Players, cheerleaders, and coaches of the 1971 championship team walk out onto the field. (Gemma Pianesi)
On Friday Sept. 19, Alexandria City High School celebrated the 25-year anniversary of the blockbuster “Remember the Titans” movie during a home football game against John R. Lewis High School. The movie, featuring actor Denzel Washington as Coach Herman Boone, told the story of a historic state championship win by the 1971 TC Williams Titans (now Alexandria City High School).
To start off the festivities, the athletic department held a tailgate before the game in the gymnasium of the King Street Campus. The event consisted of speeches by important Alexandria figures such as superintendent of Alexandria City Public Schools Melanie Kay-Wyatt and James Parker, executive director of athletics. The team and cheerleaders of the ‘71 team were announced and they sat at a long table to meet and greet Titan fans.
The 1971 Alexandria City Titans championship team formed after the merging of Francis C. Hammond, George Washington High School, and T.C. Williams– which only served 11th and 12th grades up until that point.
“What that team did, it brought three high schools together,” says championship player Derick Hopson, also known as Sugarbabe. “And by bringing those three high schools together, you had us divided before we got here. Bobby knew most of the white guys at Hammond. We knew most of the black guys at GW.”
But, the players found common ground when they were sent to a pre-season training camp at Gettysburg College.
“When we left Alexandria and went to Gettysburg college for a week, we got away from all the noise. We were just boys wanting to play football,” says former center Bob Luckett. “And when we came back, we were a football team of one. We are a true brothers in arms.”
From then on, the team’s bond started to show on the field.
“We grew as one as a team,” says Hopson. “One body, one mind, one soul, one spirit. One chain. That’s why we were able to win because we were all one. One T.C. Williams Titans.”
However, becoming a united football team with discrimination still prevalent during the time was an uphill battle.
“It was at a period of time where there was a lot of racial tension so we had to put aside the differences between our ethnicities to become one unit to survive everything that we survived,” says championship player Avery Morton.
As their success grew, the city took notice. For the Roanoke Championship game, the city council chartered a 30-minute jet ride for the team.
“The only reason I knew it was something special is because you don’t put a high school team on jets,” says championship player Derrick Alexander.
Decades later, the 1971 team remains close, and several players shared how the movie impacted them personally.
“The movie impacted my life from the standpoint of it showed what the city was prior to the movie and then it showed the world what we accomplished when the movie was made,” says player and ‘71 Titans Foundation president Wayne Sanders.
Despite the hardships they faced, the players all believe that the reforms they fought for in 1971 are successfully reflected in the school today.
“Back then when we were here, there were only two [races]: black and white,” says Hopson. “So, the diversity that you all are dealing with, that’s a beautiful thing. Something that we didn’t have. So if you all don’t embrace this diversity that you have here, then you all are in much more trouble than we were.”
In the Friday night football game following the tailgate, the current Titan team definitely made their predecessors proud. Notable plays included a 59-yard touchdown run by wide receiver Lucas Callahan and a 31-yard touchdown run by quarterback Alpha Jalloh, leading the Titans to a 71-0 win– a perfect tribute to recognize the trials, tribulations and ultimate success of the 1971 TC Williams championship team.