THOMASVILLE- Hundreds of individuals gathered at The Plaza on Wednesday afternoon for the United Way Campaign Kickoff, featuring former Thomasville High School running and member of the 1974 National High School Football Championship William Andrews.
Andrews was joined by his high school coach Jim Hughes, who spoke on the unique opportunity he had when coaching Andrews.
In January 1970, the school leadership at Thomasville High School decided the following fall would be the first time the dual school system would be eliminated, and the notion of “separate but equal” would be done away with.
“The first time black kids and white kids of large numbers gathered together was our first spring practice that March,” Hughes said. “We put the staff together and the kids together and we had a lot of spectators because many people were interested to see if we would make it work or not.”
The first year the team went 8-2. However, Williams and his teammates were only eighth graders.
“When they became 9th graders, we thought they were a significant enough group that we kept them separate from the varsity,” Hughes said. “We wanted them to blend and develop the kind of camaraderie that was necessary. Of course, the centerpiece of that group athletically was the running back William Andrews.”
The 9th grade team would go undefeated, proving that Hughes and his staff had made the right decision.
“They formed the nucleus for the successes we experienced again in 1973 and 1974,” Hughes said.
As Hughes reflected on this success, he said he resented the fact that so much pressure was placed on the shoulders of young school kids and teachers to make integration work, when Andrews and his teammates proved black kids and white kids could work together for a common goal.
“It worked in the classroom, in the hallways, in the cafeterias, on the practice fields, and on Friday nights in front of this community, we demonstrated how it worked,” Hughes said.
Hughes then introduced Andrews, who spoke on the community he developed while playing in Thomasville and how it transitioned to his time at Auburn and eventually the NFL.
“I’m a South Georgia boy who enjoyed the early days of this great city,” he said. “I call it a great city because we were the start of something. When I was in the NFL, I told the guys I played high school ball with, that every run I did, I did it for them, because they did so much for me when I was in high school.”
Andrews admitted that many of the guys on the team, including himself, sacrificed a lot in the early days.
Andrews originally signed up to play football without the permission of his mother, who did not have insurance to cover any injuries from the game. Andrews still played with the help of his older brother, who forged his mother’s signature.
However, when she found out, Andrews was pulled from the game.
“She made me stop,” he said. “She cut it off and told me I couldn’t play anymore. That was the worst feeling I ever had in my life because I had gotten to know these guys and we were doing really well.”
Andrews said he was out of practice for a few days, concerning his coaches. Missing his talent, the coaches visited Andrews’ home and pleaded with his mother to reconsider.
“I hadn’t been to practice in 3 or 4 days, and we had Valdosta coming up,” Andrews recalled. “Coach Bryan came to my house that afternoon and stayed until midnight talking to my mother, trying to persuade her that the team needed William back.”
Bryan told Andrews’ mother that he wished she could see William in his element and the talent he possessed.
Andrews’ mother finally agreed. Her son would later play a key role in the 1973 and 1974 state championships and eventual 1974 National High School Football Championship.
Andrews admitted he couldn’t have convinced his mother without his football community, though.
“Every Friday night there were 15-20,000 people in the stands to watch us,” Andrews said.
Andrews said he believes the community was drawn to the fact that a few white kids were willing to play with black kids, proving integration was a success on and off the field.
“People learned we are all in this together, and that’s what makes us a community,” he concluded.
Following his speech, an auction was held to raise money for the United Way, where some of Andrews’ signed memorabilia was donated.
'; var element = document.getElementById("sub_message"); element.appendChild(subMessage); console.log("Code Loaded!"); } else { var subMessage = document.createElement('div'); subMessage.id = 'sub-message-top'; subMessage.class = 'panel panel-default'; subMessage.style.backgroundColor = '#eee'; subMessage.style.borderRadius = '5px'; subMessage.style.padding = '10px'; subMessage.style.marginTop = '25px'; subMessage.style.marginBottom = '25px'; subMessage.innerHTML = '
Support local journalism.
Subscribe Today'; var element = document.getElementById("sub_message"); element.appendChild(subMessage); console.log("Code Loaded!"); }}
