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PHOTOS: 25 years after the movie, Alexandria remembers the Titans

By James Cullum
1/22

The story of how coach Herman Boone transformed a newly integrated team of Black and white high school athletes into champions is legendary in Alexandria.

On Friday, 40 of the remaining real-life heroes that the film Remember The Titans is based on, commemorated the movie’s 25th anniversary. The 2000 film recounts the story of the 13-0, 1971 state champion T.C. Williams High School football team (now Alexandria City High School). The players in the newly integrated school overcame racial adversity to become state champs.

Bob Luckett, an offensive lineman on the 1971 team, said that the his fellow Titans initially didn’t like each other.

“We were just a bunch of 16, 17, and 18-year-old kids that were thrown together,” Luckett said. “We didn’t like each other, we didn’t want to be with each other, but we were taught tolerance, we were taught forgiveness, we were taught trust, and we were told by our coaching staff that if we fought for one common goal and pay attention to those things, we could be successful.”

Alexandria School Board Chair Michelle Rief said that the team has given the city a profound legacy.

“You can go anywhere in your work and find people who know this high school because of that legacy,” Rief said. “It’s inspired not just our community in Alexandria, but people across the United States and even around the world.”

Alexandria City Public Schools Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt said that the team has taught the city important values that transcend generations.

“To have you here means more to us than it probably means to you,” Kay-Wyatt told the former players. “It’s about being kind to people, being here for people in every step and turn that we make in the city. That’s what I see, and that’s what this team represents.”

ACHS Interim Principal Lance Harrell said that his students embody the living legacy from the story of the 1971 Titans.

“Remember the Titans endures because it’s more than entertainment,” Harrell said. “It’s a reminder of the real people of 1971 who showed leadership, sacrifice and a commitment to one another.”

Luckett said that the film isn’t completely accurate.

“We not only won games, we made history,” Luckett said. “We had nine shut-outs. We held three teams to negative rushing yardage. In the state championship, in the movie, it shows that we win on the last play of the game. That was Hollywood. In real life, we won 27-nothing.”

By the way, Remember The Titans will be shown outdoors on the big screen on Saturday night in Del Ray.

About the Author

  • Reporter James Cullum has spent nearly 20 years covering Northern Virginia. He began working with ALXnow in 2020, and has covered every story under the sun for the publication, from investigative stories to features and photo galleries. His work includes coverage of national and international situations, as well as from the White House, Capitol, Pentagon, Supreme Court and State Department. He's covered protests and riots throughout the U.S. (including the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol), in addition to earthquake-ridden Haiti, Western Sahara in North Africa and war-torn South Sudan. He has photographed presidents and other world leaders, celebrities and famous musicians, and excels under pressure.