Shorty White
George "Shorty" White (born 1930; died April 2021) was a football coach at Banks High School and a member of the coaching staff for the Alabama Crimson Tide football teams from 1975 to 1980.
Personal Life and Career
Early Years
White attended Phillips High School, where he rose to prominence as a football standout. Among White's memorable early social escapades was an incident in early 1949, when he was seen on a streetcar in the company of Ann Estock, girlfriend and future wife of Bobby Bowden, who was then a University of Alabama freshman quarterback and former star quarterback for the rival Woodlawn Colonels. Estock was said to have turned her attention to White after Bowden took a trip with friends to Panama City without her knowledge. Estock and Bowden wed on April 1, 1949.
College
White went on to play at Auburn before earning his degree from Jacksonville State.
Coaching Career
White became the head football coach at the then-fairly new Banks High School in East Lake in 1961, which was just the third season the school fielded a football team. He remained there until 1974, a season that featured the legendary showdown with Woodlawn High School in front of 42,000 people at Legion Field. He also coached in the first integrated game in the city against Parker High School in 1969.
White's 14-year stint at Banks included undefeated seasons in 1965, 1972, and 1973. The 1965 team was named state champions by the Associated Press and the Birmingham News, before there was playoff system in place for high school football. The Jets also won back-to-back titles in 1972 and 1973 with future University of Alabama and NFL standout Jeff Rutledge at quarterback. Other notable players under White include Gary Rutledge, Johnny Musso, Billy Shields, and David Cutcliffe.
White left Banks to join coach Paul “Bear” Bryant's staff at The University of Alabama from 1975 to 1980 and was present for a pair of national championships in 1978 and 1979.
White returned to high school coaching in 1990. He spent four years at Pleasant Grove High School and his final year at American Christian Academy. He finished his high school coaching career with an overall record of 116-68-5. He had 88 players sign Division I scholarships during his time as a coach.
Personal Life
White and his wife, June Melton White, had three children: Gary, Darryl, and Dianne. His half-brother was the late Jimmy Sidle, former Auburn University quarterback.
Awards and Honors
He was inducted into the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame with the Class of 2009.
Legacy
In 2015, Bank's son Darryl was part of the team that started the private Banks Academy in East Lake, near the old Banks High School site. Darryl's son Riley, help resurrect the football team as coach, which began playing 8-man football in 2019, using the old Banks colors and mascot. In 2020 the program entered the AISA AA program, playing its first home game on August 21 against Pickens Academy.
In Media
White was portrayed by C. Thomas Howell in the 2015 film Woodlawn.
References
- White, David H., Jr (2007), Shorty: A Life in Sports, BrookSport/Cardinal Publishers Group ISBN 0944353215.
- Archibald, John (January 27, 2008), "Shorty was more than the 1970s' Propst," The Birmingham News.
- Victory, Dennis (May 6, 2020), "Banks Academy begins 1st AISA football season leaning on legacy of former school," AL.com.
- Thomas, Ben and Victory, Dennis (April 7, 2021), "Legendary Banks coach, former Bryant assistant George ‘Shorty’ White dies," AL.com.
- (November 15, 1999), "Ex-Auburn QB Jimmy Sidle Dies at 57," Associated Press.
- "Banks Notable Alumni," Bhamwiki.com, accessed April 7, 2021.
- "Bobby Bowden," Bhamwiki.com, accessed April 7, 2021.