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Remember the Titans, Alumni, fans gather for 25th anniversary tribute.
- Jeanne Theismann
- Oct 2
- 3 min read
It was a whirlwind weekend as alumni and fans gathered to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the release of the film “Remember the Titans,” which was loosely based on Alexandria’s 1971 championship football team.
Released by Disney Studios in 2000, the film immortalized the story of the 1971 T.C. Williams High School football team. The celebration weekend kicked off Sept. 19 at Alexandria City High School (formerly T.C. Williams), followed by a gala dinner the following evening at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial.
The weekend brought together former players, family members and fans in celebration of the team’s storied legacy.
“We were just a bunch of 16-, 17- and 18-year-old kids that were thrown together,” said former defensive end Bobby Luckett at the gala. “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 to trust and we were told by our coaching staff that if we fought for one common goal and to pay attention to those things we could be successful. And we were.”
Friday evening began with a “Titans Tailgate” in the school’s main gym, where community members, students and alumni gathered to share memories and collect autographs. Of 77 original players, 40 attended the events.
Following the tailgate, an on-field tribute took place at Parker-Gray Memorial Stadium. Members of the original 1971 team, along with surviving coaches and cheerleaders, were honored before the current Titans faced off against John Lewis High School under the Friday night lights. Players wore commemorative jerseys, and memorabilia from the championship season was on display throughout the school.
The film, co-produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Jerry Bruckheimer Films, starred Academy Award winner Denzel Washington as Coach Herman Boone. It depicted the challenges and triumphs of a newly integrated football team in a racially divided Alexandria. The real-life Titans went undefeated that season, winning the Virginia state championship.
“The Titans’ story is one of equity, leadership, and resilience,” said ACPS Superintendent Melanie Kay-Wyatt. “Our students don’t just learn about this history — they live it and carry it forward.”
Head coach Herman Boone and assistant coach Bill Yoast are deceased but Boone’s daughter Sharon Henderson attended the event with Boone’s grandson Roberto Small.
“I hope everyone will remember that my father really cared about the kids,” Henderson said. “So many people only look at the fact that he was a tough, no-nonsense coach. But I remember a father who would say ‘if I’m not fussing at you I don’t care about you.’”
Henderson recalled that the players had a curfew that her father took seriously.
“I remember my father telling the players ‘there’s nothing out in the streets for you after 10 o’clock at night,’” Henderson said. “He would go out in the middle of the night and ride through the streets of Alexandria to make sure these kids were safe. He cared about people, he cared about children, he cared about his players and he cared about his family.”
Former NFL player and WWE wrestler Dean Muhtadi was on hand at the gala and presented a check for $8,000 for the Scholarship Fund of Alexandria. Event organizer Rich Daniels, owner and president of the D.C. Divas, and Jasmine Malone, executive director of the scholarship fund, were on hand to accept.
“This wasn’t just a football story,” said Wayne Sanders, a member of the original team. “It was about relationships, about coming together when the world around us was divided.”