Charles Henderson’s jersey presentation at Veterans Memorial Stadium was not only a proud moment for me but a journey down memory lane.

My name was called out early and I stood there with my Jersey number 65 thinking how great it was to have players for Charles Henderson High School and all the fond memories we had.

Our team in 1964 won the coveted South Alabama Conference Championship by beating teams like Opp, Andalusia, Ozark, Greenville and Enterprise. I think of those days regularly and how much fun we had playing football for the great town of Troy.

When I was growing up all we could think about was wearing that orange helmet and playing for Troy one day. It was our duty to keep the winning traditions going and we did.

Coached by a young and dynamic Frank Sadler, our teams in 1963 and 1964 lost only three games in two seasons. I don’t know how today’s teams get themselves ready, but back then we were so motivated by the fact that we weren’t just playing for ourselves and the school. We were playing for the City of Troy and the guy’s down at the fire station, the police department, the barbershops and the restaurants. We played for the pride of Troy.

My favorite part of the jersey presentation was seeing the jersey worn by my good friend Richard Williford. He was one of my heroes growing up, he was my best buddy and he wore the number 15 jersey. I know he would have been proud because being a Trojan playing football in front yards for hours as kids, playing peewee football, Jr. High, “B” team and high school football meant an awful lot to him. I can see him now running back a punt 93 yards against Andalusia to win the game one night and I was in the stands running with him. He was a true Trojan in every sense of the word.

Number 15 worn by Richard Williford was a number to be remembered if you love Trojan football like me!