent exhibit, North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame, is located on the third floor of the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh and features significant objects and memorabilia donated by inductees. The museum is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is free.
This newest class will be enshrined during the 55th annual induction banquet on the evening of Friday, May 4, at the Raleigh Convention Center. An afternoon news conference will be held on Thursday, May 3, at 4 p.m. at the N.C. Museum of History, located at 5 East Edenton Street.
Ticket information for the banquet is available at ncsportshalloffame.org or (919) 845-3455.