The ECU-Tulsa game, November 16, 1985, was the last home game of the season for the Pirates. It was also one of the last chances for the team to end a nightmarish succession of losing streaks that began in 1984, under head coach Ed Emory, with seven consecutive losses and an overall 2-9 record. Then in 1985, under first year head coach Art Baker, things looked better, briefly, as the Pirates racked up two initial victories, over N.C. State in Raleigh, 33-14, and Southwest Texas State, 27-16. However, the Pirates then slumped badly with seven straight losses prior to the match with the Golden Hurricanes. Although close, the humbling by Tulsa, 21-20, was ECU’s eighth in a row. Worse still, it was followed by another, this time in an away game, the last – thankfully – of the season, against the Louisiana State University’s Bayou Bengals, 35-15, bringing the 1985 losing streak to nine, for yet another disastrous 2-9 season, the second such dismal performance in two years. More depressing still, the 1986 season brought no relief to Pirate fans as ECU ended up, yet again, 2-9.
On a happier note, the Tulsa match was on Shrine Day and before 23,000 people (however, stadium capacity as of 1978, 35,000). Shriners throughout eastern North Carolina partnered with the Pirates to sell tickets, a portion from which would go to covering transportation costs for crippled and severely burned children. Game day with Tulsa was also Seniors’ Day at ECU, honoring the eighteen who would be playing their last home game, capping off their gridiron careers in Ficklen Stadium. Most impressively, tailback Tony Baker and kicker Jeff Heath were, despite successive Pirate losses, on their way to setting new school records, respectively, in rushing yards and extra points scored. Yet as things turned out, most of the seniors’ best memories were of the 1983 season when the team had gone 8-3, impressing the nation with competitive play. 1985, their last year, was one of the most embarrassing on record.
Yet defeat was hardly a foregone conclusion. At the half, the Pirates were ahead 17-6. But Tulsa came back in the second with 15 points. Still, it was the Hurricanes’ last three points, scored on a field goal with just six minutes remaining in the game, that gave Tulsa its first lead and winning margin. Tulsa quarterback Steve Gage led Tulsa’s comeback victory, passing for 157 yards and one touchdown, while rushing for 52 yards and another score. Yet even Gage fumbled twice, offering the Pirates opportunities that somehow were not seized upon. ECU had a 63-yard field goal opportunity with seconds left in the game, but Jeff Heath’s shot went wide, ending the game in yet another Pirate loss.
The long slump of 1985 included losses to Penn State, 17-10; Temple, 21-7; Miami-Florida, 27-15; Southwestern Louisiana, 16-14; South Carolina, 52-10; Southern Miss, 27-0; and Auburn, 35-10. Though close, the Tulsa game did not reverse the skid.
For Tulsa, its victory capped an impressive, season-long comeback that the Pirates must have envied. The Golden Hurricanes began the year badly, with a 1-4 start, but rallied to end admirably with a 6-5 season under first year coach, Don Morton. The team concluded their season as champions of the Missouri Valley Conference.
Commenting on the game, first year Pirate head coach Art Baker remarked, “I’m really proud of the performance and effort our players gave. I hurt for them, and I hurt for Jeff [Heath], he’s such a good kicker.” Though widely respected as a coach, Baker continued to fare poorly leading the Pirates in the years that followed, retiring under pressure toward the end of the 1988 season.
Sources
- Cooper, Scott and David McGinness. “Senoirs’ Last Home Action.” East Carolinian. Vol. 60, no. 24. November 19, 1985. P. 10.
- “East Carolina vs. Tulsa.” November 16, 1985. University Archives UA40.01.02.21.04. J. Y. Joyner Library. East Carolina University. Greenville, N.C. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/27666
- McGinness, David and Scott Cooper. “Pirates Come Up Short: Gage Rallies Tulsa.” East Carolinian. Vol. 60, no. 24. November 19, 1985. P. 10.
- “Pirates lose another; Lions blast Irish.” Rocky Mount Telegram. November 17, 1985. P. 21.