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. "But it didn't bother me that I was forced to go to Woodlawn because a lot of my friends were at Woodlawn, too.". RELATED:See who plays Tony Nathan in 'Woodlawn'. He was part of a team that earned back-to-back state titles at L. Frazier Banks High School in Birmingham, Alabama. The two schools were just 10 minutes and less than four miles apart. 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. You could call it inspiration, you could call it whatever you like. Coach Bill Parcells will probably keep three this year, but there is no guarantee. He played college football at Alabama, where he was the team's starting quarterback for their 1978 National . "I was running down the baseline trying to follow my guy around, and, all of a sudden, they set a pick and this guy's elbow hit me in the eye and that cured my basketball desire," Nathan says. Something like that. It helped, too, that both Banks and Woodlawn were also blessed with some enormously talented athletes who weren't named Rutledge or Nathan and who also went on to play in the SEC and the NFL. Discover today's celebrity birthdays and explore famous people who share your birthday. 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. I think Tony could definitely play today. That iconic Banks jet was turned over to the Southern Museum of Flight, where it has been restored to its Korean War glory days. Nathan scored Woodlawn's only touchdown on a 13-yard run in the fourth quarter. As a senior, he was a member of the 1974 Parade High School All-American team. All rights reserved (About Us). He received his degree from Alabama in Business Administration and in 2011, was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. "What are you doing with that grip?'" So, how much is Jeff Rutledge worth at the age of 65 years old? By his senior season in 1974, Woodlawn running back Tony Nathan was one of the most sought-after high school football players in America. 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. Place kicker Ali Haji-Sheikh of the New York Giants kicks a field goal during a game against the New Orleans Saints at Giants Stadium on December 15,. Woodlawn High School had a much longer history that went back to 1916, when the community of Woodlawn was annexed into Birmingham. ''I wanted to know what he was thinking. He is a member of famous Player with the age 65 years old group. "It touched me," he says. "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. "It was always the biggest game of the year, for both sides," Rutledge says. Nathan played on the B-team his freshman year, and by his sophomore season, he earned a spot on the Woodlawn varsity as the starting free safety on defense. With the arrival of head coach Tandy Gerelds in 1971, though, and the emergence of Nathan, who had a breakout junior season in 1973, Woodlawn started to level the playing field. So the magic from that night continues to live on. The night after that chat, in an exhibition game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Rutledge completed all 8 of his passes for 156 yards. Everybody else was gone home for Christmas vacation, and I was like, 'What am I doing here?' (Photo courtesy of Banks High School Facebook page). (Birmingham News file/Charles Nesbitt). Quarterback Jeff Rutledge played 13 seasons for 3 teams. 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. "People drove up, saw the lines outside and just went on by. On Monday night, the Los Angeles Rams lost their backup, Mark Herrmann, for six to eight weeks with broken ribs. He has been a Giant since 1982, when he was obtained from the Los Angeles Rams after Phil Simms suffered a season-ending knee injury. "And I didn't like that. "That's why, for two years, we had a lot of focus and attention on Woodlawn. "Some do come in with attitudes, and you just have to diffuse them before they go in front of the judge. 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. 100.00 Down Payment and Houses with No Credit Check. After Friday morning's practice, they will break camp and return to Giants Stadium, where practices are closed to the public. ''The first game Phil Simms goes down, they've got to get a quarterback. Newton stood behind Nathan as he sat next to his parents and got his picture taken signing his letter of intent. He resigned in the Spring of 2012 to return to Arizona to spend time with his family. 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. 6'1", 195 lbs. Ragland, the former Woodlawn quarterback, recently watched an ESPN documentary about another Birmingham-area sports legend, Bessemer's Bo Jackson, and it reminded of that 14-year-old kid he first met at freshman football practice. 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 last game of the regular season, again against the Philadelphia Eagles. Efforts to reach him for this story were unsuccessful. In overtime, he hit Art Monk with a vital 40-yard p* on third and 15 to help set up Chip Lohmiller's game-winning field goal. He had 274 completions in 526 attempts for 3,628 yards and 16 touchdowns. So by the time he arrived at Woodlawn High School to start the ninth grade, his reputation as a wizard of the basketball court preceded him. "I think back about our team, and I think about the players who played then and who could play now in terms of their strength and speed and ability," Legg says. During preseason camp, evangelist Wales Goebel, who became a born-again Christian after alcohol destroyed his small-college basketball career and nearly cost him his life, came to share his story with the Woodlawn players. "We have, I think, one of the best alumni associations in the NFL," Nathan says. I remember it was good we didn't start when we were supposed to because they were at their peak. He has established himself as a trusted advisor providing advice and direction to organizations in some of the most heavily regulated . Relationships We have no records of past relationships for Jeff Rutledge. 