New Recording 3

Coach Boone, a high school football coach, shares his experience of overcoming racial challenges while coaching the Titans. He made the football team mixed race, which caused resentment among some players. To address this, he took them all to football camp to foster unity. Despite facing racism, such as a brick being thrown through his window, Coach Boone remained determined to create a safe and equal environment for his team and family. Welcome back to Friday Night Football where we talk all things high school football. I'm Sarah, your host. Today joining us with me is Coach Boone. Welcome, Coach. Tell me and our listeners a bit about yourself, Coach Boone. Hello, everyone. My name is Herman Boone. I was born on October 28, 1935 in Rocky Mountain, North Carolina. I'm an American high school football coach who coached the 1971 T.C. Williams high school football team to a 13-0 season and state championship. So, Coach, what was the hardest thing that you had to overcome when you first started coaching the Titans? Well, as we all know, when I first came to coach the Titans in T.C. Williams high school, their football team was made of all-white boys. I knew that I definitely did not want that for my football team, so I made sure the football team was mixed race. This was a big problem for the boys who lost their places on the team due to being replaced. They resented those colored players, so I decided to take all the players away for football camp so that they would all realize that they're all equal. They soon all became friends, and all the work and training that they had been doing had paid off. Coach Boone, what was your first impression of the football team? I'm going to be honest. I was shocked that the school already didn't already have a mixed race football team, and I was already very nervous but excited to see how this new team would come together. Was there any major act of racism towards you that made you think about quitting your job? Yes, there was a very big act of racism towards me. An example would be when a brick was turned through my window. This was extremely scary because my wife and children were in the house with me when it happened. This act of racism was not funny at all, and I was extremely scared for my family's safety.