‘Extraordinary’ Palmetto football team reunites 50 years after historic season
The years have passed, but their memories have held fast.
Fifty years ago, Palmetto High became the first Manatee County high school program to win a state football championship.
And the University of Alabama played a key role in that triumphant 1975 season. Specifically, the Crimson Tide’s wishbone offense under legendary coach Paul “Bear” Bryant.
Frank Turner, who was Palmetto’s head football coach at the time, called Bryant’s office on a whim to ask Bryant for some tips on implementing the wishbone offense.
“I said I’d like to put that offense in for us this coming year,” said Frank Turner, who was Palmetto’s coach in 1975. “This is back in spring practice … and there was a big pause. I said, ‘Oh God, he’s going to say I don’t have time for this.’” … He says, ‘Well, get my secretary your address. I’ll have two canisters of offense for you and two canisters of defense.’”
Turner said within a day, a Greyhound bus arrived with four film canisters for Turner and his staff to glean.
Through the spring and summer, Turner, assistant coach Mark Basilius and the rest of his staff studied the film to grasp everything there was to know about the wishbone system.
It culminated in one legendary season.
Celebrating the 50th anniversary
On Friday, the 1975 Tigers will be celebrated at Harllee Stadium when Palmetto plays host to rival Manatee. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Earlier in October, the city of Palmetto honored the team with a proclamation during a city commission meeting.
“This team achieved something extraordinary for Palmetto High School and for our city,” Mayor Dan West said in a news release. “I was only 6 years old then, but I remember watching that championship team from the stands in Harllee Stadium. We are proud to recognize their championship and the standard of excellence they set.”
In 1975, there were four football classifications compared to the eight current ones. To win the Class 2A state title, Palmetto defeated Hamilton County, 13-11, at Harllee Stadium.
“It feels good, but I didn’t get the feeling until maybe years down the road,” said Jackie Garvin, who played running back on the team.
The team’s formation came during a pivotal moment in American history. It was the early days of integration and tensions were high, but many of the players developed lifelong friendships after meeting each other for the first time at Palmetto High.
“It’s the first thing that brought the community together as a family,” said Wilmore Fowler, who was the team’s star wide receiver.
Another key in the Tigers’ title journey was Turner and his coaching staff maneuvering some players into new positions.
Before that serendipitous 1975 campaign, Tom Tryon switched from running back to an offensive lineman.
“(The coaches) really made an appeal to me, this would be good for the team and said, ‘We think you could bring some leadership to this group and make it special,” Tryon said.
Overcoming a key injury
Palmetto lost three games before the playoffs started, but the biggest hurdle was what happened in the playoff opener that season.
Fowler hurt his knee against Fort Meade. Fowler, who the Detroit Pistons were contemplating drafting out of high school, played college basketball at the University of Kansas and University of Georgia. He played against Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan.
Other offense standouts included running backs Mike Sims and Garvin, fullback Steve White and quarterback Ronnie Deans.
Fowler, Sims, Tryon and linebacker Lewis Davis earned All-State honors that season.
Playing against a future Super Bowl champ
In the regional playoffs, Palmetto defeated Umatilla, 19-13, to set up a state semifinal showdown with Pahokee.
The Blue Devils had future Super Bowl champion Rickey Jackson and a much bigger squad than Palmetto at the time.
“When we played against Pahokee, they were the No. 1 team in the state,” Fowler said. “They came in and said, ‘Who’s that, the JV team?’”
Deans connected with Garvin on a touchdown late in the first half that proved the difference. Palmetto’s defense shut down Pahokee in the second half to preserve a 7-6 victory and set up the state title game in Manatee County.
Winning the first Manatee County football state title
Until 1989, the Florida High School Athletic Association held state championship football games on school campuses. They are played at a neutral site today.
The championship came down to the last kick of the game.
“I still remember the buzz in the helmet waiting for that kick,” Deans said. “I was playing safety (because) Wilmore was hurt. … And you couldn’t hear I mean, just a buzz in your helmet, (because) the whole small, little stadium, but we (were) packed. … I still, to this day, remember that feeling before they were gonna kick it, (because) I thought they were gonna make it.”
The kick was no good, and Palmetto etched its name into the history books as the first Manatee County team to win a state football championship.
On Friday, the Tigers will be honored once more — 50 years after their monumental season.
