He is married to his wife Laura and has 3 children. Like Jackson, Nathan excelled at just about any sport he played. Our defensive game plan was awesome.". Finished career at Alabama has the school's leading passer, surpassing Joe Namath. 2. We were playing in front of 20,000 people regularly, so we were getting some big crowds.". This is a digitized version of an article from The Timess print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. (Birmingham News file/Robert Adams). "I don't even know if he realized how good he was back then. Something like that. That year, the Cardinals made a late season run and earned a Super Bowl berth, but lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-23. UNEASY LIES THE HEAD OF NO. Woodlawn never beat Banks during Nathan's three years on the varsity. 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. 1972 His brother Gary Rutledge was also a quarterback at Alabama from 1972 to 1974. The following Friday night, Woodlawn closed out its season on a cold, rainy night at Fair Park, defeating Carver 12-0. ----DeOssie and Roberts Out Steve DeOssie and William Roberts missed practice Wednesday. That iconic Banks jet was turned over to the Southern Museum of Flight, where it has been restored to its Korean War glory days. He also led the Crimson Tide to two Sugar Bowl appearances and two SEC Championships. So you go all out and do what you can do just to fit in.". Unbeknownst to either one of them at the time, she would later marry one of the game's biggest heroes. (Birmingham News file/Robert Adams). He received his degree from Alabama in Business Administration and in 2011, was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. He got permission from his academic advisers to drop his courses with a withdraw-passing grade and come back to finish his degree later. That 1974 Banks-Woodlawn game would be Shorty White's 100th win at Banks, and his last. "It was time for people to actually get along -- no matter what race or color you were," he says. As a senior, he was a member of the 1974 Parade High School All-American team. ", Woodlawn's Tony Nathan ran for 112 yards and scored a touchdown in the 1974 Banks-Woodlawn game, but Banks linebacker Greg Muse was all over him all night long. (Photo courtesy of Tony Nathan). Jeff Rutledge, Nathan's old rival from Banks, was now his teammate, quarterbacking the Tide. They've been married for going on 37 years now, with three children and nine grandkids. View Jeff Rutledge results in Munford, AL including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. The film builds to a finale where Woodlawn meets crosstown rival Banks, quarterbacked by Jeff Rutledge, who would eventually play at Alabama with Nathan. His two older sisters went to Banks, but after the Birmingham schools were desegregated, he was zoned for Woodlawn. Plan B was the system under which each N.F.L. (Photo courtesy of Tony Nathan). I was so elated that he did it, and I thank the Lord that he did.". An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. (Birmingham News file) In the 1980s,. He also led the Crimson Tide to two Sugar Bowl appearances and two SEC Championships. We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 22 January. . "And then they told me that that guy (Nathan) was an All-American basketball player, and he wasn't going to be playing football. (Birmingham News file/Charles Nesbitt). ", 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." '", So just think, if Louise Nathan hadn't put her foot down, maybe no one would have ever heard of "Touchdown Tony.". And to himself. Since then, Rutledge has been mostly a backup. "We just sat up there and watched," Martin, now retired, recalls. From his perch in the press box, Birmingham News sportswriter Wayne Martin could see the pedestrian bottleneck at the south entrance of Legion Field, as well as an unbroken strand of headlights from the long line of cars on Graymont Avenue, which was backed up all the way to downtown. He completed 30 of 42 passes for 363 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 12 yards for the game-tying touchdown with only 24 seconds remaining. In May 2013, Rutledge was hired by Valley Christian High School in Chandler, Arizona as a full-time staff member and also to lead the football program. "He ate a few pieces of it, but he didn't eat much.". Jeff is survived by his wife, Dana; daughter, Payton Rutledge; son, Parker Rutledge; and several nieces and nephews. The other day, Rutledge called his wife and told her to wait. Following his senior season at Alabama in 1978, Banks' Jeff Rutledge went on to play 13 years in the National Football League. It wasn't anything boastful for him. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. (Photo courtesy of Tony Nathan). 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. The easygoing Nathan had the ideal temperament for the job, Newman told him. White says he was assured by the Legion Field crew that it would be able to handle the crowd. Hoover, Alabama. 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. "We have, I think, one of the best alumni associations in the NFL," Nathan says. But there was one catch. 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. "It was always the biggest game of the year, for both sides," Rutledge says. "The touchdown was a busted play," he recalls. "I remember going back and forth to get more tickets to sell. Simms is the Giants' starter and Jeff Hostetler is No. 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. Newton and football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant stand behind Tony Nathan as he signs his scholarship to attend the University of Alabama. About Jeff Rutledge is a 66 year old American Football (American) Player born on 22nd January, 1957 in Birmingham, AL. Rutledge played collegiately at Alabama, where he was a member of three SEC Championship teams under Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. "We had a ball. "I was like, 'What?'" "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. On fourth down with a yard needed, he was sent by head coach Bill Parcells for a potential decoy play. 