I told my wife one night after watching the movie “Remember the Titans” that I wanted the ashes from my cremated remains to be spread across the football field in Jerry Fauls Stadium at J.E.B. Stuart High School, where I played for one of the most underrated, yet successful football programs in Northern Virginia. Many “Remember the Titans” of T.C. Williams High School for winning in 1971 as a fully integrated football team comprised of black and white players. However, many forget about the Raiders of J.E.B. Stuart High School, who were just as competitive as the Titans and won a lot of football games throughout much of the 1980’s with a fully integrated multi-cultural team comprised of black, white, Asian, Hispanic, and Arab players.
In 1959, J.E.B. Stuart High School was established in Falls Church, VA during the height of segregation and the beginning of the modern civil rights movement towards integration in the United States. The school was named after James Ewell Brown (J.E.B.) Stuart, a flamboyant cavalry commander in the Confederate Army, who served under General Robert E. Lee. Stuart was known for his infamous attacks against Union forces in defense of the Southern States right to maintain and uphold the institution of slavery and segregation. Legend has it that many of the Confederate Army soldiers, who fought against integration and were killed in battle were buried beneath what is now the football field at J.E.B. Stuart High School where integrated teams currently play.
The integration of the Titans football team in 1971 is attributable to the influx of black and white students from three schools in the Alexandria, VA area. The team’s overall success on the gridiron that year hinged in large part on the efforts of two coaches, one white (Bill Yoast) and one black (Herman Boone), who put their prejudices and ego’s aside to unify a team and create an environment of respect, intolerance, and brotherhood en route to a state title, dispelling myths about the coexistence of black and white people. As a result, the community came together and rallied around the team during its run, thus forever changing the social dynamics of that community.
However, the integration of the Raider football team in the 1980’s involved the immigration of a large influx of foreign born students from Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East, who befriended their black and white classmates, and essentially used football as a means to acclimate to American life. From 1970 to my freshman year at Stuart in 1985, the number of white students continuously dropped every year, while the number of Hispanic and Asian students increased.
The Raiders of the 1980’s won despite vast changes in the socioeconomic and cultural climate in Falls Church, VA, and were at a distinct disadvantage that went well beyond the scope of the hostile black – white race relations facing the 1971 Titans. Unlike the Titans, the Raiders of that era were never a physically imposing team blessed with great size, speed, experience, and depth. However, they made up for those deficiencies with a chest full of heart and a stomach full of guts to battle and defeat the football goliaths of Northern Virginia.
One must also take into consideration that communication on the team was a constant problem, because many of the foreign born players spoke little to no English. Often times, coaches had to find a player of the same ethnicity to translate play calls and assignments. In addition, most of the foreign born Raider football players knew little about the game of football other than running and tackling. In their homelands, soccer ruled, whereas here in America, football, baseball, and basketball are considered national pastimes that dominate sports culture. The Raider coaching staff, who had over 30 years of coaching experience combined, found themselves spending more time in practice teaching the rules and fundamentals of the game, with limited time to prepare for an upcoming opponent.
During my senior year in 1989, the Raiders varsity roster mirrored a model United Nations, yet managed to dominate nearly every team we played, averaging close to 30 points per game. Our success on the field during that season, was attributable to our coaching staff (Tom Arehart, Ed Lewis, and Eric Ludden), who changed adapted their coaching methods to the changing dynamics of the team, and more importantly embraced and respected the differences in each player, as Boone and Yoast did for the 1971 Titans. Ironically, Arehart once served as an assistant under Yoast at Francis C. Hammond High School prior to the Titans integrated title run in 1971. Like those Titans, the Raiders were a family on and off the field, and that closeness helped to fuel support in victory and provided consoling through defeat.
The J.E.B. Stuart Raiders of the 1980’s were a team of Confederates that won in unity on the gridiron out of love and respect for all men regardless of race or culture – much like the Titans of 1971. For this, I will always “Remember the Raiders”.
