woodlawn colonels varsity football 1973
"So it was a great lesson for me. The four of them -- Baumhower, Nathan, Stephenson and McNeal -- played in two Super Bowls together, but the Dolphins lost both games, to the Redskins in Super Bowl XVII and the 49ers in Super Bowl XIX. "I wanted to go home. "I just felt like I was the oldest cat in the house," he says. "Before I signed to go to Alabama, Coach Bryant told me, 'Well, look, you can try out (for basketball), but if you're not within the top six, you've got to come back out for spring ball.'''. "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. Players (39) Staff (1) 1. So I ended up saying, 'Thanks, coach, but no thanks.' Newton and football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant stand behind Tony Nathan as he signs his scholarship to attend the University of Alabama. "What are you doing with that grip?'" Center Dwight Stephenson and defensive back Don McNeal, who were a year behind him, would join the Dolphins the next year. After a government-mandate, Tony Nathan, a gifted high school football player, and other black students desegregate Woodlawn High School in Birmingham, Alabama in 1973. So you go all out and do what you can do just to fit in.". OVERALL 0-10 0.00 Win %. Louise Nathan, though, never was wild about her seeing her son get hit. Support the Cypress News Review: "He's very respected here," McNeal says of his old teammate. 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. "If we needed him to throw the football, I knew he could definitely do that. The Panther football program surprised some in the state of Louisiana during the COVID-shortened 2020 football season. Woodlawn Football Roster. After the Tide slipped to an uncharacteristic 9-3 in Nathan's sophomore season -- Alabama's worst record in his four years there -- the team bounced back to go 11-1 and finish runner-up to national champs Notre Dame in 1977 and to go 11-1 again and win it all in 1978. Football was going to be it. Tony -- the second oldest of five siblings -- used to wear out the grass playing ball with their neighbors in the backyard of their house in Parker Heights, near the airport. (Photo courtesy of Tony Nathan). m_gallery_title = "Tony Nathan: From Woodlawn to Alabama to the NFL"; Rivals in high school, Nathan and Rutledge were teammates for four years at Alabama. His Christ-centered speech began something that not only eased racial tensions but brought them together as a team. "It's been home a long time," Nathan says. Nathan played nine years with the Dolphins and started in two Super Bowls. m_gallery_type = "photo"; Gallery: Tony Nathan: From Woodlawn to Alabama to the NFL. All three of Nathan's daughters have their college degrees - Nichole from South Florida and Natalie and Nadia from Alabama - as does his wife. "We had a ball. "It was odd to see people react and want a piece of cloth off of somebody else who was wearing it. Tony Nathan (newcomer Caleb Castille) lands in a powder keg of anger and violence when he joins fellow African-American students at Woodlawn High School after its government-mandated desegregation in 1973. "'And you told me you didn't want me to play this game. I told Coach Gerelds that I didn't want him to be anywhere near the ball.". (Photo courtesy of Tony Nathan). 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. Become a monthly patron for as little as $1 via Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/CypressNewsReview). He was a basketball guy.". McNeal has been a pastor and counselor at the church, and he and Nathan are close, a friendship that dates back to their playing days at Alabama. After games, fans mobbed Nathan to get a piece of his jersey. m_gallery_permalink = "http://photos.al.com/4558/gallery/tony_nathan_from_woodlawn_to_a/index.html"; His breakout moment came against Montgomery's Robert E. Lee Generals, when, late in the game, he scooped up a fumble and ran 38 yards for the winning touchdown. The easygoing Nathan had the ideal temperament for the job, Newman told him. Ragland recalls. A few years ago, though, Nathan realized one thing was missing in his life. . Before the start of that 1973 season, something else happened that changed the Woodlawn football team's fortunes. Meanwhile, Tuscaloosa was just an hour away, and one of the greatest coaches in the history of the game, Alabama's Paul "Bear" Bryant, had the Crimson Tide not just rolling again, but steamrolling. In a 1982 playoff game with San Diego that became known as "The Epic in Miami," Nathan was the exclamation point on one of the most memorable plays in Dolphins' history -- dashing untouched into the end zone after receiver Duriel Harris caught a pass from quarterback Don Strock and then tossed it back to the streaking Nathan on a legendary hook-and-lateral play that ignited a dramatic Miami comeback. (Birmingham News file/Robert Adams). (Photo courtesy of Tony Nathan). I don't know exactly when, but I'll do it.'". "And when they were picking teams, I wanted to get picked. 