Langston Football: A Broken Leg & Billy Gene Williams

Welcome to Community History 365! CH365 tells stories from Johnson City's rich multicultural history, stories you've probably never heard. This month we hear from Billy Gene Williams. Billy played football at Langston High School and graduated in 1958.Billy's uncle played for Langston in 1936, when they had one of their greatest seasons ever. When Billy was old enough, he decided he wanted to play too. In this episode you'll hear about that 1936 season, Billy's most impressive game, and a game where Langston scored more points than you'll believe.  So far this season of CH365 has covered a lot of Langston history---from its founding to its closing to its rehabilitation. For the next few episodes, we zoom in on what it was like to be a student at Langston. ---- CH365 is a production of the Langston Centre Media Lab- Host: Karen Sullivan- Producers: Kelvin Scott & Isaac Wood- Writer: Isaac Wood- Mix and Master: Kelvin Scott- Multicultural Engagement Manager for the Langston Centre: Adam Dickson- Thank you to LEAD and to the City of Johnson City’s Parks and Recreation Department for supporting Community History 365. - Many thanks to Billy Gene Williams for telling his stories. - Thank you to Evelyn (Fields) Debro and Angelo Newman for their interview.- Thank you to the Community History 365 History Task Force for giving their collaboration and expertise, and especially to Tom Roberts for his extensive newspaper research. Without those clippings, we wouldn’t have known scores, records, or play-by-plays. Articles are listed below.- Thank you to the Langston Centennial Annual Staff who put together a wonderful book of Langston history in 1992. This book helped out a lot with this episode. - The Community History 365 theme song is called “Feels Good to Be” and comes from audionautix.comNewspaper Articles- "Langston Notes - boys planning a football team" - Johnson City Chronicle - 1922-12-3- "Langston Wolves to Meet Slater Thanksgiving Day" - Johnson City Chronicle - 1927-11-23- "Langston Football Team Will Battle Greenville Eleven" - Johnson City Chronicle - 1928-11-23- "Langston Tramples Carolina Gridders" - unknown - 1937- "Langston Victory March Halted By 'Nooga Team" - unknown - 1937- "Langston Thumps Benham, Ky., 34-13, In Homecoming Tilt" - Johnson City Press-Chronicle - 1956-10-26 - "Langston Loses Tri-State Crown to Big Stone, 6-0" - newspaper unlisted - 1956-11-17- "Langston Golden Tigers Humble Douglas 134-0" - Elizabethton Star - 1957-9-6- "Langston Encounters Bristol Douglass High Here Tonight" - Johnson City Press-Chronicle - 1957-9-25- "Lynch Tops Langston" - Johnson City Press-Chronicle - 1957-10-13- "Langston Scores 21-19 Victory Over Kingsport Douglass" - Johnson City Press-Chronicle - 1957-10-18- "Langston Opens Season At Greeneville Thursday" - Johnson City Press-Chronicle - 1958-8-31RecordingsThe recording of Herbert Hoover comes from the "1930-1937 Radio News" collection on archive.org. It is called "Hoover Nomination Acceptance - 1932-08-11"Marching band music and sound effects from freesound.org:- marchingband2.wav by nfrae -- https://freesound.org/s/195370/ -- License: Creative Commons 0- Parade Drums by SoundsAreGr8 -- https://freesound.org/s/340935/ -- License: Creative Commons 0- High School Marching Band 01.wav by thepodcastdoctor -- https://freesound.org/s/486664/ -- License: Creative Commons 0- Stadium Crowd by stomachache -- https://freesound.org/s/274516/ -- License: Creative Commons 0- Crowd Cheering - Strong Cheering 1.wav by GregorQuendel -- https://freesound.org/s/481776/ -- License: Attribution 4.0- referee-whistle.wav by Pablo-F -- https://freesound.org/s/90743/ -- License: Attribution 3.0 ---Community History 365 is supported by LEAD (Langston Education and Arts Development), a nonprofit created by Langston High School alumni. Seeking to preserve the school building’s integrity, legacy, and historical value, the alumni formed LEAD which helped the building open up as the Langston Centre. This multicultural facility serves the community as part of the City of Johnson City Parks and Recreation Department.