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He had left the University of Alabama in the spring of 1979 without a diploma. Birmingham, Alabama. (Birmingham News file/Charles Nesbitt). To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. I remember it was good we didn't start when we were supposed to because they were at their peak. [1], Rutledge played collegiately at Alabama,[2][3] where he was a member of three SEC Championship teams under Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. As big as it was, though, even in these days where everything is just a Google or YouTube search away, only a few accounts and descriptions from that night are available, mainly in school yearbooks and newspaper archives. "Almost everybody who played in that (1974) game, you may not have been close friends with them, but you knew who they were," Grefseng, the Banks linebacker, says. Rutledge played collegiately at Alabama, where he was a member of three SEC Championship teams under Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. No one could be prouder, though, than the mother who wouldn't let him quit the football team back in the 10th grade, who taught him to always finish what he started. His most notable play with the Giants came in Super Bowl XXI in the third quarter. "Coach Tandy Gerelds was a fine man and a fine coach, and he had a lot to do with a lot of players on that team coming to know the Lord," Brad Hendrix, a senior defensive end on the '74 team, says. Nathan played nine years with the Dolphins and started in two Super Bowls. Rutledge would never start an NFL game again but he did see spot duty in relief of returning starter Mark Rypien in the Redskins 1991 Super Bowl Championship season, including some playing time in the Skins last game of the regular season, again against the Philadelphia Eagles. We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 22 January. They included touchdown passes of 29, 20 and 43 yards. "We have, I think, one of the best alumni associations in the NFL," Nathan says. Birmingham police guessed another 20,000 gave up and went back home when they saw the long lines. Jerry McDonald, a split end and defensive back, turned down college football offers and decided to play baseball instead after he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates. "I get to meet a ton of people -- lawyers, defendants, victims -- and they all are different," Nathan says. Woodlawn High School had a much longer history that went back to 1916, when the community of Woodlawn was annexed into Birmingham. Something else special happened that week, too. Quarterback Jeff Rutledge played 13 seasons for 3 teams. I wasn't too sure about him running the wishbone at that time, but he did a very good job and it was great to play with him.". Not once, but twice, both teams were sent back to their respective locker rooms to allow the crowd to file into the stadium. So I had never beaten them.". As a senior, he was a member of the 1974 Parade High School All-American team. Though Rutledge was available, no other team signed him. I knew when I came to training camp that it would be tough. "I told him, me being so far behind, I didn't want to flunk out. A couple of weeks before their game, Banks' White alerted the Legion Field staff to expect a monster crowd. The main building, built in 1922, was a grand, three-story structure that always looked more like a palace than a schoolhouse. And since Banks and Woodlawn were in the same region -- and both were competing in 4A, which was then the largest high school classification in the state -- only one of them would advance. They attended some of the same churches and dated some of the same girls. We were playing in front of 20,000 people regularly, so we were getting some big crowds.". Simms is the Giants' starter and Jeff Hostetler is No. I bought them last week. "So it was a great lesson for me. The Colonels had something else going for them, too. ''My first year in the league, with the Rams, it was hairy because they had so many quarterbacks in camp. An estimated 42,000 people poured into Legion Field that night -- a state high-school attendance record that still stands -- but as big as the game was, just as many people were curious to see its two superstars, Woodlawn's Nathan and Banks' Rutledge. ", RELATED: Turning back the clock at Legion Field. It was Grefseng's only touchdown catch of his Banks career. Everybody else was gone home for Christmas vacation, and I was like, 'What am I doing here?' 3 QUARTERBACK, https://www.nytimes.com/1989/08/24/sports/uneasy-lies-the-head-of-no-3-quarterback.html, Frank Litsky, Special To the New York Times. Six years later, he led the Tigers to an undefeated 15-0 season and a 4A state championship. He was a backup in Super Bowl XIV as a member of the Los Angeles Rams, he was a backup to Super Bowl MVP Phil Simms