Carl Beavers: A rugged competitor and strong team leader
By Mike Harper
Fans of East Fannin High School (EFHS) athletics owed a huge “thank you” to Clifford and Ethel Beavers of Morganton. The couple produced eight children, including seven boys. Every one of the boys played football at EFHS. Beginning with Charles, who played for the first Wildcat team in the fall of 1956, through Steve, who played for the last team in 1975, all seven of the Beavers boys proudly donned the colors of EFHS.
Two of the brothers, Randall and Ron, were inducted into the Fannin County Sports Hall of Fame (FCSHOF) in 2019. Their older brother, Carl, will join them as a member of the induction class of 2025. Carl was the second oldest of the group, attending East Fannin from the fall of 1958 through the spring of 1962.
Carl was a member of the 1958 and 1959 Wildcat teams, the best football teams in EFHS history. Both teams won subregion titles before losing in the overall Region 4C championship games. The 1958 team posted a record of 8-2, the best record in Fannin County history prior to the consolidation of East and West Fannin High Schools into the new Fannin County High School in 1976. Both teams were coached by the legendary Babe Howell, who was inducted into the FCSHOF in 2016.
Carl was an offensive and defensive tackle who, due to his team’s lack of depth, generally was on the field for entire games. He packed around 180 pounds on his 6-feet-1-inch frame. Those who played with and against Carl remember him as a rugged competitor and strong team leader. In addition to holding down a tackle slot on offense and defense, Carl handled all of the kicking duties for his team. He was elected as a co-captain of the 1961 team.
He did not participate in basketball until his junior year but was a fast learner and started for two years. He was elected as the captain of the 1961-62 team.
In addition to his athletic prowess, Carl Beavers was very active in academic and social life at East Fannin. He was a member of the Key Club and Big E Club and was elected as the president of the senior class of 1962. His classmates elected him as the “Most Likely to Succeed” boy in his graduating class.
After graduating from East Fannin, Carl joined the United States Air Force and devoted four years to serving his Uncle Sam.
Following his basic training he was assigned to a program to learn the German and Polish languages at Syracuse University in New York. He then spent several years in West Germany during the height of the Cold War. His field was communications, and he was reticent to discuss the specific nature of his assignments during his time in the military. Perhaps Carl was listening to secret communications from the Communist side of the Berlin wall.
Following his military service, Carl worked in Atlanta for a short time before enrolling at the University of Georgia in Athens. He graduated with a degree in management in 1971. He then taught school at East Fannin briefly before going to work for the Department of Labor. He retired May 1, 2001, after working in Blue Ridge, Dalton, Rome and Cartersville.
Carl lived his post-retirement years on Davis Road in Morganton where he grew up. He never married; although, his brothers say that he “came close” a couple of times. Carl was an avid golfer and a charter member of a local group of men who called themselves the “Creepy Crawlers.” Ron Hartness, another member of the FCSHOF, was also a member of that group who played golf together several times a week. Ron remembers that Carl was an excellent golfer and very competitive whether playing golf or a friendly game of Hearts.
Carl died at the age of 77 in 2023.