The Little Rock Nine never will be forgotten in the history of the tumultuous year that was 1957. We should not forget, either, another group of students at Central who made their mark that same year: a group of young men who made up the school’s Tigers football team and went on to win the 1957 national championship. They finished the season that year with a 12-0 record, scoring a total of 444 points to their opponents’ 64.

Central High School honored these men on September 21 during halftime of Central’s football game against Pine Bluff at Quigley Stadium. They were greeted with enthusiastic cheering and applause from the stands, and the former teammates relished this opportunity to come together as a team once more.

A tailgate party for the team took place before the game so they could reminisce about their high school football days; some had not seen each other since that time.