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. Rutledge led Montgomery Bell Academy to a 41-17 record from 20022006, with two state *les in 2002 and 2003 and a #15 ranking in the final USA Today Super 25 poll in 2003. An estimated 42,000 fans filled the lower bowl of Legion Field for the 1974 Banks-Woodlawn game. "It was the thrill of my life," Louise Nathan says. Plan B was the system under which each N.F.L. Former Buyer/Planner at Rutledge Properties LLC. 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. "I don't even know if he realized how good he was back then. The year before, Logan had coached at rural Locust Fork High School in Blount County. 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. QB Born: January 22, 1957 in Birmingham, AL Drafted: 1979 Rnd 9, Pick 246 by LA: College: Alabama: Career Stats Career Stats Game Log Game Log Splits Splits. After completing the eighth grade, those students who would have gone to Banks instead went to Woodlawn High School, Banks' old rival. "We let them run and play," Tony's father, whom the family calls "Pops," says. Only two practice sessions remain at the Fairleigh Dickinson campus here. (Photo courtesy of Tony Nathan). (Photo courtesy of Tony Nathan). 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. But Norman, Okla., was cold and rainy when Nathan went to visit, and besides that, Switzer never bothered to come visit Nathan and his parents in Birmingham. Continue with Recommended Cookies. Not once, but twice, both teams were sent back to their respective locker rooms to allow the crowd to file into the stadium. But she's been through this every year. Rutledge was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. Experienced backup quarterbacks can be valuable when injuries strike. He had left the University of Alabama in the spring of 1979 without a diploma. Rutledge played collegiately at Alabama, where he was a member of three SEC Championship teams under Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. . It took him 36 years, but Nathan kept that promise to his coach. Where was Jeff Rutledge born? So he signed again with the Giants, but for less than the $400,000 he made last year. 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. Tony is a very revered guy here in our community, here in our church community.". Though Rutledge was available, no other team signed him. He was a basketball guy.". As that 1974 season progressed and both teams kept winning week after week, that friendly rivalry between Banks and Woodlawn reached a new level, though. Jeffrey Brooks Rutledge, Meg Rutledge, Christen Rutledge. The regular season game was played in . I still get chills thinking about it.". ", Tony Nathan runs behind his Miami Dolphins teammate Jeff Toews in a game against the New York Jets. Roberts, the starting left guard, has a slightly sprained left knee, which was reported improved. 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. As a senior, he was a member of the 1974 Parade High School All-American team. Wasn't it 14-0? Jeffrey Ronald Rutledge. (Birmingham News file). Tony Nathan holds his youngest brother, Cedric, after he announces in December 1974 that he will attend the University of Alabama. That same night, Banks' 35-game unbeaten streak came to an abrupt end when Rutledge blew out an ankle and the banged-up Jets lost 34-27 to West End. ", In the lunchroom, the Woodlawn students would break into impromptu pep rallies, standing in their chairs and yelling, "Rip Jets, rip Jets, rip those Sugar Jets." "I said, 'What's wrong, Mike, they didn't have crowds like this at Locust Fork?'" In his teens, he acted in productions of the North Shore Children's Theater and, from 1942 to 1944, performed in . Like Jackson, Nathan excelled at just about any sport he played. "It was Banks-Woodlawn. Gosh, that game was 40 years ago, which is unbelievable.". At the age of 32, starting his 11th season as a National Football League quarterback, Rutledge was not sure he would make the. [3][5][6] Rutledge led Montgomery Bell Academy to a 41-17 record from 20022006, with two state titles in 2002 and 2003 and a #15 ranking in the final USA Today Super 25 poll in 2003. . 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. He had to meet with Coach Bryant to get him to sign off on it, too. And I don't know when that will be.'' "That's what I always wanted. 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. Newman serves as a criminal court judge in Miami-Dade County, and six years ago, he hired Nathan to be a bailiff in his courtroom. He is from United States. of development through completion. In those days, the Banks-Woodlawn rivalry was like the Alabama-Auburn of Birmingham high school football, but maybe just a little friendlier. "They do a great job of keeping us involved in what's going on and keeping us involved with the fans. And to himself. The athletic teams at Banks adopted the name Jets, and in 1961, the Alabama Air National Guard loaned the school a Korean War-era F-86D Sabre jet, which was painted in the school colors of Columbia blue and scarlet and prominently displayed on campus, making it an inviting target for practical jokers from rival schools. Another one of football's coaching greats, Don Shula of the Miami Dolphins, drafted Nathan in the third round of the 1979 NFL Draft, and even though it was a long way from Birmingham or Tuscaloosa, Miami was like a home away from home for Nathan. "In high school, he was the best quarterback in the state of Alabama, and Coach Bryant did his job. Our defensive game plan was awesome.". "He looked like he had a jet pack on his back," Baumhower recalls. He is currently the head football coach at Valley Christian High School (Chandler, Arizona) in Chandler, Arizona. "There are people who went to that game that I've heard from all my life," Rutledge says. A title search shows that Mr. Rutledge and his wife bought a property in Naramata for $1.15-million on Oct. 31, 2016. "There wasn't anybody that came to see me play or any of the other guys. (Birmingham News file/Charles Nesbitt). Birmingham police guessed another 20,000 gave up and went back home when they saw the long lines. I knew when I came to training camp that it would be tough. Rutledge earned MVP honors at the 1978 Sugar Bowl and also earned All-SEC honors in 1978 and 1979.