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Every offseason, we run historical ranking series focusing on North Carolina basketball and football.
The purpose each spring isn’t to make declarative statements, but to have fun offering a subjective look at the best teams and players ever at Carolina. This effort is to generate discourse, debate, and take UNC fans down memory lane.
This season, we are doing something a little different, combining football and basketball, as we offer our take on the Top 40 UNC football and basketball players of all time. The CRITERIA are quite simple: The process includes playing careers with the Tar Heels and professionally, other relevant impacts they’ve had on their sports, coaching, and championships. We also gave a lean toward all UNC accomplishments.
So, this isn’t a UNC-only list, a pro-only list, or a straight up purely best ever list. Some Tar Heels on this list didn’t have great pro careers but were so good and historic at UNC, they simply had to make the cut. Some on this list weren’t stars at UNC, but had outstanding and/or highly distinguished pro careers, that it warranted their place among these 40 athletes.
We hope you enjoy the list and feel free to disagree, as we know many will.
We continue our countdown with:
No. 38: Art Weiner (1946-49)
After serving five years in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II, Weiner entered UNC at the age of 20 and proceeded to build a career as a Tar Heel that led to him being one of five UNC football players to have their numbers retired. For Weiner, that was No. 50.
A three-time, first-team All-Southern Conference star and two-time, first-team All-America, Weiner and Charlie “Choo Choo” Justice were the stars of UNC’s golden age on the gridiron, as the Tar Heels played in three New Year’s Day bowl games at a time where there were just a handful of bowl games. They finished ranked all four seasons of Justice's time and three of Weiner's years, three times in the Top 10, and it was during that time that the program spent its only week ranked No. 1.
Weiner's 52 receptions in 1949 was an NCAA single-season record at the time. He ended his career as UNC’s all-time leader in receptions (106) and receiving touchdowns (18), marks that would stand for 36 years until 1997.
Weiner’s pro career was cut short after two seasons because of a knee injury, but his impact on some of the greatest Carolina teams of all time, and that his number is retire, warrants him a spot on this list. Also, Weiner is in the North Carolina Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame.