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.". Friday Night Legends adds 1973 & ’74 Woodlawn Colonels (AL) from the... HSA Harmony Science Academy – Cypress (K-5), Lone Star College calendar for the 2020-2021 school year, Friday Night Legends (save 10% with coupon code: CNR10), (https://www.patreon.com/CypressNewsReview, Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/CypressNewsReview, Twitter (https://twitter.com/CypressNewsRev, YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKIuHUwXbt_R673iszcLz7g, (Major update to last night’s breaking news), Quinn’s Lemons opening summertime pop-up lemonade stand, Hempstead Bobcats name new head football coach, CFISD football players named to 2020 All-District 17-6A Team, Cypress and Bridgeland ® football players named to 2020 All-District 16-6A Team. "The other thing about the wishbone, if you were a truly good back in the wishbone, you had to block, too,'' says Murray Legg, who, as a defensive back on those Alabama teams, often went up against Nathan in practice. He had to meet with Coach Bryant to get him to sign off on it, too. He was indeed a basketball guy, but Tony Nathan would be playing football for a long time. 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. People around the country were starting to notice him, too. m_gallery_creation_date = "Friday, September 11, 2015, 4:45 PM"; "Some do come in with attitudes, and you just have to diffuse them before they go in front of the judge. While Nathan ran for 112 yards and scored a touchdown that night, the Colonels lost to the Jets 18-7, with Rutledge completing eight of nine passing for 185 yards and a touchdown. 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. PF53 PA458 STREAK10L. (Photo courtesy of Tony Nathan). But, Knoxville, too, was a little too far from home for Nathan. (Photo courtesy of Tony Nathan). ", Tony Nathan runs behind his Miami Dolphins teammate Jeff Toews in a game against the New York Jets. Bryant sealed the deal by promising Tony he would get a shot at playing basketball at Alabama, too. "But I was raised in the church anyway. "I did accept Christ in my life at that time, they say," Nathan says. Be sure to stay tuned to additions to the expanding Friday Night Legends game as Friday Night Legends will be releasing more great teams and share news about where you can find us around the country! Woodlawn High School is a four-year magnet high school in Birmingham, Alabama, United States.It is one of seven high schools in the Birmingham City School System.The school colors are green and gold, and the mascot is the Colonel.Woodlawn competes in AHSAA Class 6A athletics. Fri, 8/21. Fully committed to football now, Nathan became one of the key cogs in a wishbone offense that was clicking on all cylinders. As cross burnings and riots erupt in the city, Tandy Gerelds, the Woodlawn Colonels football coach, struggles to ease racial tensions between his players. (Photo courtesy of Tony Nathan). "I didn't have to worry about cutting grass because they played all the time.". "When people say Tony Nathan, their ears go up. It all built up to Nov. 8, 1974, when Woodlawn, which had won 11 games in a row, met its old nemesis Banks, which was riding a 34-game unbeaten streak, at Legion Field. CB, WR • Jr. 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. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. "I wanted some kind of meat to serve him," William Nathan remembers. WOODLAWN tells the true-life story of Tony Nathan (newcomer Caleb Castille), who lands in a powder keg of anger and violence when he joins fellow African-American students at Woodlawn High School in Birmingham, Ala., after its government-mandated desegregation in 1973. "I get to meet a ton of people -- lawyers, defendants, victims -- and they all are different," Nathan says. Korrin Williams. When it came time to pick a college, Nathan considered going to Oklahoma, where renegade coach Barry Switzer was lighting up the scoreboard with a high-powered wishbone offense that was the talk of college football. Everybody else was gone home for Christmas vacation, and I was like, 'What am I doing here?' Most likely, Tony would not have been drafted by the NFL's Miami Dolphins, and regrettably, he also would have missed out on starting in two Super Bowls, as well as being part of one of the most famous plays in Dolphins' history. We prayed together, and from then on, I respected them and they respected me. 