Livingstone Athletics Hall of Fame
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Thomas “Rudy” Abrams graduated from Livingstone in 1964 with a B.S. Degree in Business Education. He was a four-year letterman on the football team and a member of the 1960 EIAC football championship team. He then began his career with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in Charlotte, NC. He coached championship teams at West Charlotte and East Mecklenburg High Schools in Charlotte. At West Charlotte he took over a program that had never won a conference game and in the fourth year, played for the North Carolina 4-A StateChampionship. During his high school coaching career he was voted Best Coach in the Charlotte Observer Coaches Poll and was named Head Coach of the winning West team in the 1989 East-West All-Star Game in Greensboro, NC (the first black head coach). After retiring from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Rudy returned to Livingstone in 1994 as head football coach. During his 5-year tenure, Livingstone never had a losing season. His 1997 team was undefeated in the regular season (The first undefeated reg-ular season at Livingstone since 1920 when it was 1-0). His teams won two CIAAChampionships (1997 and 1998), the only CIAA Championships in its history. LC was selected to play in the first and second Pioneer Bowl in Atlanta, GA. Abrams served four years as Head Coach at North Carolina Central University before he retired from coaching in 2003. Coach Abrams was named CIAA Football Coach of the Year three times in his five years at Livingstone. He was awarded CIAA Coach of the Year by the Pigskin Club, Washington, DC in 1995, 1996, and 1998, by the 100% Wrong Club, Atlanta, GA in 1996 and 1997.
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