in Super Bowl XXI as a member of the New York Giants, and was a backup in Super Bowl XXVI as a member of the Washington Redskins. On one particular visit, Bryant brought his overnight bag, Tony's father remembers. That iconic Banks jet was turned over to the Southern Museum of Flight, where it has been restored to its Korean War glory days. It hardly seemed like a swan-song performance. Hoover, Alabama. The next Christmas, Santa Claus brought Tony his first official football. Bill Battle, the young coach at Tennessee, wanted Nathan to come play for him in Knoxville, and Vols star quarterback Condredge Holloway showed him around on his official visit. At 65 years old, Jeff Rutledge height not available right now. Nose tackle Bob Baumhower, who was two years ahead of Nathan at Alabama, was already there when Nathan arrived for his first camp. "It was one heck of a game. The final count was an estimated 42,000 people -- roughly 10,000 more than the previous record crowd at the Crippled Children's Classic between Phillips and Woodlawn, also at Legion Field, in 1950. Meanwhile, Woodlawn High School stands majestically in the same location on First Avenue North, just like it has since 1922, and the football team is still sending players to the NFL, including Chris Davis, the Auburn cornerback who was the last-second hero of the 2013 Iron Bowl. Jeffrey Hunter was born Henry Herman McKinnies Jr. on November 25, 1926 in New Orleans, Louisiana, an only child. He was indeed a basketball guy, but Tony Nathan would be playing football for a long time. As the teams went through their pre-game drills, Woodlawn's Stearns noticed another assistant, Mike Logan, staring up into the stands with his mouth agape. Gosh, that game was 40 years ago, which is unbelievable.". ", Tony Nathan runs behind his Miami Dolphins teammate Jeff Toews in a game against the New York Jets. But she's been through this every year. So after his freshman football season -- while his football teammates were enjoying their break -- Nathan was on the basketball court the next day, trying to break into an Alabama lineup that featured Leon Douglas, Reggie King, T.R. Following his senior season at Alabama in 1978, Banks' Jeff Rutledge went on to play 13 years in the National Football League. That spiritual awakening not only inspired the team, but it reverberated throughout the entire school, defusing some racial tension that Nathan says he felt his first couple of years at Woodlawn. So it was almost like it was the state championship game that night.". Nathan, who wore number 22, went through as many as a dozen jerseys in some games. Although he was mostly used as a back-up, he has two Super Bowl rings - one from the New York Giants and another from the Washington Redskins. "All I had ever seen of football games was everybody falling on each other and piling on each other," she says. We felt like we were probably the two best teams in Alabama, but only one of us was going to get to go to the state. Banks quarterback Jeff Rutledge, who would later lead Alabama to a national championship and play on two Super Bowl-winning teams, and Woodlawn running back Tony Nathan, who would become Rutledge's teammate at Alabama and go on to play in two Super Bowls of his own, were the marquee attractions. WE BUY HOUSES ANY PRICE ANY CONDITION CALL 205 966 4880 NOW. I was so elated that he did it, and I thank the Lord that he did.". He played college football at Alabama, where he was the team's starting quarterback for their 1978 National Championship victory, and was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the ninth round of the 1979 NFL Draft. Finished career at Alabama has the school's leading passer, surpassing Joe Namath. Only two practice sessions remain at the Fairleigh Dickinson campus here. On signing day, both Bryant and Alabama basketball coach C.M. On Monday night, the Los Angeles Rams lost their backup, Mark Herrmann, for six to eight weeks with broken ribs. Out on the field, one of the players, a linebacker who also filled in as back-up tight end, caught the only touchdown pass of his high-school career, in what was by far the biggest game of his career. Later, while at Belmont High School in Mississippi, Gerelds was diagnosed with brain cancer, and he died in 2003, coaching right up until the end. Perhaps that epic 1974 showdown at Legion Field between Birmingham high-school heavyweights Woodlawn and Banks would have been just another Friday night football game. In April 2010, Rutledge agreed to become the head football coach at Pope John Paul II High School in Hendersonville, Tennessee; where he coached for two seasons, leading the Knights to a 4-18 record. said Rutledge. Rutledge earned MVP honors at the 1978 Sugar Bowl and also earned All-SEC honors in 1978 and 1979. Playing in the wishbone -- a four-pronged attack with two tailbacks, a fullback