Silsbee Honors Football Greats

[AggiesAreWe]

SHS football greats honored

Posted: Thursday, October 29, 2009 2:24 pm

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By GERRY L. DICKERT
The Bee
Silsbee High School will induct the first two members of its Wall of Fame this week when former Tigers James Hunter and William Graham return home to accept the honor.

The induction will take place on Friday, Oct. 30, during halftime of the Silsbee vs. Hamshire-Fannett football game, which kicks off at 7:30 p.m.

In addition, a reception will take place in their honor at the high school at 1:30 p.m. on Friday. The public is welcome to attend.

Students will have the opportunity to show their respect for the two SHS sports heroes during a pep rally at Tigers Gym at 2:15 p.m. Friday.

“I have traveled millions of miles since leaving Silsbee in 1972, met kings and queens, but to be honored by my high school ranks right at the top,” said James Hunter, who left SHS to play for Grambling State University and the Detroit Lions.

“With my induction into the Silsbee Wall of Fame, my hope is everyone, the entire community of Silsbee, can take pride in the accomplishment of the 1977 Silsbee High Tiger team, not one individual, William Graham,” said Graham. “Any success achieved by William Graham happened because of the support of my teammates, coaches, teachers, classmates and the community of Silsbee that gave me the confidence to excel in college and in the NFL.”

Graham left Silsbee High School to play for the University of Texas and later for the Detroit Lions.

According to the school district, the purpose of the Silsbee High School Wall of Fame is to recognize the men and women athletes who graduated and continued to receive honors in their sports beyond their high school years.

The criterion for nominating and selecting those honorees was established and a committee of community members, coaches and teachers solicited nominations of such individuals from the community. The criteria included not only the accolades in athletic careers but also the character of the individuals who conducted their careers with integrity that reflects the philosophy of the community and the school district.

The actual monument to the Wall of Fame will be made of ruby red granite and located in the main entry of the Silsbee High School athletic wing.

The Wall of Fame committee consisted of Alan Sanford, Jim Willis, Alyson Donalson, Kim Albers, Hiawatha Hickman, Travis Williams, Bobby McGallion and Gaye Lokey.

James Hunter
The 1970s were a magical time for the Silsbee Tigers on the football field and many of the special moments on the gridiron were delivered by Hunter.

A member of the Tigers football team from 1969 through 1972, Hunter was a two-time all-district and all-state running back and defensive back. His speed was breath-taking and his ability to find the gaps in an opposing team’s defense seemed nearly effortless.

He was the Tigers football team captain his junior and senior seasons and also earned all-state accolades in 1972 after leading the Tigers to the Class 3A state basketball tournament as a forward. He won a spot on the UIL state all-tournament team that season.

In track, he earned medals at district in the 100- and 220-yard dash, and earned a regional spot in the 220.

After graduation, he ventured off to Grambling State University in Grambling, La. He played four years under the legendary Coach Eddie Robinson and served as one of the last two-way players for Grambling.

Hunter’s accolades piled up like the wins did during those years for Grambling. He was a three-time Division I All-American defensive back, voted to 10 different all-American teams his senior year, including the coveted Associated Press and UPI teams.
With 26 career interceptions, he ranked No. 2 all-time in Grambling history and in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, and set school records with four touchdowns on punt returns.

He was honored as the Most All-Around Player for Grambling three times between 1974 and 1976. He was named to the Black College All-American Team: Mutual Black Network in 1974. During his junior year, he earned seven All-American honors from different organizations.

When he finally left Grambling, he was far from through with making big plays on the football field.

In 1976, Hunter was the No. 1 draft choice of the Detroit Lions, taken as the seventh pick in the NFL that year, and the only player from Louisiana to be taken in the first round.

In his rookie season, he was runner-up for Defensive Rookie of the Year and led the Lions with seven interceptions for 120 yards.

He was named to the First Team All-Rookie Defensive Team and was a Pro Football Weekly Second-Team All-Pro member.

He finished his career with the Lions as the No. 7 all-time interceptions leader and was the team leader in interceptions in three of his seven years in Detroit.

He was voted to the Second Team Media All-Modern Era Lions Team as defensive back behind Lem Barney.

Of special importance to Hunter are his 1996 induction into the Afro-American Sports Hall of Fame as a defensive back for the Lions and his 1999 induction into the Southwestern Athletic Conference Hall of Fame as a player for Grambling.

He has worked for Anheuser-Busch Inc. in Bingham Farms, Mich., since 1985 and currently serves as the geographic marketing manager for Michigan and Wisconsin.

“First and foremost, I give all glory and honor to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who blessed me with the talent and ability to achieve the dreams and desires to represent my family, especially my mother (Geneva), my community and my Silsbee High School family.”

