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Great Tiger teams of the past
The Tiger team of 1936, caught in somewhat of a rebuilding year following the perfect 9 - 0 - 0 season of 1935, finished the year 3 - 6 - 1. One of the three victories recorded by Coach D. F. Anderson's team that season did come against county rival Clarke County 7 - 2. In 1946 the Thomasville Tigers posted a 5 - 4 record which included wins over in county rivals Coffeeville and Clarke County and soon to become traditional rival Sweet Water. The losses suffered by Coach D. F. Anderson's team that season came from powerhouses Greenville, Selma and U.M. S. in addition to county rival Jackson. The football squad of 1956 which had five players among its number who would graduate in the spring of 1957, began the season with a 13 - 13 tie with Pine Hill and ended it the same way tying Linden 13 - 13. In between, Coach D. F. Anderson's charges won six games and lost two. In their wins which included victories over county rival Jackson and traditional rival Sweet Water, the Tigers shut out four of their opponents. The two Tiger losses that year came against Clarke County and Leroy. Ted Cornelius took the reigns of the Tiger football program in 1966 with the task of rebuilding after the 8 - 1 - 1 season the team of 1965 had posted. His squad which had wins over Pine Hill and Leroy in addition to county rival Clarke County finished the season 3 - 6 - 1. A 14 - 7 loss to county rival Jackson was among their defeats with their only tie of the season coming from a 0 - 0 defensive struggle with traditional rival Sweet Water. Twelve members of the 1966 Tiger football squad picked up their diploma in the spring of 1967. In 1976 Ronnie Massey, in his first year as Thomasville's head coach, took the Tigers to a 7 - 3 record. Included in the Tigers' seven wins that year were victories over rivals Clarke County and Sweet Water as well as first time opponents Citronelle and St. Pauls. On the flip side the Tiger losses came from county rival Jackson, Demopolis and McIntosh. Sixteen members of the class of 1977 donned the maroon and gray on the football team for the last time in the fall of 1976. When the fall of 1986 rolled around Coach Bill McNair was beginning his sixth season as the head man of the Tiger football program. That squad, which included ten players who would graduate the following spring, finished the year 6 - 5 winning the area and advancing to the first round of the state playoffs where they lost to the Alba Sharks 20 - 14. Along the way they picked up wins against Demopolis and rivals Clarke County and Sweet Water in addition to their area wins. Among their losses were defeats by rival Jackson and T. R. Miller. As the fall of 1996 arrived the Thomasville football program was in transition again with Buster Kizziah taking over as the Tiger's head football coach for his only year at the helm. Things started great when the Tigers defeated rival Sweet Water 7 - 0 in the first game of the year. Unfortunately things went down hill from there with the Tigers only other victory coming over Livingston in game seven leaving them with a 2 - 8 record at seasons end. Two of the eight losses came at the hands of county rivals Clarke County and Jackson in a rare sweep of the Tigers by in county teams. The eleven seniors who because of their strength and courage persevered through what is considered by many to be the worst season in Thomasville football history, have been credited with laying the foundation for the resurgence that has taken place in the years since. The final team in our review is the 2006 squad who a little less than ten months ago walked off the Legion Field playing surface feeling the pangs of coming up one point short of their ultimate goal, a 4A State Championship. That squad, who under the leadership of present Tiger Head Coach Jack Hankins finished the year at 13 - 2, will go down in the record books as one of the best teams in Thomasville football history. Included in their 13 wins was victories over county rivals Clarke County and Jackson as well as traditional rival Sweet Water. As for the record books, their 505 points scored during the season puts them in second place on the all-time total points scored list while their 33.67 average points per game scored places them in fourth place in that category. Their winning percentage of .867 puts them in ninth place on that all-time list. Nine members of the 2006 football team were listed among the graduating class of 2007. When we take time to reflect on a segment of history like that of Thomasville High School football there are a lot of things that come to light. Obviously among those things are the accomplishments and failures that each team had during their time in the spotlight. Possibly more importantly however are the stories individuals who were involved in a specific moment of that history remember. In remembering they can recapture, if only for an instant, a part of their past that is gone forever. Often the stories help us keep alive the memory of friends and acquaintances that are no longer with us. In all cases the stories help bind together the generations of Tiger players; past, present and future in a legacy that will transcend time. That legacy which began in 1916 includes hundreds of young men who have been a part of this storied program which in its 92 years and counting has compiled a record to date of 561 wins 291 losses and 42 ties. Quite an accomplishment in anyone's book!
Until next time…….be safe!
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