Alex M. Rivera Athletics Hall of Fame
Herman “Ike” Boone, a native of Rocky Mount, NC (Booker T. Washington High School), is best-known as the high school football coach whose story inspired the hit movie Remember the Titans, starring Academy Award-winner Denzel Washington as Boone.
After earning his bachelor of arts and master’s degrees from NCCU, Boone decided to be a teacher and coach so he could motivate youngsters.
Boone’s journey landed him in a racially-divided Alexandria, Virginia, as the head football coach at T.C. Williams High School in 1971. Boone was able to unite a diverse team and coaching staff into the most powerful football team in the state of Virginia.
The Titans posted an unblemished 13-0 record, winning the state championship title and earning a No. 2 ranking by the national polls.
In December 1971, President Richard M. Nixon was quoted as saying “the team saved the city of Alexandria.”