and the quarterback all sharing carries -- Nathan never amassed huge numbers like Crimson Tide workhorses Bobby Humphrey or Shaun Alexander or Trent Richardson, but for his career, he averaged an eye-popping 6.4 yards every time he carried the ball at Alabama. It's been very interesting. "Well, Shula knew what talent was," Nathan says. The next year, they got Bert Jones. His finest moment as a professional player came when as a member of the Redskins he came off the bench in a game versus the Detroit Lions in 1990. In the spring of 2007 Rutledge got his first NFL coaching job when he was hired as quarterbacks coach with the NFL's Arizona Cardinals,[5] with direct charge over Kurt Warner. "It was time for people to actually get along -- no matter what race or color you were," he says. "We just sat up there and watched," Martin, now retired, recalls. A backup for most of his career, he was a member of the New York Giants team that won a Super Bowl in Super Bowl XXI and the Washington Redskins team that won Super Bowl XXVI. Tony Nathan holds his youngest brother, Cedric, after he announces in December 1974 that he will attend the University of Alabama. In overtime, he hit Art Monk with a vital 40-yard pass on third and 15 to help set up Chip Lohmiller's game-winning field goal. Trailing 35-14 with 10:37 left in the third quarter Rutledge replaced an ineffective Stan Humphries and led a great comeback. "They had the best running back in the state and we had the best quarterback," former Banks head coach George "Shorty" White remembers. So the magic from that night continues to live on. At the age of 32, starting his 11th season as a National Football League quarterback, Rutledge was not sure he would make the Giants. So you go all out and do what you can do just to fit in.". (Birmingham News file/Charles Nesbitt). (Birmingham News file) In the 1980s,. "You wouldn't have known him to be any different from any of the other players on the team," Hendrix, who went on to play briefly with the NFL's Dallas Cowboys and San Diego Chargers, says. He is currently the head football coach at Valley Christian High School (Chandler, Arizona) in Chandler, Arizona. ", The Banks players huddle around head coach Shorty White during the 1974 Banks-Woodlawn game at Legion Field in Birmingham. How old is Jeff Rutledge? The two schools were just 10 minutes and less than four miles apart. Jeff Rutledge, of Newport, represents the White River and his term expires in 2024. "It wasn't hard to grab a piece of it. Gerelds, recognizing Nathan's underutilized potential, thought he needed to have the ball in his hands more often and moved him to offense his junior year.Before the start of that 1973 season, something else happened that changed the Woodlawn football team's fortunes. Those were the days when running backs wore tear-away jerseys, which ripped when opposing players tried to bring down the ball carrier by grabbing ahold of his jersey. Former Buyer/Planner at Rutledge Properties LLC. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. "The touchdown was a busted play," he recalls. View the profiles of professionals named "Jeff Rutledge" on LinkedIn. Rutledge, first, and then Stan Humphries were knocked out of the game, leaving emergency quarterback Brian Mitchell (a kick returner and former college quarterback) to finish the game. Jeffrey Ronald Rutledge (born January 22, 1957) is an American football coach and former professional quarterback. Stearns recalls. . "I did accept Christ in my life at that time, they say," Nathan says. Jeff Rutledges income source is mostly from being a successful Player. American football player and coach (born 1957), Alabama Crimson Tide starting quarterbacks, Washington Commanders starting quarterbacks, 1978 Alabama Crimson Tide footballAP national champions, Alabama Crimson Tide football yearly statistical leaders, History of the New York Giants (19791993), "High School Football Database - All-American (Parade 1974)", "Jeff Rutledge Named as Football Head Coach - Valley Christian High School", "NFL vet Rutledge returning as high school coach", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jeff_Rutledge&oldid=1134094507, High school football coaches in Tennessee, Coaches of American football from Alabama, Players of American football from Birmingham, Alabama, Articles with dead external links from October 2010, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 17 January 2023, at 00:15. That game meant that Rutledge got the nod to start the following week on Monday Night against the Philadelphia Eagles in a game that was to become infamously known as the "Body Bag Game". Like Jackson, Nathan excelled at just about any sport he played. In May 2013, Rutledge was hired by Valley Christian High School in Chandler, Arizona as a full-time staff member and also to lead the football program. The other