"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. "He's very respected here," McNeal says of his old teammate. He received his degree from Alabama in Business Administration and in 2011, was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. Rutledge was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. [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. From Banks, defensive lineman Freddie Knighton signed with Alabama, running back Jerry Murphree went to LSU, and linebacker Bob Grefseng played at Ole Miss. ''My first year in the league, with the Rams, it was hairy because they had so many quarterbacks in camp. Jeffrey Ronald Rutledge (born January 22, 1957) is an American football coach and former professional quarterback. William Nathan, who worked as millwright at Connors Steel in Birmingham, made his son Tony his first football by stitching together a strip of Naugahyde and stuffing it with rags and cotton balls. Efforts to reach him for this story were unsuccessful. That University of Alabama sorority girl who was in the stands at Legion Field that night? 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. Charles Tillman Rutledge, Jr. Boiling Springs, SC Charles Tillman Rutledge, Jr., 80, of 2558 Old Furnace Road, passed away Thursday, June 20, 2019, at Spartanburg Hospital For Restorative Care . 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. 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. "It was one heck of a game. Many of the players on both teams grew up playing pee-wee football together at East Lake and Wahouma parks, and as teenagers, they hung out together at Eastwood Mall. Discover today's celebrity birthdays and explore famous people who share your birthday. 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. Jeffrey Ronald Rutledge (born January 22, 1957) is a former American football quarterback and coach who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. "But this particular year, we were both undefeated going in. How old is Jeff Rutledge? 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. When he retired from football, Nathan also got into coaching - first with the Dolphins and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and then at Florida International University. jeff rutledge wife - holyfamily.schoolmerchcanada.com 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. Welcome. "So it was a great lesson for me. He resigned in the Spring of 2012 to return to Arizona to spend time with his family. "It was weird," he says. "Some do come in with attitudes, and you just have to diffuse them before they go in front of the judge. This week, Birmingham filmmakers Jon and Andrew Erwin began shooting a movie, "Woodlawn," which takes place during Nathan's days at Woodlawn High School and focuses in on that 1974 Banks-Woodlawn game. We were playing in front of 20,000 people regularly, so we were getting some big crowds.". "The Woodlawn guys were like maniacs, and they were roaring all through their pre-game warm-ups. He resigned in the Spring of 2012 to return to Arizona to spend time with his family. "I did accept Christ in my life at that time, they say," Nathan says. "What are you doing with that grip?'" All three of Nathan's daughters have their college degrees - Nichole from South Florida and Natalie and Nadia from Alabama - as does his wife. ", 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." "We were down 24-zip and nothing was going right, and that was the play that gave us the spark to come back. (Birmingham News file/Charles Nesbitt). Tony is a very revered guy here in our community, here in our church community.". "All three kids were raised here. said Rutledge. The quiet Nathan, who teammates say tried to shy away from all of the attention, was one of Birmingham's first superstar black athletes in a city that was still adjusting to integration. Jeff Rutledge - Biography - IMDb "To be a 16-, 17-year-old kid, I had never seen anybody run and do the things Tony did athletically. Meanwhile, Woodlawn High School stands majestically in the same location on First Avenue North, just like it has since 1922, and the football team is still sending players to the NFL, including Chris Davis, the Auburn cornerback who was the last-second hero of the 2013 Iron Bowl. Relationships We have no records of past relationships for Jeff Rutledge. [3][6], Rutledge served as the quarterbacks and tight ends coach for the New York Sentinels of the United Football League in 2009.[3]. He was indeed a basketball guy, but Tony Nathan would be playing football for a long time. "I came to stay until Tony makes up his mind," Bryant replied. When the other team did not pick up on Rutledge, he took the snap and did a sneak up the middle for yardage that gave the Giants a first down that would eventually lead to a go-ahead score. 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. WIFE'S SUGGESTION OF RETIREMENT LOST ON RUTLEDGE. Jeff Rutledge, who played at Alabama after he graduated from Bank High School, is pictured here during the 1976 Alabama-Notre Dame game in South Bend, Ind. 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. So the magic from that night continues to live on. 