Bio

Melvin Carpenter

Perkinston Agricultural High School &  Junior College (1956-1960) / Coach (Basketball, Baseball)
Albemarle, North Carolina

Melvin “Mel” Carpenter, a native of Albemarle, N.C., was a 24-year-old graduate student when Perkinston Junior College assistant coach Joe Blaylock resigned his post in early March 1956. Carpenter accepted the offer to fill Blaylock’s unexpired contract and made a temporary job permanent.

In five seasons of baseball, Carpenter’s teams won four South Division championships in a row (1957-1960), one Mississippi Association of Junior Colleges championship (1957) and one co-state championship (1960). While none of his four basketball teams won a state trophy, three of his teams (1957, 1958, 1960) ranked No. 1 in the state in scoring.

In June 1960, Carpenter moved to Ocala, Fla., where he spent the balance of his 36-1/2 year career in education as Director of Athletics and chairman of the Physical Education Department at Central Florida Junior College. His record as tennis coach there included seven state championships and two National Junior College Athletic Association championships (1963 and 1981). In 1992, Carpenter became the first inductee of the inaugural class of five coaches enshrined in the NJCAA Men’s Tennis Hall of Fame.