Herman Boone, the Virginia high school football coach who inspired the movie “Remember the Titans,” has died. He was 84.
Boone guided T.C. Williams High School to a state championship while navigating the early days of desegregation.
Aly Khan Johnson, an assistant coach for Boone beginning in 1972, said the coach died Wednesday at his home in Alexandria, Virginia. Johnson said a funeral home operated by his wife is handling the arrangements, which are not complete. He said Boone had been battling lung cancer. Johnson said he had visited the coach regularly and had planned to see him Wednesday when he learned of his death.
The North Carolina-born Boone led undefeated T.C. Williams High School to the state championship in 1971. His team and its initial success was also recognized as a galvanizing factor in helping bring the city through school consolidation.
Much of “Remember the Titans” covers the team’s uphill battle to win the state championship over 15 all-white teams. They have to overcome vindictive opponents, racist coaches and crooked referees.
The football season was the basis for the 2000 film, where Boone was portrayed by Denzel Washington.
A high school coach for 21 years, Boone was hired as an assistant football coach at T.C. Williams High School in 1969. Having integrated schools in 1965, the city of Alexandria, Virginia, consolidated students from three high schools into T.C. Williams in 1971, and Boone was named the head coach of the combined football team.
President Richard Nixon sent an aide to see this integrated football team that was beginning to catch national attention. In 1971, Nixon was quoted as saying of the Titans that “the team saved the city of Alexandria.”
Boone retired from coaching in 1979. In 2016, he was was awarded the Living Legends of Alexandria award for notable citizens of Alexandria, Virginia.
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