History-making Houston High Indians honored again

Saturday’s celebration began with a Spirit-filled prayer by Deacon Phillip Lane Sr. and an arousing rendition of “This is the Air I Breathe” by Deacon Horace Gilbert, both former players on middle Georgia’s 1969 championship team. And from those moments until the end of the program, the high emotions of the afternoon never lowered.

Fifty-one years after the all-Black high school football team became the very first in Houston County to win a state championship, The Houston High Indians—in this COVID year of 2020—have finally gotten their due. Until very recently, a mention of the history-making team’s success couldn’t even be found through a Google search. Because of the racial climate of the 60s, the men, only in their teens at the time, were overlooked and disrespected despite their outstanding achievement. The championship trophy that the school was given was insensitively tossed in a dumpster, but it was recovered by one of the players before it could be destroyed. In that era, the board of education nor the city took the time to show any level of respect to the young men who had given the county its first state title.

That all changed this summer, on July 11, when the title-winners, at long last, received championship rings. They’d originally purchased the rings—at a price tag of $300 each—with their own money. But that all changed, too. And on this past weekend, they were honored yet again.

Lawrence Clarington is a member of the 1969 state championship team, and he had a big hand in the orchestration of Saturday afternoon’s trophy presentation.

“It’s a glorious day in Perry, Georgia,” Clarington said when he took the stand to share details of the occasion that brought he and his teammates together for the second time this year to be honored for the accomplishment made so many years earlier. “We were blessed back in July with our ring ceremony,” Clarington continued. “God allowed our ceremony to go viral across America, and it caught the eye of a young lady who had never seen us before and didn’t know nothing about us. But she felt convicted that, ‘I’ve got to do something for those men down in Perry, Georgia.’ The Holy Spirit dwelled in her heart,” he stated.

Clarington is married to the sister of Deborah Roberts, commentator for ABC News. Roberts was instrumental in the men’s story going viral. On that national television platform, the history of the snubbed sports heroes aired, and as it did, it captured the heart of a philanthropist viewer in Louisville, Kentucky by the name of Marilyn Kent Wheeler Velde.

“I couldn’t believe it at first when she said, ‘I want to reimburse you all for all the rings you bought,” Clarington announced to crowd of supporters who had gathered to witness the momentous occasion. “Why would somebody who’d never met me and never met my teammates want to reach out and give back to us? She said, ‘Not only do I want to reimburse you on your rings; I want to buy each and every one of you a trophy.’ Ain’t God good?” Clarington declared over the applause of the audience.

Along with 14 members of the Houston High Indians football team, their head coach, Elijah Weatherspoon, did not live to see the day when the team would receive the respect that it deserved. But each of them was honored with their own trophy, which was presented to surviving family members. Weatherspoon passed away on November 21, 2018, but his wife was in attendance and spoke on behalf of her husband and in his memory.

“You see that trophy that’s over on that side?” she asked while pointing in the direction of a table that housed several items of memorabilia. “When Coach Weatherspoon celebrated his 75th birthday, the team bought that trophy for him. They have been together for a long time. Even though he’s gone, they still remember him and keep him their hearts—and so do I. We were together for 53 years; we were blessed with that, and I do so appreciate this opportunity.”

Among the local public officials that attended were City of Perry Mayor Randall Walker and members of Perry City Council, as well as members of Houston County School Board, including Superintendent of Schools Dr. Mark Scott.

“We waited 51 years to get here,” Walker said as a part of his remarks, “and I cannot thank the Lord enough for allowing me to be a part of it. So many of these men are personal friends of mine… I am just very, very proud to see them recognized for this great accomplishment.”

In his time at the mic, Scott mentioned Perry High School’s recent win of the region championship—something they had not done since 1959. Scott told the men that they had set an example for the players of Perry High. “You didn’t give up,” he said. “That’s the message that you’re sending to those young people who are going to school over there every day. It’s important that they see people like you in the community.”

Coach Smith of Perry High School followed up with brief words that included an open invitation to the members of the Houston High Indians to be the special guests at the Perry Panthers’ quarterfinals game. “We would like to recognize the ones who can come out and be recognized next Friday night before the game. We would love to have y’all out,” Smith told them. “I just want to thank you for who you are and I want to thank you for what you mean to this community.”

President of the Houston County Branch of the NAACP Rev. Dr. Rutha Jackson also spoke during the ceremony. “It is such an honor to be standing before you,” she said. “I’m glad that you have finally been recognized for what you have done, and greater works are going to be done. Fifty-one years!” she declared. “That is a long time to have faith and trust that it will be done. I salute you, my brothers, on today, for all of the good work you have done. God bless you.”

The key speaker for the afternoon was Velde, who had made the trip from Kentucky to be present. When she took her place at the podium, Velde fought back emotions during her address.

“It’s such an honor for me to be here in front of all of you all. To be standing on this grass that you all planted and took care of all the time you were playing football.” Velde went on to describe how she’d started crying as she watched the segment on ABC that featured Clarington who talked about how the all-Black football team had been denied recognition by the school board, the county and the mayor during the time they won the county’s first championship.

“I thought, how in the world could this happen to anybody? But it did,” Velde expressed. “The worst thing he said was that the original trophy got thrown in the dumpster. How could anybody be so cruel?” she asked. “That did it for me. I couldn’t sleep all night. I got on my iPhone and went to Google.”

In her online search, Verde explained that she discovered that Clarington was on Perry’s Planning and Zoning Commission, and the next morning, she called his office. That was the call that ultimately lead to Saturday’s event. Verde reimbursed all of the team members for the rings that she said they never should have had to pay for in the first place. She shared their story with another Louisville resident, Paul Karem, and together, they had replicas of the trophy made so that each player could have his very own memento of the historical win. The trophies were produced by Classic Award and Trophy Center of Perry (owner, Linda Smith). Karem and Smith were also in attendance on Saturday.

Velde’s shared backstory might very well might explain why she had so instinctively done what she’d done. “I had wonderful parents: Evangeline and Kent Wheeler,” revealed Velde. “They were both born in the country and came from very large families. My mother was one of 16, and my father was one of eight. I’m the youngest of four. Our parents taught us to be respectful to everyone,” she shared. “You don’t see color and be nice to everybody. Don’t think of yourself, but think of others. And whatever you can do for somebody else, just do it! They said it all the time as we were growing up,” Verde insisted. “To be here today with you all, as a team—there’s nothing like it in the world.”

After each player was presented with his own championship trophy, the team surprised Verde by presented her with an award and naming her an honorary Houston High Indian.

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