The late Tom McQuaid is perhaps best remembered for unprecedented success at Beaufort in men’s basketball in the late 1950’s, but he enjoyed an outstanding 42-year career as a coach and administrator. A five-sport high school star in Vienna, Ohio, McQuaid played football and basketball at Newberry College (SC) and graduated in 1935. He coached at Beaufort from 1936 to ’42, served in the U.S. Army during World War II, and then returned to Beaufort for another 20 years. During that 20-year stretch from 1945 to ’65, his teams posted a cumulative record of 368-75, including a 91-game winning streak, one of the nation’s longest, and three straight Class A state titles. After consolidation in Carteret County, McQuaid was the football coach at Union Pines (1965-66) and then basketball coach at Sanford Central (1966-68) before returning to coach and serve as athletic director at East Carteret, reviving its basketball fortunes and winning almost 100 games there. McQuaid died in 1988.
July 8, 2019
