RADFORD, Va. – It will be a special night at the home of the Bobcats. The school and community will come together on Friday night to honor the 50th anniversary of the 1972 State Champion football team.
10 Sports caught up with many of the former players before the ceremony, including quarterback Ken Alderman and standout defensive lineman Jim Plott, along with many others.
Radford went 32-0 capturing back-to-back state titles under the legendary head coach Norm Lineburg who ranks second in wins in VHSL history and who the field is named after.
Ken Alderman, a former Bobcats quarterback of the 1972 State Championship Team reflected on what it was like to play for the championship-winning team.
“What such a great teacher and role model we had in Coach Lineburg and all the coaches we had – Ron Matlock our line coach. Ron Linden our back coach and secondary coach – they were tremendous for those kids back in the day,” Alderman said.
Another former player, Jim Plott was a defensive lineman for the Bobcats’ 1972 State Championship Team. He explained people in the Radford community remember the 1972 team fondly.
“A good friend of mine that’s about 8-10 years younger than me, every time this thing comes up, he says ‘Yall were on everybody’s refrigerator. Everybody had a picture of that state team on their refrigerator,” Plott said.
The team will be honored at halftime during Friday night’s game as Glenvar takes on the 8-0 Radford Bobcats. Watch the game highlights here.