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. 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. Louise Nathan, though, never was wild about her seeing her son get hit. "That's a scary thought now," the 58-year-old Nathan says of what might have been. 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. "They had the best running back in the state and we had the best quarterback," former Banks head coach George "Shorty" White remembers. On fourth down with a yard needed, he was sent by head coach Bill Parcells for a potential decoy play. On October 2, 2019, his wife gave birth to a daughter. 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. 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. Senior Consultant. He played college football at Alabama, where he was the team's starting quarterback for their 1978 National . . "It was supposed to be a quick pass but somebody got in there and almost sacked Jeff. ', "She said, 'No, but even more so, you're not going to be a quitter. If you purchase a product or register for an account through one of the links on our site, we may receive compensation. Once the game did start, Banks built an 18-0 lead on a pair of 21- and 16-yard touchdown runs by fullback Jerry Murphree and a 32-yard TD pass from Rutledge to Grefseng, who also doubled as a back-up tight end. ", RELATED:Remembering the 1974 Woodlawn-Banks game. After working as an assistant at Vanderbilt University and with the Arizona Cardinals in the NFL, Rutledge is now the head coach at Valley Christian High School in Chandler, Ariz. After four years at Alabama, Woodlawn's Tony Nathan was drafted in the third round of the 1979 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins, where he played for nine seasons under Don Shula, including two Super Bowls. The attendance was out of this world.". We just couldn't put the icing on the cake.". "He looked like he had a jet pack on his back," Baumhower recalls. "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. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. 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. He said he hadn't decided whether to keep two or three quarterbacks.''. But he made a great play and I just kept running, and he threw it and I caught it.". They attended some of the same churches and dated some of the same girls. Discover today's celebrity birthdays and explore famous people who share your birthday. (Birmingham News file). The night after that chat, in an exhibition game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Rutledge completed all 8 of his passes for 156 yards. He completed 30 of 42 passes for 363 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 12 yards for the game-tying touchdown with only 24 seconds remaining. All three of Nathan's daughters have their college degrees - Nichole from South Florida and Natalie and Nadia from Alabama - as does his wife. After seven seasons at Vanderbilt, Rutledge became the head coach at Montgomery Bell Academy, a school for seventh to 12th grade boys in Nashville. (Birmingham News file/Charles Nesbitt). According to our Database, He has no children. "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. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Rutledge earned MVP honors at the 1978 Sugar Bowl and also earned All-SEC honors in 1978 and 1979. Learn How rich is He in this year and how He spends money? The next Christmas, Santa Claus brought Tony his first official football. 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. A three-year starter, he also led Alabama to the #2 National ranking in 1977. I don't know exactly when, but I'll do it.'". Or was it 17-7? View popular celebrities life details, birth signs and real ages. Former Realtor at ReallivingAdavanceRealty. 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. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. 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. "I played with older guys, and I wanted to be able to play on their level," Nathan says. 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. The regular season game was played in . "Some do come in with attitudes, and you just have to diffuse them before they go in front of the judge. "It was just that time. So, how much is Jeff Rutledge worth at the age of 65 years old? Rutledge was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. In 2006, the Birmingham Board of Education decided to close the deteriorating middle school, too, saying it was unsafe and an eyesore. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. If it had been up to Louise Nathan, her son Tony never would have touched a football. He would just tear it off and throw it up in the crowd. Rutledge, 58, who was the quarterbacks coach of the Cardinals in their only Super Bowl season, said Alabama never stopped aspiring to the biggest heights in college football since he left. 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. No One Else Wanted Him. White is now retired and living with his wife, June, in Helena. In his teens, he acted in productions of the North Shore Children's Theater and, from 1942 to 1944, performed in . "When people say Tony Nathan, their ears go up. If all that notoriety affected Nathan, none of his teammates could tell. 