Monday evening the Macon Touchdown Club honored my 1975 state champion Central Chargers team. It was my first time attending. A well run event. Must’ve been over 200 in attendance, held in the nice gymnasium of the Methodist Home on Pierce Avenue. The gym was full of tables, each sitting eight men.
Johnny Crawford, our punter on the 75 team, helps out at the event (above). We had a nice chat when I walked in. Crawford was a long time SEC line judge, now retired. He used to cross paths with my father. We had eight of the 22 living team members gathered there: QB Mike Jolly, RB Jerry Anderson, center David Cape, TE Jesse Anthony, center Ken Herndon, receiver Tim Kurtz, and me, the kicker.
Club president Jon Beck greeted us and later introduced us one by one: Crawford, Anderson, Cape, Jesse, Herndon, me, and Kurtz - saving state player of the year Jolly for last. Beck had done his homework, listing Central’s record for each year from 1970-1975, how Central had played for the state championship just a few years before. Beck presented us with a plaque, and we posed for pictures with Central’s current coach and two current players.
Central’s current coach gave a short speech thanking the club for their support, and three Chargers were honored. Before the meeting I had driven by the practice field. The team was out there practicing, and looked good in their orange helmets. I complimented the coach on making the switch back to orange. A few years ago the team was wearing blue. Coach said he makes an effort to outfit the team in as much orange as possible. He brought the 1975 team photo that hangs on the wall of his office, which he uses for motivation.
Beck had opening he meeting with prayer, and we all stood to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. The young Windsor Academy coach also spoke, and three of his players were recognized – including their kicker, who’d recently booted a game winning field goal. Johnny Crawford discussed some of the interesting official’s calls from the weekend. Beck offered another prayer for a local player in the hospital.
The main speaker was Josh Pate, who’s talked college football for ESPN and Yahoo Sports. After starting out in construction, Josh worked at a local TV station in Columbus, covering high school games and events like this. When the weatherman showed him a new invention called Facebook Live, Josh started to get an idea of what his future could hold. Now some ten years later he is doing exactly what he always wanted: covering college football and talking with football coaches.
Pate spoke articulately about the current state of the sport, and its ever changing landscape. He spoke of the firings at Penn State and Florida, and noted the same could soon happen at FSU and Auburn. He spoke about how college football is different in the South, how a system that worked on the West Coast and Notre Dame doesn’t work as well at LSU. Pate expects huge buyout clauses to be replaced by larger up front money for coaches.
Later Josh took questions from the audience. Someone asked the question on my mind: his opinion of Dabo. Pate was diplomatic, saying how two national championships has earned Dabo the security to run the program how he wished. The Clemson way had elevated the Tigers to elite status, and Dabo thought they could remain elite despite changes like NIL and the transfer portal.
The eight page club newsletter was loaded with information: rankings, schedules, projections, history, etc. Past and future speakers include Kirby Smart, Will Muschamp, author Mark Schlabach, GT OC Brian Bohannon, Dari Nowkhah, and several head coaches from around the South. A tasty meal was served: pork chops, tossed salad, green beans, steamed carrots, rice pilaf, rolls and muffins, and roast beef carved by a server.
It was great to gather back with my old teammates. I’d eaten lunch with Cape just a few weeks ago, and had visited with Jesse and Jerry a few months ago at the funeral for Roger’s mother. Tim and I are longtime friends, but it was the first time I’d seen Jolly and Herndon since our team reunion ten years ago. Jolly still has his wide, engaging smile.
Jerry stared at the team picture, lost in nostalgia. But when a speaker said the score of the state championship game had been 21-7, Jerry correctly noted “It was 21-14”. Jerry and Cape recounted the school pep rally out on old Swann Field (now renamed for former Central ROTC commander Sonny Carter). It was a cold day, the Sugar Bear Band playing from the concrete bleachers. Two huge blocks of ice were brought out for a contest to see which player was the coolest: Cape or Jerry. Whoever could remain seated on the block was the coolest. Retelling the story, Cape shared his secret to winning: he’d stuck a spiral school notebook in his pants.
Ken’s father had run the Riverside Movie Cinemas in north Macon. Coach Brodie had called Mr. Herndon, wishing to take the team out to see a movie the night before the championship game. Brodie wanted a movie with “no fast cars, no violence, no sex…” We went to see Robert Redford in Three Days of the Condor, not exactly a memorable movie. Ken went on to marry a Central cheerleader, the niece of Central coach Tommy Seward.
After the meeting several of us Chargers were among the last to leave. Still, I was on the road by 8:45. Traffic was light, and I made it home to Roswell by 10:20. A fun evening.
Channel 13 had a video report last night on the Touchdown Club meeting. Of the seven other teammates at the meeting, at least six are retired.
No comments:
Post a Comment