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. 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. He is a member of famous Player with the age 65 years old group. Out on the field, one of the players, a linebacker who also filled in as back-up tight end, caught the only touchdown pass of his high-school career, in what was by far the biggest game of his career. (Birmingham News file/Charles Nesbitt). Buy newspaper front pages, posters and more. he recalls. Although it was just one moment in time, all of their names -- as well as those of Greg Muse, Jerry Murphree, Bob Grefseng, Denny Ragland, Brad Hendrix, Jerry Stearns and many others -- will always be linked to that November night in Legion Field 40 years ago. From Woodlawn, linebacker Rocha McKinstry signed with Auburn, and Hendrix, the defensive end, played with the University of North Alabama and later, the NFL's Dallas Cowboys and San Diego Chargers. He also led the Crimson Tide to two Sugar Bowl appearances and two SEC Championships. ", Tony Nathan breaks free with his tear-away jersey flying in the breeze. 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. They came out in such numbers that the start of the game had to be delayed twice so folks could work their way through the jammed Legion Field turnstiles. Continue with Recommended Cookies. 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. Jeff Rutledge. The following Friday night, Woodlawn closed out its season on a cold, rainy night at Fair Park, defeating Carver 12-0. Soon enough, though, Tony would be all around the ball. Rivals in high school, Nathan and Rutledge were teammates for four years at Alabama. ', "I said, 'I will do that. 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. Like Jackson, Nathan excelled at just about any sport he played. 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. 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. "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. 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 wasn't too pleased," Nathan recalls. "Up until my eighth-grade year, I had been going to Banks games all my life, watching Jeff Rutledge's older brother, Gary, and Johnny Musso play,'' Ragland says. Where was Jeff Rutledge born? Jeff Rutledge Biography, Age, Height, Wife, Net Worth, Family Bryant sealed the deal by promising Tony he would get a shot at playing basketball at Alabama, too. Former Realtor at ReallivingAdavanceRealty. On one particular visit, Bryant brought his overnight bag, Tony's father remembers. Banks quarterback Jeff Rutledge, who would later lead Alabama to a national championship and play on two Super Bowl-winning teams, and Woodlawn running back Tony Nathan, who would become Rutledge's teammate at Alabama and go on to play in two Super Bowls of his own, were the marquee attractions. 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. 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. DailyPress.com. (Birmingham News file). Carden Jefferson "Jeff" Rutledge - Wages and sons Rutledge lived up to his star billing that night, completing 9 of 10 passes for 188 yards and that touchdown to Grefseng. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Another, a little fireplug of a linebacker who had moved to Birmingham from Texas the year before, became the surprise defensive star of the game. 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. When the other team did not pick up on Rutledge, he took the snap and did a sneak up the middle for yardage that gave the Giants a first down that would eventually lead to a go-ahead score. Jeff Rutledge - McMillan Vantage printers and related vendors. On fourth down with a yard needed, he was sent by head coach Bill Parcells for a potential decoy play. Jerry McDonald, a split end and defensive back, turned down college football offers and decided to play baseball instead after he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Jeff Rutledge Wiki Biography, Age, Height, Wife, Net Worth, Family Jeff is survived by his wife, Dana; daughter, Payton Rutledge; son, Parker Rutledge; and several nieces and nephews. One of them said on the phone, 'What did you get me?' He is now a bailiff for Miami-Dade County Court Judge Edward Newman, a former Dolphins teammate. He is currently the head football coach at Valley Christian High School (Chandler, Arizona) in Chandler, Arizona. Nathan says. At 65 years old, Jeff Rutledge height not available right now. (Birmingham News file/Charles Nesbitt). Trailing 35-14 with 10:37 left in the third quarter Rutledge replaced an ineffective Stan Humphries and led a great comeback. His most notable play with the Giants came in Super Bowl XXI in the third quarter. 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. "We let them run and play," Tony's father, whom the family calls "Pops," says. By his senior year, it wasn't just folks in Birmingham talking about "Touchdown Tony." (Photo courtesy of Tony Nathan). "Everywhere Tony lined up, there was Greg," Rutledge remembers. Woodlawn, meanwhile, had a nice streak going, too, winning 11 in a row since it fell to Banks 17-7 in 1973.