Football Coach Herman Boone Played by Denzel Washington in Remember the Titans Dies at 84
Herman Boone, the T.C. Williams High School football coach famously played by Denzel Washington in Remember the Titans, has died. He was 84.
The high school’s football boosters group announced Boone’s passing on Twitter on Wednesday.
“It is with great sadness that we share the sad news of the passing of former Head Football Coach Herman Boone who lead the Titans to the State Championship in 1971,” the tweet said.
Boone had reportedly been battling caner, according to ESPN.
Remember the Titans, which also starred Will Patton as Boone’s assistant coach Bill Yoast, was released in 2000 and told the story of Boone’s first year coaching the Titans football team in 1971.
He took the team to the Virginia AAA state championship that year, winning after an undefeated season. As portrayed in the movie, Boone brought the team together to overcome racial tensions in the Alexandria City Public School district, which merged its three public high schools into one integrated school that same year.
It is with great sadness that we share the sad news of the passing of former Head Football Coach Herman Boone who lead the Titans to the State Championship in 1971🏈. #RIP@TCWilliamsAD @TCWSports @AlexandriaPatch @AlexandriaNow @AlexGazette pic.twitter.com/4I0DFAAWSF
— T.C. Williams H.S. Football Boosters (@TCTitanFootball) December 18, 2019
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Boone, who was the first black football coach in Northern Virginia, coached the Titans at T.C. Williams until 1979, when he was controversially fired.
Nonetheless, Boone remains a beloved figure.
“He touched many lives and hearts across the world. He was inspirational for so many people, including me as one of his former students,” said Alexandria City superintendent of schools Dr. Gregory C. Hutchings, Jr., according to ESPN.
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“Alexandria City Public Schools was fortunate to have him as an icon at such a critical time in our history. He will be dearly missed,” Hutchings added.
Boone’s death comes about seven months after Yoast’s, who passed away in May of this year at 94, and whom Boone called the “best friend he ever had.”
“Bill was not going to allow racial differences to exist in this city,” Boone said when Yoast died. “He and I found a way to talk to each other and trust each other.”