William Graham
In 1977, the Silsbee Tigers reached the state semifinals in football and Graham was a huge reason for that feat.

Graham graduated from Silsbee High School in 1978 but before he left, he set the mark high for anyone who followed behind him.

His senior season was a thing of beauty as he rushed for over 1,000 yards and scored 22 touchdowns. On defense he had seven interceptions. As a senior, he was on the field for every play, whether it be offensive, defensive or special teams.

He was Prep High School All American as a senior, as well as Most Valuable Player in District 9-3A. He made the Super 22 Team,
Who’s Who of Football, and was All-Zone on offense and defense as a senior. During his junior year, he was all-district and all-zone going both ways.

“Thinking back on my years as a Silsbee Tiger football player, my thoughts reflect back to the dream season of 1977, my senior year.  I recall the excitement surrounding the season and the expectation for the team that season. Our goal as a team was to win every game, get to the state championship game and win it,” he said. “Everyone was involved. The entire community felt we had enough talent to go all the way and win the state championship. We had great coaches, support from the student body and the administration.With each win the excitement grew bigger. Playing in big games in Silsbee would later prepare me for what was to come on even bigger stages.”

The University of Texas, famous for its offensive backfield, would soon have a new star in its defensive secondary as Graham set school and Southwest Conference records from 1978 to 1981.

He tied the school record for most interceptions in a single season with seven during the 1981 campaign, breaking the record in big fashion in the 1982 Cotton Bowl with his eighth pick. That record, even 27 years later, still stands.

He was voted Defensive Most Valuable Player of the 1982 Cotton Bowl and was a five-time Defensive Player of the Game during the 1980 and 1981 seasons.

He was All-Southwest Conference and Second Team All-American in 1981, when the Longhorns finished the year as the nation’s No. 2-ranked team.

Graham was selected by the Detroit Lions in the fifth round of the 1982 NFL Draft, the 127 pick overall. The Lions would not be disappointed, and would not have to wait long to see their investment pay off.

Graham earned a starting position at safety during his 1982 rookie season and kept that starting spot for the next six years. He finished second in total tackles for the Lions in 1983 and 1984 and led the team in tackles with 117 stops in 1985.

During his career with the Lions, he earned Defensive Player of the Game nine times.

Graham is currently the owner of Graham Consulting Company, a business which targets sales and marketing, print and Web advertising and concentrates on sports and entertainment.

He has served on the University of Texas Athletic Advisory Board since 1993 and is a founding board member of The University of Texas Club, which was established in 1998.

Graham also serves as a board member with the NFL Alumni Austin Chapter

[AggiesAreWe]

My fondest memory of James Hunter was a Thanksgiving game that his Detroit Lions played and he had 2 interceptions in that game, 1 returned for a TD. He was named MVP of the game and was all smiles in the interview afterwards with a turkey leg in his hand giving a shout out to all the folks in Silsbee on national tv. It was great for this 13 year-old at the time to see!

My best memory of William Graham was watching a game film of one his games at Silsbee. It was his senior year against Beaumont Hebert and Silsbee had the ball at their own 48 yardline. I was a freshman in high school and the coaches were showing us game film of certain plays that they wanted to teach us on. It was a simple fullback lead play off the left guard with the tailback following the fullback. Silsbee's fullback was Robert "Poochie" Arline and he came through the hole and met Hebert's big time middle linebacker Lester Harper. Poochie laid Harper on his back and William came through right behind him, stepping on Harper's face while Harper was flat on his back. Graham broke through the secondary on his way to a 52 yard touchdown run as the Tigers defeated Hebert that night for the first time. The coaches that were showing us the film were so excited about that play that they just kept replaying it over and over. I can remember Coach Charlie Woodard saying, "This is how you lead block as a fullback and this is how you run following that lead block as a tailback!!!" It was awesome!!

I don't think Graham intentionally meant to step in Harpers face but watching that film in slow-mo for a dozen times, you'll see William glance down just for a second seeing Harper on his back and then he planted is right foot squarely on Harper's facemask like he was trying to stomp out a bug. It was great!


On a side note, I would say that Poochie Arline was one the best football players that Silsbee has ever had that really didn't get much attention. He was a great fullback, one of the best the area's ever had.

[SHSTIGER]

Congratulations to Hunter and Graham. I never got to watch them but grew up hearing alot of stories about them. Will this be a yearly induction?

[AggiesAreWe]

[quote name="SHSTIGER" post="690535" timestamp="1256923008"]
Congratulations to Hunter and Graham. I never got to watch them but grew up hearing alot of stories about them. Will this be a yearly induction?
[/quote]

I think so, but not 100% sure. I will check on this and find out.

[SHSTIGER]

Thanks, AAW.