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. Even though the Dolphins eventually lost in overtime, the play lives on in Miami lore. On Nov. 8, 1974 -- 40 years ago this Saturday - the two-time defending state champion Banks Jets met their eastern Birmingham rivals the Woodlawn Colonels in front of what was then and remains today the biggest crowd to ever watch a high school football game in Alabama. ''I talked to Bill after practice Saturday,'' said Rutledge. "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. "We both started to laugh.". It hardly seemed like a swan-song performance. Mike Perez was waived Tuesday, leaving Rutledge as the only other quarterback on the roster. Something else special happened that week, too. "It was a culmination of really four years of building up to that point," Woodlawn quarterback Denny Ragland remembers. The unsung hero, though, was a little linebacker named Greg Muse, who had transferred to Banksafter living in Texas. 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. [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. By Friday, the excitement was at full-tilt boogie. His brother Gary Rutledge was also a quarterback at Alabama from 1972 to 1974. The kids are disappointed. Among those 42,000 who came to watch was a freshman sorority girl from the University of Alabama, who was there not because she had any allegiance to either team but just because she heard it was a big game and she wanted to see it and be a part of it. On signing day, both Bryant and Alabama basketball coach C.M. After completing the eighth grade, those students who would have gone to Banks instead went to Woodlawn High School, Banks' old rival. They made great souvenirs, too, and fans mobbed him after the games to get a piece of Nathan's jersey. "This was before Bo Jackson," Ragland, the Woodlawn quarterback, says. Add to that the fact that, back in those days, only one team from each region made the state playoffs. In the spring of 2007 Rutledge got his first NFL coaching job when he was hired as quarterbacks coach with the NFL's Arizona Cardinals, with direct charge over Kurt Warner. 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. That University of Alabama sorority girl who was in the stands at Legion Field that night? 100.00 Down Payment and Houses with No Credit Check. 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. Where was Jeff Rutledge born? "That Banks-Woodlawn game our senior year, that was all about Tony and Jeff Rutledge," Hendrix says. 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. Woodlawn students used to yell, ''Rip those Sugar Jets," which was a reference to this brand of cereal. Nathan played nine years with the Dolphins and started in two Super Bowls. He finished his college career with a 33-5 record as a starter, which currently ranks him as the University of Alabama's seventh all-time winningest quarterback. . | Learn more about Jeff . Nose tackle Bob Baumhower, who was two years ahead of Nathan at Alabama, was already there when Nathan arrived for his first camp. "And I didn't like that. His wife, Laura, a former Miss . He is a member of famous Player with the age 65 years old group. 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. His net worth has been growing significantly in 2021-2022. "Everywhere Tony lined up, there was Greg," Rutledge remembers. (Photo courtesy of Tony Nathan). 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. If they cut me and someone picks me up, they would have to get someone else not familiar with their system.'' 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. 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. Experienced backup quarterbacks can be valuable when injuries strike. In the spring of 2007 Rutledge got his first NFL coaching job when he was hired as quarterbacks coach with the NFL's Arizona Cardinals,[5] with direct charge over Kurt Warner. But, Knoxville, too, was a little too far from home for Nathan. (Birmingham News file/Charles Nesbitt). fatal car accident in tulare county / how to endorse a check for mobile deposit wells fargo / jeff rutledge wife. On Monday night, the Los Angeles Rams lost their backup, Mark Herrmann, for six to eight weeks with broken ribs. ''Maybe it will make them think a bit or at least make their decision tough. "I'm 57 years old, and I'll run into people that I haven't seen in years and years and years and they talk about that game, that they were there. Description above from the Wikipedia article Jeff Rutledge, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia. 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. Jeffrey Ronald Rutledge (born January 22, 1957) is an American football coach and former professional quarterback. "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. So they put the pressure on him, too. We have estimated ''It's an odd world, isn't it?'' Trailing 35-14 with 10:37 left in the third quarter Rutledge replaced an ineffective Stan Humphries and led a great comeback. Rutledge was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. Rutledge lived up to his star billing that night, completing 9 of 10 passes for 188 yards and that touchdown to Grefseng. 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. Coach Bill Parcells will probably keep three this year, but there is no guarantee. 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. 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. We had a blast. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. ", Alabama basketball coach C.M. "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.'''. William Nathan was sold, though, and eventually, so was his son Tony. "People drove up, saw the lines outside and just went on by. He was the starting quarterback on the 1978 National Championship team. I don't remember that whole week. He had 274 completions in 526 attempts for 3,628 yards and 16 touchdowns. 