A little bit of Falcon history

D.D. Lewis

Defense has always been a hallmark of the Fulton Falcons and a designation as "Linebacker High" would not be out of line at all. At least that's the way it was in the turbulent 1960s. Today's high school players probably wouldn't recognize the names now but there is no doubt that back in the day nobody was feared more than D.D. Lewis and Jackie Walker.

Lewis was such a headhunter for the Falcons that he earned a scholarship to play for Mississippi State University. But although he was a two-time (1966-67) All-SEC and All-American linebacker for the Bulldogs, Lewis was largely unrecognized as a collegian because Mississippi State didn't have a winning season while he played there. The Dallas Cowboys waited until the sixth round (the 159th pick overall) to take Lewis, who went on to become an All-Pro and play in five Super Bowls in a 13-year professional career. A key member of the Cowboy glory teams of the 1970s, Lewis was a major player in two Super Bowl championships and was also MVP of the Cowboys twice.

If the name Lewis still isn't ringing a bell then how about his teammates...Roger Staubach, Tony Dorsett, Drew Pearson, Butch Johnson, Billy Joe Dupree, Golden Richards, Robert Newhouse, Preston Pearson and Rayfield Wright... But those guys were merely the offensive players. The real Cowboys were on defense. There was Harvey Martin, Jethro Pugh, Randy White, Ed "Too Tall" Jones on the front line. Behind them were the linebackers: Bob Breunig, Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson and D.D. Lewis, the ol' Fulton Falcon. The secondary revolved around Benny Barnes, Mel Renfro, Cliff Harris, Aaron Kyle and Charlie Waters. Together they were the Doomsday Defense. Nuff said!

The 1967 Fulton Falcons are perhaps the most revered of all Fulton football squads due to the fact that they are still the only Falcon squad to finish an undefeated season. None of Fulton's recent state championship teams have managed to go the distance without at least one loss. Ironically, the 1967 "Mighty Mites" were not state champions. They were, however, the AA champs of the Knoxville Football League and winners of the Optimist Bowl against Morristown High. Fulton's final record that season was 10-0-1 and featured some very interesting players. None was more famous at the time than senior linebacker Jackie Walker, one of the first African-American athletes to play for a newly integrated Fulton High School. At Fulton he averaged 23 tackles a game his senior season. Then he went on to become the first African-American football player in the Southeastern Conference to be named an All-American and the first to captain an SEC team.


Jackie Walker

Jackie Walker was as tough as they come. He was an All-State selection for his ferocious play on defense. He put at least 2 players in the hospital in 1967 with brutal hits. In the season opener against Rule High School a player named Jim Brannam was sweeping wide when Walker caught him alone at the line of scrimmage knocking him out cold. Their was a collective gasp of a large crowd at Fulton’s home field because the hit was so hard. Brannam lay motionless until he was help off the field. Brannam was taken to the hospital and could not finish the game. Another knockout blow that has become known simply as "the Hit" left another opposing ballcarrier laid out cold and the sound of the hit could be heard all over the stadium and down a nearby hill.

Meanwhile, the University of Tennessee integrated its football team in 1967, and when Walker became eligible to play in 1969, he was one of only three African-Americans on the team. But he quickly established himself as one of UT's top defensive players. Not particularly big for major college football Walker was extremely fast as well as hardhitting. He still holds the NCAA record for most career interceptions returned for touchdowns (5).

By 1971, six African-Americans were playing football for the Volunteers. When the team elected Walker captain for the 1971 season, one of the two alternates was a lineman from Winchester by the name of Phillip Fulmer.

“Though he was always undersized, he was a great player — smart, great speed and toughness,” Fulmer said after a recent spring practice session. “And he was a great person.”

Tim Priest, a teammate and an all-SEC defensive back, said of Walker: "Jackie was a terrific player. Though he was not very big, he had great explosion at the point of contact, as great as anybody I ever saw play.”

But perhaps it was Bear Bryant and his Crimson Tide who paid Jackie Walker the greatest compliment of all.

In his book Career in Crisis: Paul "Bear" Bryant and the 1971 Season of Change, John David Briley included a description of a special play — the Jackie Walker Play — Alabama designed to contain him. The center would stand him up. Another player would hit him from the right. And a third — the future NFL Hall of Famer John Hannah — would hit him from the left.

Jamie Rotella, another Tennessee linebacker during that game, said the triple-teaming scheme was the only time in all the games he played alongside Walker that his teammate was effectively blocked. With Walker neutralized, Alabama prevailed, 32-15.

“We didn’t talk about concussions back then,” Rotella said. “But in hindsight, I guess that’s what happened to Jackie. He was in the defensive huddles and didn’t know where he was. It was really disheartening for the rest of us to see our hero get dinged. He had always been invincible. Of course, it took three of them to do it.”

That's what we call football tough!