day, Rutledge called his wife and told her to wait. Banks alums included Jimmy Sidle, an All-American quarterback at Auburn; Johnny Musso, an All-American running back at Alabama; and David Cutliffe, who became the head coach at Ole Miss and later, Duke. On Nov. 8, 1974 -- 40 years ago this Saturday - the two-time defending state champion Banks Jets met their eastern Birmingham rivals the Woodlawn Colonels in front of what was then and remains today the biggest crowd to ever watch a high school football game in Alabama. Rutledge served as the quarterbacks and tight ends coach for the New York Sentinels of the United Football League in 2009. After the season ended, he accepted an assistant coaching position on Paul "Bear" Bryant's staff at Alabama, where he was part of back-to-back national championships in 1978 and 1979 -- the first of which featured Rutledge and Nathan in the starting backfield. After Thursday morning's practice, the Giants will leave for their annual welcome-home lunch at the Sheraton Centre. As depicted in the upcoming "Woodlawn" movie, droves of players, Nathan included, stepped forward to commit their lives to Christ that night. Rutledge was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. Although it was just one moment in time, all of their names -- as well as those of Greg Muse, Jerry Murphree, Bob Grefseng, Denny Ragland, Brad Hendrix, Jerry Stearns and many others -- will always be linked to that November night in Legion Field 40 years ago. I do believe. Trivia (4) Quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams (1979-1981), New York Giants (1983-1989) and Washington Redskins (1990-1992). They came out in such numbers that the start of the game had to be delayed twice so folks could work their way through the jammed Legion Field turnstiles. Description above from the Wikipedia article Jeff Rutledge, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia. After seven seasons at Vanderbilt, Rutledge became the head coach at Montgomery Bell Academy, a school for seventh to 12th grade boys in Nashville. 1972 His brother Gary Rutledge was also a quarterback at Alabama from 1972 to 1974. "It was a culmination of really four years of building up to that point," Woodlawn quarterback Denny Ragland remembers. Probably, Tony Nathan never would have gone on to play for Paul "Bear" Bryant at the University of Alabama, and without him, it's possible the Crimson Tide might not have won that 1978 AP national championship. See the article in its original context from. ''You gear up for a time when you're going to get together as a family. Gerelds' plan to move Nathan to running back was paying off handsomely, too.Sometime during that junior season -- maybe it was after he ran for 231 yards and four touchdowns in a 35-12 upset of the No. jeff.rutledge@mcmillanvantage.com. At the age of 32, starting his 11th season as a National Football League quarterback, Rutledge was not sure he would make the. (Birmingham News file/Robert Adams). Jeff Rutledge Position: QB Birthdate: January 22, 1957 College: Alabama Draft: Selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the 9th round (246th overall) of the 1979 NFL Draft Stats Gamelogs 300-Yard Passing Jeff Rutledge Stats Jeff Rutledge career stats with the Los Angeles Rams, New York Giants and Washington Redskins. Even though the Dolphins eventually lost in overtime, the play lives on in Miami lore. "I think I had lost to Banks four times in three years because my freshman year, I played them as a freshman and on the B-team. ", RELATED:Remembering the 1974 Woodlawn-Banks game. Tony Nathan, left, goes to midfield for the pre-game coin toss with his Woodlawn High School teammates Mike Allison, center, and Peyton Zarzour, right. are hard-pressed to remember the final score. All rights reserved (About Us). "He looked like he had a jet pack on his back," Baumhower recalls. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Unfortunately, he doesn't remember anything about it. He completed 30 of 42 p*es for 363 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 12 yards for the game-tying touchdown with only 24 seconds remaining. When the Cardinals hired a new offensive coordinator at the end of that season, Rutledge and most of the offensive staff were fired. "All three kids were raised here. He said he hadn't decided whether to keep two or three quarterbacks.''