Erskine to Induct Four Into Athletic Hall of Fame.
By: Jason Peevy, Brad Anderson, Ashley Cain & Kyle Setzer.Erskine College will induct four new members into its athletic Flying Fleet Hall of Fame during a banquet as part of Homecoming 1999 ceremonies Oct. 23, including two former baseball standouts, a soccer star, and one of basketball's “Atomic Twins.”
Terry Tyler, Class of 1964, and Paul Nickell, Class of 1956, will be the baseball inductees. Other inductees include Anton Corneal, Class of 1985, in soccer, and Darrell Storm, Class of 1956, in basketball.
Darrell Storm came to Erskine from Corbin, Ky., in 1952, along with C.D. Vermillion, as freshman guards, joining senior Bob “Country” Cathers, also of Corbin. Coach Gene Alexander utilized all the Corbin players in a three-guard offense that averaged more than 85 points per game, and the 17-year-old Storm was one of the most agile ball handlers and push shot artists on the squad. As a freshman, Storm scored 262 points, averaging 10.5 per game.
As a sophomore on Erskine's 22-3 team that made the finals of the NAIA playoffs, Storm averaged more than 16 points per game. He and Vermillion were known as the “Atomic Twins,” as Erskine's offensive attack raged for an average 90 points per game, third in the nation.
During his junior year, he captained Erskine to a 14-10 record. Storm led Erskine with 19.3 points per game. He was equally impressive his senior year, being named second team All-State.
In his four years as a starter, Storm helped Erskine compile a 66-37 record, twice making the NAIA playoffs.
In the era of wooden bats, Paul Nickell hit .477 in 1955, setting a modern single-season record that would stand for 14 years. It is still today the fourth-highest average ever compiled by an Erskine batter and is the second highest with a wooden bat.
That record highlighted a brilliant four-year career for the Edwardsville, Ill., native. He joined Erskine in 1953 as a freshman outfielder/pitcher, hitting .274 with three homers and claiming three pitching victories. By the end of his sophomore year, he was touted as a major league prospect as a power-hitting outfielder. His senior year, during a 13-8 campaign, Nickell was the number one pitcher and hitter for the Fleet, leading the team in home runs, batting average, and strikeouts.
He signed with the Detroit Tigers and spent the first half of the summer of 1956 in Terre Haute, Ind. The Tigers then moved him to Idaho Falls, Idaho, where he concluded the summer, hitting nearly .400 in “B” baseball. A successful start to the summer of 1957 earned him a promotion to the Durham Bulls of the South Atlantic League. He continued to play in the South Atlantic League until 1960.
Terry Tyler, a powerful freshman from Savannah, Ga., switched from pitcher to first base for his sophomore season, and in 1962 hit .483 for his first 14 games and ended the season with a team-leading .396 average, helping the Fleet to a 13-9 record. The next season he, along with freshman centerfielder Jimmy Fairey and freshman hurler Larry Edwards, helped lead Erskine to its best record in 27 years, 15-5. Tyler hit .381, with six doubles, two triples, and 20 RBI.
During Tyler's senior season, he had a key ninth-inning double as Erskine twice came from behind to defeat South Carolina in its opener of the 1964 season. The Fleet went on to sweep two games from the Gamecocks that season, win six of seven on its spring trip, and compile a 24-8 record while capturing the NAIA District 26 championship. Tyler's average dipped to .307, but he led the team with 10 doubles and 32 RBI.
In the three years as a field player, Tyler averaged more than an RBI per game; and Erskine compiled a combined record of 52-22 against competition that included top small college competition plus such Division I powers as South Carolina and The Citadel.
Anton Corneal, from Maracas Valley, Trinidad, was the youngest member of the Trinidad National Team, coached by his father, and he had already honed his skills in World Cup preliminary competition before entering college.
Though opponents would double- and triple-team Corneal, he became the catalyst of the Erskine attack, a role he would hold for four years. As a freshman his ball control also helped an Erskine defense that scored a team record 10 shutouts that season. The Fleet tied South Carolina, 0-0, lost 1-0 to Duke and 2-0 to Clemson, and outscored its first six opponents, 16-1. Although the Fleet lost in the Area finals, Erskine completed the season 11-5-3, won the NAIA District 6 Championship, and held opponents to 15 goals in 19 matches.
That opened an impressive career in which Corneal set a team record for assists (47) and scored 38 goals, while leading Erskine to three district championships and into the NAIA National Tournament in 1982 with a 17-5 record, Erskine's finest ever up to that time. The Flying Fleet defeated South Carolina in overtime in 1983 and captured the first two Erskine Invitational Tournaments in 1982 and 1983 against nationally-ranked NAIA competition. Erskine's record during Corneal's four years was 42-22-5, with 15 of the 22 losses coming against NCAA competition. Corneal was all-district four times and three times won All-South and NAIA All-American honors.
His success helped attract world-class Trinidad soccer players to Erskine, including his future teammates Graeme Rodriquez and Veron Skinner, both also All-Americans. Later, Trinidad players such as Brian Haynes, Garth Pollonais, Peter Lewis, and Crispin St. Louis would help maintain Erskine's winning soccer tradition. The tradition of fine Trinidadian players at Erskine continues until the present time.
Corneal's demeanor, as an athlete and as a student, made him popular on the field and on the campus. His magician-like skills made him a crowd-pleaser without showboating. Pleasant and smiling, he exuded happiness in his game and held his temper despite drawing numerous fouls.
Anton Corneal '85
