Catching Up with an East Alabama Legend…
Alexandria’s
Tony Young
by Jon Holder
T
ony Young is one of the great running backs in Alexandria
and Calhoun County history. Young led the Valley Cubs to the
school’s first ever AHSAA state football championship and the
only title in the 38 year coaching career of the legendary Lou Scales.
Tony starred for the Cubs from 1983-86 and was a four-year starter
and All-Calhoun County player for 3 years. He was Honorable Mention
All-State as a sophomore and 1st Team All-State as a junior and senior.
His senior year in 1986 he was an ASWA Super 12 All-State selection,
Class 4A Player of the Year in Alabama, and Calhoun County MVP.
Young rushed for over 5,000 yards in his prep career. Tony went on to
play 3 seasons at Troy from 1987-89, and was a member of Troy’s 1987
National Championship team. Pigskin Roundup caught up with this
East Alabama Legend over the summer.
Pigskin Roundup: Most folks know you
by the nickname “Bowling Ball”. Where did
that name come from?
Tony Young: The coach at Saks at the
time (Ray Hammett) said in an interview
that trying to tackle me was like going
to a bowling alley and trying to tackle
a bowling ball coming down the lane.
That name was mainly used outside of
Alexandria. At Alexandria, I was called
“Booger” because in 10th grade the older
players said I knocked the snot of people
on defense!
Pigskin Roundup: Describe playing for
Coach Lou Scales.
Tony Young: I loved playing for Coach
Scales. He did not have to say a whole lot
to get you to do what he wanted. He didn’t
have to yell much. Everything I have to
say about Coach Scales is positive. In just
a 5 or 10 minute conversation he gave you
more information than you could process.
Pigskin Roundup: You played for two
Hall of Fame coaches in Lou Scales and
Larry Ginn. How were they similar and in
what ways were they different?
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Tony Young: Both believed you had
to be in good condition to win. Both
of them believed you had to know the
offense. You had to know not only
your position, but everybody else’s also.
We never had to worry about not knowing
plays.
Coach Ginn was very in-depth. Real
exacting. He analyzed a lot a film. He was
more verbal than Coach Scales. Coach
Ginn was very particular about things. It
had to be exact. He was always thinking
ahead.
Pigskin Roundup: Talk about the state
championship game in 1985 against Elba at
“Death Valley”?
Tony Young: After we lost to Munford
(13-10 in Week 9) we didn’t know if we
would get there. We were actually the area
runner-up. We knew we would meet up
with them again in the playoffs. In the
game with Elba we were big underdogs as
far as we were concerned. They had 7or
8 college prospects. We blocked a punt
on their first possession and scored on
the next play and it was pretty much over
from then on. They did not cross the 50
yard line all night. I had 202 yards and 3
TDs in that game.
Pigskin Roundup: What were some
other memorable games during your time at
Alexandria?
Tony Young: All of the Munford games.
We knew going into each season that
Munford was going to be good. Every
game I played against Munford was
decided by just a few points. We always got
up for Munford.
Pigskin Roundup: Who were some of
the tough players you played against in high
school?
Tony Young: There were so many great
players at that time. Wendell Kelly from
Oxford, Ivan Teague and James Ammons
from Piedmont, Martin Houston and
Brad Johnson from Cherokee County, and
Darrell Malone from Jacksonville were just
some of the great players from around the
area.