. "Including his wife. He finished his college career with a 33-5 record as a starter, which currently ranks him as the University of Alabama's seventh all-time winningest quarterback. "It was just that time. "And you're not going to be the first.". Jeff Rutledge Biography. Some were easier. And while most college players today are bigger, faster and stronger now than they were during Nathan's college days, Legg has no doubt that, had Nathan come along four decades later, Nick Saban would find a place for him with Derrick Henry and Kenyan Drake in the Crimson Tide's current running back rotation. As a senior, he was a member of the 1974 Parade High School All-American team. They've been married for going on 37 years now, with three children and nine grandkids. All rights reserved (About Us). "I remember going back and forth to get more tickets to sell. Roberts, the starting left guard, has a slightly sprained left knee, which was reported improved. There's something always new at the courthouse.". Unbeknownst to either one of them at the time, she would later marry one of the game's biggest heroes. This Korean War-era Sabre jet, which was loaned to Banks High School in 1961, was repainted in school colors and prominently displayed on campus. Some of those who were in the stands that night can't say for sure who won, and even many of those who were on the fieldare hard-pressed to remember the final score. Jeff Rutledge date of birth: January 22, 1957. His wife, Laura, a former Miss . After playing in three college all-star games following his senior season, Nathan fell behind in his classes, and he was worried he might flunk out his spring semester. Commissioner Rutledge, a native of Newport, graduated from Newport High School and earned a B.S. After Nathan got out of coaching, another one of his former Dolphins teammates, guard Ed Newman, told him he had the perfect job for him. From his perch in the press box, Birmingham News sportswriter Wayne Martin could see the pedestrian bottleneck at the south entrance of Legion Field, as well as an unbroken strand of headlights from the long line of cars on Graymont Avenue, which was backed up all the way to downtown. If they cut me and someone picks me up, they would have to get someone else not familiar with their system.'' "That's what I always wanted. He also led the Crimson Tide to two Sugar Bowl appearances and two SEC Championships. 66. After completing the eighth grade, those students who would have gone to Banks instead went to Woodlawn High School, Banks' old rival. "They do a great job of keeping us involved in what's going on and keeping us involved with the fans. Drafted in the ninth round of the 1979 NFL Draft (246th overall pick) by the Los Angeles Rams, Rutledge played in 14 NFL seasons from 1979 to 1992 for three different teams. That 1974 Banks-Woodlawn game would be Shorty White's 100th win at Banks, and his last. "I had some professors walk up to me and say, 'Hey, we were around when you were playing.'. 1957 You could call it inspiration, you could call it whatever you like. "It's . If it had been up to Louise Nathan, her son Tony never would have touched a football. Newton stood behind Nathan as he sat next to his parents and got his picture taken signing his letter of intent. But he made a great play and I just kept running, and he threw it and I caught it.". By Frank Litsky, Special To the New York Times. Rutledge spent most of his career as a back-up quarterback and a holder on kicks. ", Tony Nathan is joined by his wife, Johnnie, and his daughters Nichole, Natalie and Nadia at his induction into the Miami Dolphins Walk of Fame in 2014. "I was like, 'What?'" Tony Nathan, left, and Jeff Rutledge talk following the 1974 Banks-Woodlawn game at Legion Field in Birmingham. Last year, Nathan was inducted into the Dolphins' Walk of Fame, immortalized alongside such legendary Dolphins as Dan Marino, Bob Griese, Paul Warfield, Larry Csonka and Nick Buoniconti in the sidewalk outside Miami's Sun Life Stadium. Rutledge is a Christian and attends Arizona Community Church in Chandler. Jeffrey Ronald Rutledge (born January 22, 1957) is a former American football quarterback and coach who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. After games, fans mobbed Nathan to get a piece of his jersey. Nathan played his entire NFL career with the Dolphins - retiring in 1987 after nine seasons in the aqua and orange - and he has continued to make Miami his home, even when NFL assistant coaching jobs took him to Tampa Bay, Baltimore and San Francisco. Manage Settings It wasn't so much the football I wanted. Ragland recalls. fatal car accident in tulare county / how to endorse a check for mobile deposit wells fargo / jeff rutledge wife. "I was like, 'All right, it's that time.'". Jeff Rutledge, Nathan's old rival from Banks, was now his teammate, quarterbacking the Tide. Louise Nathan roasted a raccoon that her husband, an avid hunter whom friends called "Coon Man," had bagged on one of his late-night coon hunts, and they invited Bryant to have dinner with them. Today, Ken O'Brien, the Jets' starter, broke a toe. And much to the surprise of probably everybody who was there that night -- fans, players, coaches, cheerleaders and sportswriters -- neither one of the teams would go on to win it all that year.
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