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. "All I had ever seen of football games was everybody falling on each other and piling on each other," she says. "I've never known a Nathan to quit anything," she said. m_gallery_json = "https://blog.al.com/photogallery/4558/18734842.json"; Among the primary characters in the movie are Coach Tandy Gerelds (played by Nic Bishop), a cynical agnostic struggling with a powder keg of anger and violence within the Woodlawn Colonels football team, and African American football player Tony Nathan (played by Jason Castille), who was eventually recruited by legendary coach Paul “Bear” Bryant (portrayed by Jon Voight) to play for the University of … 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. WATERLOO, ON (Oct. 22, 2015) – The faith-based football drama WOODLAWN entered rarified air in its opening weekend, earning an accolade from audiences bestowed on only a handful of films each year. "It touched me," he says. Their dedication to love and unity, in a newly desegregated school filled with racism and hate, leads to the largest high school football game every played in the torn city of Birmingham, Alabama, and the rise of superstar, Tony Nathan. Tony Nathan (Caleb Castille) lands in a powder keg of anger and violence when he joins fellow African-American students at Woodlawn High School after its government-mandated desegregation in 1973. So, when Tony was in the 10th grade, and he came home one day and told his mother he had left the Woodlawn High School football team, she replied, in no uncertain terms, no, he had not. Meanwhile, the recruiting letters continued to pour in from schools such as USC, Notre Dame, Texas and Oklahoma, as well as SEC schools Alabama, Auburn, Georgia and Tennessee. "There wasn't anybody that came to see me play or any of the other guys. By his senior year, it wasn't just folks in Birmingham talking about "Touchdown Tony." All rights reserved (About Us). (Photo courtesy of Tony Nathan). But there was one catch. On signing day, both Bryant and Alabama basketball coach C.M. Tony Nathan (Caleb Castille) lands in a powder keg of anger and violence when he joins fellow African-American students at Woodlawn High School after its government-mandated desegregation in 1973. Birmingham, Alabama is a small community that has deep roots. "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. Nose tackle Bob Baumhower, who was two years ahead of Nathan at Alabama, was already there when Nathan arrived for his first camp. I did believe. And the majority of us did that. Jeff Rutledge, Nathan's old rival from Banks, was now his teammate, quarterbacking the Tide. "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 definitely love Miami. 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. "They all looked at me like, 'OK, don't you think it's your time?'" He was worn out, and he was just tearing the rest of his jersey off.". 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. 3. Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission. "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. "You go through life carrying that (lesson): If you start it, you better try to be the best at it, and finish what you've got to finish," he adds. Play Friday Night Legends (save 10% with coupon code: CNR10) with one of the great high school football movie teams of all time. he recalls. LEAGUE 0-6 7th 6A Region 5. He got permission from his academic advisers to drop his courses with a withdraw-passing grade and come back to finish his degree later. He would just tear it off and throw it up in the crowd. ", RELATED: Turning back the clock at Legion Field. As cross burnings and riots erupt in the city, Tandy Gerelds, the Woodlawn Colonels football coach, struggles to … ", RELATED: Remembering the 1974 Woodlawn-Banks game. We just couldn't put the icing on the cake.". The Colonels faced with integration were turned around when Coach Tandy Geralds allowed a FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) chaplain Hank Erwin to speak to the team. 2. 'Woodlawn' chronicles racial tension affecting a high school football team in Birmingham Alabama in the early 1970s. In 1973, a spiritual awakening captured the heart of nearly every player on the Woodlawn High School football team. "It was time for people to actually get along -- no matter what race or color you were," he says. "It really did.". 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. We had a blast. I don't remember that whole week. View photos from Woodlawn Colonels sporting events. (Birmingham News file/Charles Nesbitt). It is ... a gifted high school football player, and other African-American students desegregate Woodlawn High School in Birmingham, Alabama in 1973. Ave. N. Birmingham, AL 35212 Stadium: Lawson Field Colors: Green & Gold Coach: Tandy Gerelds Region: 4A-R8 Tony Nathan (newcomer Caleb Castille) lands in a powder keg of anger and violence when he joins fellow African-American students at Woodlawn High School after its government-mandated desegregation in 1973. 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. 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. Even though the Dolphins eventually lost in overtime, the play lives on in Miami lore. Starting at Offensive Tackle, he was honored to have blocked for the legendary Tony Nathan. Nathan, who wore number 22, went through as many as a dozen jerseys in some games. Although Woodlawn had history on its side, Banks, by 1974, had the upper hand on the football field, winning state titles in 1965, 1972 and 1973 - all under Shorty White's leadership. "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. