#GRID IRON WARS AL WILSON MOVIE#

Chicago Bears coach George Halas sent an official into the locker room right before the start of a game.

He had a reputation for being one of the hardest hitters in the league, knocking out several opponents by launching into their chins with his shoulder. This did happen to Hardy Brown, but not until years later when he was in the NFL and playing for the San Francisco 49ers.

New York Postĭid a rival high school coach named Luther Scarborough try to stop the Mighty Mites from competing in the city district? By exploiting his team's strengths, the Mighty Mites left their opponents bewildered. The offensive strategies that Coach Russell developed focused on speed over size and were dependent on passing. He also invented the spread offense, which requires the opposing team's defense to have to cover more of the field. How was Coach Russell able to beat bigger teams?Īfter Coach Rusty Russell's physically small squad suffered a crushing defeat against a much bigger team, he adjusted his strategy and came up with new formations like the Wing T, which found the quarterback lining up behind the center. As the Masonic Home's football team gradually brought in more money, Rusty's salary increased to $50 a week. Early on, they saved money by living in a cramped, rent-free apartment on the backside of the orphanage's dining hall. Author Dent states that money was tight for the Russells, with Rusty making just $30 a week in the beginning. This certainly could be true, but the book implies that she put all of her focus into raising their two children.

#GRID IRON WARS AL WILSON MOVIE#

While we could find no evidence in the Jim Dent book of Juanita Russell being a teacher at the orphanage, the movie states at the end that Juanita did teach English and music at the Masonic Home and inspired many 'young ladies' to earn college degrees. Was Rusty Russell's wife Juanita a teacher at the school? Robert Duvall's character, Mason Hawk, is meant to represent all of the various donors who supported the Fort Worth Masonic Home. On a side note, the 12 Mighty Orphans movie marks the first time that Robert Duvall and Martin Sheen have appeared onscreen together since 1979's Apocalypse Now. Duvall's character, Mason Hawk, is meant to be an amalgamation of the various donors who supported the school. Is Robert Duvall's character, Mason Hawk, based on a real person? Researching 12 Mighty Orphan's historical accuracy confirms that Russell used a run-down, flatbed pickup truck that he nicknamed 'Old Blue' to transport his 12-man team to the games. The movie has Hardy arriving at the orphanage alone when he is a teenager.ĭid Coach Russell really transport the players to the games in the back of an old pickup truck? It was then that he was sent to the orphanage, accompanied by his brothers and sisters. Yes, but unlike what's seen in the movie, Hardy Brown was just four years old when he witnessed the murder of his father, a bootlegger whose rivals hated him. Nearly blind, he would first defy doctors by becoming a star college football player at Howard Payne University. On his way home from WWI, he knew that he eventually wanted to become a coach and teach young people the values that his past coaches had instilled in him. However, without thick lenses, his vision would never allow him to see anything more than fog and deep shadows. He remained in the hospital for over six months and by the time he was being transported back to the States, his vision had begun to return. Doctors at a Paris hospital told him he would never see again. With no sight and singed lungs, he continued to crawl around the blood-soaked terrain tending to the wounded until he was placed on a stretcher and hoisted away. He had been blinded when a canister of mustard gas exploded a few feet away from him during the September 1918 Battle of Saint-Mihiel.

The true story behind 12 Mighty Orphans reveals that Rusty Russell had been a medic in the First World War. Was Coach Rusty Russell a World War I veteran?

Grid iron wars al wilson