| Learn more about Jeff . He played college football at Alabama, where he was the team's starting quarterback for their 1978 National . "I was like, 'All right, it's that time.'". 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. Jeff Rutledge takes a breather during the 1974 Banks-Woodlawn game at Legion Field in Birmingham. 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 was born to Tony and Cheryl Rutledge in Cullman, Alabama, on April 21, 1989. It took him 36 years, but Nathan kept that promise to his coach. He was indeed a basketball guy, but Tony Nathan would be playing football for a long time. Tony Nathan will sign copies of his new book, "Touchdown Tony: Running With a Purpose," at 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18, at the Alabama Booksmith, 2626 19th Place South, Homewood. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. (Birmingham News file/Robert Adams). QB Born: January 22, 1957 in Birmingham, AL Drafted: 1979 Rnd 9, Pick 246 by LA: College: Alabama: Career Stats Career Stats Game Log Game Log Splits Splits. "Well, Shula knew what talent was," Nathan says. 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. His brother Gary Rutledge was also a quarterback at Alabama from 1972 to 1974. (Birmingham News file). Newman serves as a criminal court judge in Miami-Dade County, and six years ago, he hired Nathan to be a bailiff in his courtroom. [4], Rutledge is a Christian and attends Arizona Community Church in Chandler. Jeffrey Ronald Rutledge (born January 22, 1957) is an American football coach and former professional quarterback. 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. 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. His zodiac sign is Aquarius More about Jeff Rutledge Photo Gallery Jeff Rutledge Jeff Rutledge Jeffrey Ronald Rutledge (born January 22, 1957) is an American football coach and former professional quarterback. On one particular visit, Bryant brought his overnight bag, Tony's father remembers. If it had been up to Louise Nathan, her son Tony never would have touched a football. "That's a scary thought now," the 58-year-old Nathan says of what might have been. The year before, Logan had coached at rural Locust Fork High School in Blount County. He was the starting quarterback on the 1978 National Championship team. [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. And when the game finally did kick off a half-hour or so later, the crowd kept pouring in well into the second quarter. (Photo courtesy of Tony Nathan). "I remember going back and forth to get more tickets to sell. ", Alabama basketball coach C.M. Nose tackle Bob Baumhower, who was two years ahead of Nathan at Alabama, was already there when Nathan arrived for his first camp. He completed 30 of 42 p*es for 363 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 12 yards for the game-tying touchdown with only 24 seconds remaining. He is not dating anyone. "It was a miserable way to end your season.". ''You gear up for a time when you're going to get together as a family. On the bus ride to Legion Field, the Woodlawn players knew it was a big deal when they got a police escort to the game, which was also a first for them. 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. 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. "They do a great job of keeping us involved in what's going on and keeping us involved with the fans. The unsung hero, though, was a little linebacker named Greg Muse, who had transferred to Banksafter living in Texas. of development through completion. When the Cardinals hired a new offensive coordinator at the end of that season, Rutledge and most of the offensive staff were fired. "I get to meet a ton of people -- lawyers, defendants, victims -- and they all are different," Nathan says. . Where was Jeff Rutledge born? The final count was an estimated 42,000 people -- roughly 10,000 more than the previous record crowd at the Crippled Children's Classic between Phillips and Woodlawn, also at Legion Field, in 1950. He will miss Saturday night's exhibition game against the Giants at Giants Stadium. 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. "It was Banks-Woodlawn. "We were out there playing in the mud and the rain," Woodlawn's Ragland says. And when that happened, that movement, I was touched in my heart to do so again.". "I told him, me being so far behind, I didn't want to flunk out. Also learn how He earned most of networth at the age of 63 years old? ", In the lunchroom, the Woodlawn students would break into impromptu pep rallies, standing in their chairs and yelling, "Rip Jets, rip Jets, rip those Sugar Jets." TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. He is married to his wife Laura and has 3 children. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. "There are people who went to that game that I've heard from all my life," Rutledge says. He was a devoted husband and father and his favorite hobby was fishing. said Rutledge. A month ago, Jeff and Laura Rutledge decided that today would be Reunion Day, the day Laura and their three children would leave their home in Mission Viejo, Calif., and fly east to join Jeff for the winter. 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. I knew when I came to training camp that it would be tough. My parents raised me that way. Rutledge was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. (Birmingham News file/Charles Nesbitt). He was worn out, and he was just tearing the rest of his jersey off.". Now he is here and his family is there, and no one is happy. "That was neat, that she had just come up (for the game), not knowing anything that was going to happen years later," Rutledge says. That University of Alabama sorority girl who was in the stands at Legion Field that night? Most likely, Tony would not have been drafted by the NFL's Miami Dolphins, and regrettably, he also would have missed out on starting in two Super Bowls, as well as being part of one of the most famous plays in Dolphins' history. 66. So it's tough for her to hear that she should wait. "We were down 24-zip and nothing was going right, and that was the play that gave us the spark to come back. They know they're going to get presents when they see me. 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. "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. Finished career at Alabama has the school's leading passer, surpassing Joe Namath. "We let them run and play," Tony's father, whom the family calls "Pops," says. "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. The main building, built in 1922, was a grand, three-story structure that always looked more like a palace than a schoolhouse. Perhaps that epic 1974 showdown at Legion Field between Birmingham high-school heavyweights Woodlawn and Banks would have been just another Friday night football game. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. It's tough for me to tell her to wait. The Nathans go to the same church, New Testament Baptist Church, with his former Alabama and Miami teammate McNeal and his wife, Rhonda. "I played with older guys, and I wanted to be able to play on their level," Nathan says. "They all looked at me like, 'OK, don't you think it's your time?'" "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. 