Jack Wallace, the sixth of ten children, was the first member of his family to finish college. After graduating from Bath High School in Bath, North Carolina in 1945, Wallace joined the merchant Marines to earn money for college. In 1947, he enrolled at East Carolina Teachers College to study social studies and physical education.

During his first year at ECTC, Wallace was a member of the football, basketball, and baseball teams before settling on baseball after receiving a scholarship during his second year. Wallace was awarded the John Christenbury Award as the top athlete in 1951. After graduation, Wallace was drafted into the United States Army and served in Korea for sixteen months. He then returned to Bath where he taught and coached at Bath High School for fifteen years before becoming principal. He retired in 1997.

Listen to and read a transcription of his and his wife's oral history

Citation

Jack L. and June B. Wallace oral history interview, May 21, 2008. First in the Family Oral History Collection. UA45-05. University Archives, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/1259