[4]. "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. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. Sports Illustrated featured him in its "Faces in the Crowd" section after he ran for 228 yards and scored seven touchdowns against Ramsay, and late in the season, along with Banks quarterback Jeff Rutledge, he was named a Parade All-American. That University of Alabama sorority girl who was in the stands at Legion Field that night? "They all looked at me like, 'OK, don't you think it's your time?'" Or was it 17-7? "There is no doubt in my mind that the delay in the game helped us,'' Banks' Grefseng says. "I knew some of those guys, and I'm like, 'Why would y'all be out here in the hot sun watching freshman football?'" "We would go to the board of education and get tickets and we would be sold out in 30 minutes to an hour," Stearns says. Trivia (4) Quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams (1979-1981), New York Giants (1983-1989) and Washington Redskins (1990-1992). ''It's an odd world, isn't it?'' The other day, Rutledge called his wife and told her to wait. "I told him, me being so far behind, I didn't want to flunk out. "We don't have any of the highlight reels from the '70s that they have from Bo Jackson's day, but Tony did some phenomenal things on the football field and on the basketball court. He was a devoted husband and father and his favorite hobby was fishing. Jeffrey Ronald Rutledge (born January 22, 1957) is an American football coach and former professional quarterback. 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. The next Christmas, Santa Claus brought Tony his first official football. Denny Ragland, who would become the Woodlawn starting quarterback during Nathan's senior season in 1974, knew something was up during freshman football practice, when most of the basketball team came out just to see what the 14-year-old Nathan could do on the football field. New York Giants. "To be a 16-, 17-year-old kid, I had never seen anybody run and do the things Tony did athletically. Jeff Rutledge's net worth The other day, Rutledge called his wife and told her to wait. 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. Ragland, the Woodlawn quarterback, grew up in a house divided. "I played with older guys, and I wanted to be able to play on their level," Nathan says. 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. The sports teams at Woodlawn became known as the Colonels and the school colors were green and gold, the same colors that student pranksters sometimes painted that Sabre jet at nearby Banks. "His jersey would just be hanging on him," Woodlawn teammate Brad Hendrix says. Rutledge and his wife had just moved into their dream house in Atlanta, but felt it was the best job available. Stearns recalls. I do believe. ''That may make the Giants think,'' said Rutledge. White says he was assured by the Legion Field crew that it would be able to handle the crowd. You look at the schedule, and that was the one you've got marked down that you want to win. Bryant sealed the deal by promising Tony he would get a shot at playing basketball at Alabama, too. "It was a culmination of really four years of building up to that point," Woodlawn quarterback Denny Ragland remembers. Jeff is an experienced communications and public affairs professional with more than a decade working in government and the private sector. He was worn out, and he was just tearing the rest of his jersey off.". Nathan played nine years with the Dolphins and started in two Super Bowls. in Plant Science from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro and a Masters in Agronomy (Weed Science) from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. "I didn't have to worry about cutting grass because they played all the time.". Finished career at Alabama has the school's leading passer, surpassing Joe Namath. "In high school, he was the best quarterback in the state of Alabama, and Coach Bryant did his job and the recruiters did their jobs to get him to go to Alabama," Nathan says. ----DeOssie and Roberts Out Steve DeOssie and William Roberts missed practice Wednesday. "I wanted to go home. Following his senior season at Alabama in 1978, Banks' Jeff Rutledge went on to play 13 years in the National Football League. Woodlawn, meanwhile, had a nice streak going, too, winning 11 in a row since it fell to Banks 17-7 in 1973. On one particular visit, Bryant brought his overnight bag, Tony's father remembers. 195 lbs (88.5 kg) . We have estimated "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. White is now retired and living with his wife, June, in Helena. 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. If they cut me and someone picks me up, they would have to get someone else not familiar with their system.'' And when that happened, that movement, I was touched in my heart to do so again.". The attendance was out of this world.". 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. His parents met at the University of Arkansas, and when he was almost four his family moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. printers and related vendors. 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.

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