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. Horgan III, Jeff Hart, Jim Rutledge of Canada, Gary Hallberg and Jeff Freeman pose together with their Qualifying cards during the Champions Tour. That game meant that Rutledge got the nod to start the following week on Monday Night against the Philadelphia Eagles in a game that was to become infamously known as the "Body Bag Game". Woodlawn, meanwhile, had a nice streak going, too, winning 11 in a row since it fell to Banks 17-7 in 1973. "We dedicated our season to the glory of the Lord, and we played at a much higher level those two years (1973-74) than we probably should have. After Friday morning's practice, they will break camp and return to Giants Stadium, where practices are closed to the public. 6'1", 195 lbs. If all of the gates had been open, they would have had 60,000 people.". (Photo courtesy of Tony Nathan). 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. #Jeff #Rutledge #Wiki Biography #Age #Height #Wife #Net #Worth #Family Tags: Age Biography Family Height Jeff Net Rutledge Wife Wiki Worth In those days, the Banks-Woodlawn rivalry was like the Alabama-Auburn of Birmingham high school football, but maybe just a little friendlier. Trailing 35-14 with 10:37 left in the third quarter Rutledge replaced an ineffective Stan Humphries and led a great comeback. Ragland recalls. are hard-pressed to remember the final score. He is not dating anyone. 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. 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. "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. "It was a miserable way to end your season.". Jeff Rutledge, Nathan's old rival from Banks, was now his teammate, quarterbacking the Tide. 6' 1" (185 cm) How much does Jeff Rutledge weigh? And when the game finally did kick off a half-hour or so later, the crowd kept pouring in well into the second quarter. "We knew each other from grammar school.". When the Cardinals hired a new offensive coordinator at the end of that season, Rutledge and most of the offensive staff were fired. 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. Rutledge earned MVP honors at the 1978 Sugar Bowl and also earned All-SEC honors in 1978 and 1979. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. Jeff Rutledge takes a breather during the 1974 Banks-Woodlawn game at Legion Field in Birmingham. Rutledge was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. Tony is a very revered guy here in our community, here in our church community.". Birmingham police guessed another 20,000 gave up and went back home when they saw the long lines. Jeff Rutledge Position: QB Birthdate: January 22, 1957 College: Alabama Draft: Selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the 9th round (246th overall) of the 1979 NFL Draft Stats Gamelogs 300-Yard Passing Jeff Rutledge Stats Jeff Rutledge career stats with the Los Angeles Rams, New York Giants and Washington Redskins. There are 90+ professionals named "Jeff Rutledge", who use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas, and opportunities. Commissioner Rutledge, a native of Newport, graduated from Newport High School and earned a B.S. ", Tony Nathan strikes a Heisman-like pose as he tries to avoid a linebacker. Rutledge spent most of his career as a back-up quarterback and a holder on kicks. Wore number 17 for the New York Giants. 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. "His jersey would just be hanging on him," Woodlawn teammate Brad Hendrix says. Soon enough, though, Tony would be all around the ball. 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. As big as it was, though, even in these days where everything is just a Google or YouTube search away, only a few accounts and descriptions from that night are available, mainly in school yearbooks and newspaper archives. 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,. Trailing 35-14 with 10:37 left in the third quarter Rutledge replaced an ineffective Stan Humphries and led a great comeback. I can tell you, Tony had no trouble with his blocking.". 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. WIFE'S SUGGESTION OF RETIREMENT LOST ON RUTLEDGE. 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. (Photo courtesy of Tony Nathan). Jeff Rutledge Biography. "It wasn't hard to grab a piece of it. "I had some professors walk up to me and say, 'Hey, we were around when you were playing.'. The night before the game, Stearns says, members of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapters from both teams gathered for a joint meeting at Woodlawn. ", Tony Nathan runs behind his Miami Dolphins teammate Jeff Toews in a game against the New York Jets. I will make you that promise. 66. Rutledge played collegiately at Alabama, where he was a member of three SEC Championship teams under Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. He was indeed a basketball guy, but Tony Nathan would be playing football for a long time. (Birmingham News file/Charles Nesbitt). I said, 'You have to wait until you see me.' By his senior season in 1974, Woodlawn running back Tony Nathan was one of the most sought-after high school football players in America. 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. "I knew some of those guys, and I'm like, 'Why would y'all be out here in the hot sun watching freshman football?'" BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Forty years later, the details have gotten fuzzier and the legends have grown larger. Wasn't it 14-0? I wanted him to have his degree. Tandy Gerelds left Woodlawn after the 1975 season to join his father in the family insurance business, but in 1984, he returned to coaching at Deshler High School in Tuscumbia. Rutledge was born to Tony and Cheryl Rutledge in Cullman, Alabama, on April 21, 1989. That year, the Cardinals made a late season run and earned a Super Bowl berth, but lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 27-23. ''That may make the Giants think,'' said Rutledge.
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