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your California Privacy Rights (each updated 1/1/21). I wanted him to have his degree. 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. The Woodlawn Colonels football team is a microcosm of the problems at the school and in the city, which erupts in cross burnings and riots, and Coach Tandy Gerelds (Nic Bishop) is at a loss to solve … m_gallery_id = "18734842"; ', "She said, 'No, but even more so, you're not going to be a quitter. "We were down 24-zip and nothing was going right, and that was the play that gave us the spark to come back. "He looked like he had a jet pack on his back," Baumhower recalls. "And then they told me that that guy (Nathan) was an All-American basketball player, and he wasn't going to be playing football. "A gifted high school football player must learn to boldly embrace his talent and his faith as he battles racial tensions on and off the field in Woodlawn, a moving and inspirational new film based on the true story of how love and unity overcame hate and division in early 1970s Birmingham, Ala. Tony Nathan (newcomer Caleb Castille) lands in a powder keg of anger and violence when he joins fellow African-American students at Woodlawn … Like Jackson, Nathan excelled at just about any sport he played. 1. The Panthers, led by second year Head Coach Marcus Randall, finished the season by hosting a first round playoff game. They got in the car, and she drove him back to the football field, where she told Woodlawn coach Tandy Gerelds to do whatever he needed to discipline her boy for skipping practice, just as long as he was allowed back on the team. The next year, Nathan and Rutledge became teammates at the University of Alabama. Follow the Boys Varsity Football Colonelss schedule, roster, events and photos all in one place. Then Hank shows up. 4 Woodlawn Colonels 18 – 7 at Legion Field in Birmingham on Nov. 8, 1974. 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. 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. Tony started playing pickup basketball games with some older boys in the neighborhood, and he was good enough that he was recruited to play in a rec league at Huffman Park. Tony Nathan (newcomer Caleb Castille) lands in a powder keg of anger and violence when he joins fellow African-American students at Woodlawn High School after its government-mandated desegregation in 1973. Bryant paid several visits to the Nathan home, and he often brought with him an entourage of assistants and past and current Tide players, including Joe Namath, Johnny Musso and Ozzie Newsome. ", During his senior season at at Woodlawn High School in 1974, Tony Nathan was a Parade All-American and featured in Sports Illustrated's "Faces in the Crowd." "Before Bo, there was Tony," Ragland says. Once he started playing, though, she never let him quit. Home • Non … As depicted in the upcoming "Woodlawn" movie, droves of players, Nathan included, stepped forward to commit their lives to Christ that night. ', "I said, 'I will do that. ", Tony Nathan prepares to take a hand-off from quarterback Jeff Rutledge at the University of Alabama. As cross burnings and riots erupt in the city, Tandy Gerelds, the Woodlawn Colonels football coach, struggles to ease racial tensions between his players. Nathan says. Tony Nathan (Caleb Castille) lands in a powder keg of anger and violence when he joins fellow African-American students at Woodlawn High School after its government-mandated desegregation in 1973. Tony could have gone anywhere. My parents raised me that way. "That Banks-Woodlawn game our senior year, that was all about Tony and Jeff Rutledge," Hendrix says. HOME0-6 AWAY0-4 NEUTRAL0-0. "He ate a few pieces of it, but he didn't eat much.". . "It was just that time. 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. I will make you that promise. Tony Nathan holds his youngest brother, Cedric, after he announces in December 1974 that he will attend the University of Alabama. 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. 3. The quiet, introverted Nathan didn't know quite what to make of all that attention. "We have, I think, one of the best alumni associations in the NFL," Nathan says. 7:00pm. "I played with older guys, and I wanted to be able to play on their level," Nathan says. It took him 36 years, but Nathan kept that promise to his coach. Woodlawn (2015, Blu-ray, DVD) When future NFL running back Tony Nathan (newcomer Caleb Castille) arrives at Woodlawn High School after its government-mandated desegregation in 1973. 