George White

George "Shorty" White was born in 1930 and became a legendary football coach at Banks High School in Birmingham. White was also a member of the coaching staff for the Alabama Crimson Tide football teams from 1975 to 1980. He played high school football at Phillips High School in Birmingham. White went on to play football at Auburn and got his degree from Jacksonville State. White became the head football coach at Banks High School in the fall of 1961. It was only the third year Banks had fielded a football team so the program was still in its infancy. Coach Whites 1965 team was named State Champions by the Associated Press and the Birmingham News after a 10-0 season. This was one year prior to the beginning of the state playoff system in Alabama. White remained there until 1974, a season that featured the legendary showdown with Woodlawn High School in front of 42,000 people at Legion Field. His Jets defeated Woodlawn 19-6 in that memorable game. He also coached in the first integrated game in the city against Parker High School in 1969. His 1972 and 1973 teams, led by quarterback Jeff Rutledge, won back-to-back State Championships. In 1973 the Jets defeated Huffman 34-8 and the next season they beat Grissom 21-0 for the titles. He was named national Coach of the Year in 1973. Following his stint with the University of Alabama he would return to the high school ranks in 1990 with Pleasant Grove High School for four seasons and American Christian for one in 1994. His overall football coaching record stands at 116-68-5 with a playoff record of 6-1 in three appearances. His teams finished the season undefeated three times. White played and coached in the Alabama North-South All-Star Game. He was inducted into the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame with the Class of 2009.