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. 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. At 65 years old, Jeff Rutledge height not available right now. That 1974 Banks-Woodlawn game would be Shorty White's 100th win at Banks, and his last. "We had a ball. He and his wife, Johnnie, who was his high school sweetheart at Woodlawn and his college sweetheart at Alabama, still live in the same house they bought in 1983. Banks High School - named for school superintendent L. Frazier Banks - opened in 1957 in Birmingham's South East Lake neighborhood and fielded its first football team three years later. After the season ended, he accepted an assistant coaching position on Paul "Bear" Bryant's staff at Alabama, where he was part of back-to-back national championships in 1978 and 1979 -- the first of which featured Rutledge and Nathan in the starting backfield. 6' 1" (185 cm) How much does Jeff Rutledge weigh? 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,. 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". Rutledge earned MVP honors at the 1978 Sugar Bowl and also earned All-SEC honors in 1978 and 1979. Rutledge played collegiately at Alabama, where he was a member of three SEC Championship teams under Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant. But she's been through this every year. He said, 'Well, make sure you promise me you're going to finish what you started. It wasn't anything boastful for him. "All I had ever seen of football games was everybody falling on each other and piling on each other," she says. Since then, Rutledge has been mostly a backup. They made great souvenirs, too, and fans mobbed him after the games to get a piece of Nathan's jersey. ''It's an odd world, isn't it?'' Football was going to be it. A title search shows that Mr. Rutledge and his wife bought a property in Naramata for $1.15-million on Oct. 31, 2016. Horgan III, Jeff Hart, Jim Rutledge of Canada, Gary Hallberg and Jeff Freeman pose together with their Qualifying cards during the Champions Tour. I told Coach Gerelds that I didn't want him to be anywhere near the ball.". ", Tony Nathan prepares to take a hand-off from quarterback Jeff Rutledge at the University of Alabama. . I remember it was good we didn't start when we were supposed to because they were at their peak. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. Ragland recalls. he recalls. "His jersey would just be hanging on him," Woodlawn teammate Brad Hendrix says. 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. On signing day, both Bryant and Alabama basketball coach C.M. (Photo courtesy of Tony Nathan). It all built up to Nov. 8, 1974, when Woodlawn, which had won 11 games in a row, met its old nemesis Banks, which was riding a 34-game unbeaten streak, at Legion Field. 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. 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. We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 22 January. After Thursday morning's practice, the Giants will leave for their annual welcome-home lunch at the Sheraton Centre. 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. Welcome. His wife, Laura, a former Miss . Internal communications and employee engagement pro with a tech focus and multi-disciplinary background. 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. We will update Jeff Rutledge's Height, weight, Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size soon as possible. Discover today's celebrity birthdays and explore famous people who share your birthday. His most notable play with the Giants came in Super Bowl XXI in the third quarter. "The touchdown was a busted play," he recalls. "He wasn't too pleased," Nathan recalls. "The Woodlawn guys were like maniacs, and they were roaring all through their pre-game warm-ups. Jeff Rutledge, Nathan's old rival from Banks, was now his teammate, quarterbacking the Tide. "If we needed him to throw the football, I knew he could definitely do that. Even though the Dolphins eventually lost in overtime, the play lives on in Miami lore. Bill Battle, the young coach at Tennessee, wanted Nathan to come play for him in Knoxville, and Vols star quarterback Condredge Holloway showed him around on his official visit. Almost assuredly, Nathan would not be the featured character in the upcoming movie "Woodlawn," which opens nationwide on Oct. 16, and most definitely, he would not have written a book, "Touchdown Tony: Running With a Purpose," which comes out Tuesday. "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. He had 274 completions in 526 attempts for 3,628 yards and 16 touchdowns. DailyPress.com. 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. It wasn't so much the football I wanted. 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. 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. "I just felt like I was the oldest cat in the house," he says. "There is no doubt in my mind that the delay in the game helped us,'' Banks' Grefseng says. Efforts to reach him for this story were unsuccessful. By Frank Litsky, Special To the New York Times. They've been married for going on 37 years now, with three children and nine grandkids. Playing in the wishbone -- a four-pronged attack with two tailbacks, a fullback and the quarterback all sharing carries -- Nathan never amassed huge numbers like Crimson Tide workhorses Bobby Humphrey or Shaun Alexander or Trent Richardson, but for his career, he averaged an eye-popping 6.4 yards every time he carried the ball at Alabama. Our defensive game plan was awesome.". Following his senior season at Alabama in 1978, Banks' Jeff Rutledge went on to play 13 years in the National Football League. So I had never beaten them.". So you go all out and do what you can do just to fit in.". Senior Consultant. Ragland, the Woodlawn quarterback, grew up in a house divided. On October 2, 2019, his wife gave birth to a daughter. He resigned in the Spring of 2012 to return to Arizona to spend time with his family. Something like that. 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. ''Maybe it will make them think a bit or at least make their decision tough. All rights reserved (About Us). His most notable play with the Giants came in Super Bowl XXI in the third quarter. "We just sat up there and watched," Martin, now retired, recalls. One of them said on the phone, 'What did you get me?' White is now retired and living with his wife, June, in Helena. 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. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. "I was like, 'What?'" He was part of a team that earned back-to-back state *les at L. Frazier Banks High School in Birmingham, Alabama. A three-year starter, he also led Alabama to the #2 National ranking in 1977. ''I talked to Bill after practice Saturday,'' said Rutledge. Rutledge played collegiately at Alabama, where he was a member of three SEC Championship teams under Coach Paul "Bear" Bryant.