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. "That's what I always wanted. If all that notoriety affected Nathan, none of his teammates could tell. I can tell you, Tony had no trouble with his blocking.". Those roots go in many different directions, sports, personal interests, employment, but there's Tony Nathan will sign copies of his new book, "Touchdown Tony: Running With a Purpose," at 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18, at the Alabama Booksmith, 2626 19th Place South, Homewood. WOODLAWN tells the true-life story of Tony Nathan (newcomer Caleb Castille), who lands in a powder keg of anger and violence when he joins fellow African-American students at Woodlawn High School in Birmingham, AL, after its government-mandated desegregation in 1973. Almost assuredly, Nathan would not be the featured character in the upcoming movie "Woodlawn," which opens nationwide on Oct. 16, and most definitely, he would not have written a book, "Touchdown Tony: Running With a Purpose," which comes out Tuesday. Unfortunately, he doesn't remember anything about it. After a government-mandate, Tony Nathan, a gifted high school football player, and other black students desegregate Woodlawn High School in Birmingham, Alabama in 1973. m_gallery_pagetype = "embed"; Nathan is flanked by his parents William and Louise Nathan. "I was like, 'All right, it's that time.'". It's been very interesting. "That's a scary thought now," the 58-year-old Nathan says of what might have been. 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. It wasn't anything boastful for him. The Woodlawn Colonels football team is a microcosm of the problems at the school and in the city, which erupts in cross burnings and riots, and Coach Tandy Gerelds (Nic Bishop) is at a loss to solve … "It was weird," he says. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. Newton stood behind Nathan as he sat next to his parents and got his picture taken signing his letter of intent. "It was the thrill of my life," Louise Nathan says. "They do a great job of keeping us involved in what's going on and keeping us involved with the fans. Woodlawn never beat Banks during Nathan's three years on the varsity. He started taking online courses through the University of Alabama's Bama by Distance degree program, and this past May, at 58, he graduated. "I was like, 'What?'" "And I didn't like that. (Linebacker) Barry Krauss could play today. Woodlawn High School 5620 1st. m_gallery_blog_id = "4558"; Darnell Jefferson - Woodlawn Demetrius Harris - DC Everest Derek McConnel - Buenos Aires Donnie Billingsey - Permian Earl Megget - Kilpatrick Ivory Christian - Permian Jimmy Sanderson - … The Woodlawn Colonels football team is a microcosm of the problems at the school and in the city, which erupts in cross burning and riots, and Coach Tandy Gerelds (Nic Bishop) is at a loss to solve these … I still get chills thinking about it.". I do believe. "Some of the other running backs didn't want to be that lead blocker. '", So just think, if Louise Nathan hadn't put her foot down, maybe no one would have ever heard of "Touchdown Tony.". "I think (defensive lineman) Marty Lyons could play today. There's something always new at the courthouse.". The Erwin Brothers' faith-based film tells the true tale of the history-making 1973 Woodlawn High School football team. Based on the true story of Tony Nathan, it tells of Nathan and other black students who desegregate Woodlawn High School in Birmingham, Alabama in 1973. Soon enough, though, Tony would be all around the ball. Historical faith-and-football drama from Pure Flix/Provident Films/Lightworkers Media outperforms opening weekend box-office projections. He was a two-time all-state guard on the Woodlawn basketball team, and as a centerfielder and first baseman on the baseball team, he got drafted by the Montreal Expos. 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. And when that happened, that movement, I was touched in my heart to do so again.". Like our Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/CypressNewsReview), follow our Twitter (https://twitter.com/CypressNewsRev), and subscribe to our YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKIuHUwXbt_R673iszcLz7g). 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. 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. William Nathan was sold, though, and eventually, so was his son Tony. "All three kids were raised here. Chris Allen jr. QB • So. RELATED: See who plays Tony Nathan in 'Woodlawn'. . Reginald was a member of the now famed "Woodlawn Colonels" football team of 1973 and 1974, which is the subject of the feature film of the same title "Woodlawn". William Nathan asked, referring to Bryant's bag. On one particular visit, Bryant brought his overnight bag, Tony's father remembers. "I had some professors walk up to me and say, 'Hey, we were around when you were playing.'. The film culminates in high school football history. 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. Tony Nathan: From Woodlawn to Alabama to the NFL. ", Alabama basketball coach C.M. "I don't even know if he realized how good he was back then. Reginald also worked as a consultant, extra, actor and voice over talent in the movie.