Link: The Ghost Of Speedy Cannon

TideMan09

Hall of Fame
Jan 17, 2009
12,187
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Anniston, Alabama
I have no doubt there are fine people that live in the Wellborn area-but it really was different in the 70"s everywhere in Alabama and west Anniston was a rough area back in that time. Played baseball at JHS and we played Wellborn one afternoon when the school was let out to see the game-there were guys smoking pot sitting on the outfield fence and someone's mother was poking her umbrella through the dugout fence during the game. Really had to watch what you said and did when in that part of town back in the day.
Excellent post & I agree 100% with everything you stated..My Dad & PaPa used to tell me stories of how truly bad it once was, not just in the Wellborn area, in the Deep South in general..I would just shake my head in disgust of the stories they told me, heck, my PaPa witnessed when rioters stopped the "Freedom Riders" Bus off Highway 202 here in the Wellborn area, where they pulled the "Freedom Riders" off the bus to beat them & then set the bus fire..All that happened about a mile & a half from my house..I pass by the National Historic Marker that they have in place of the incident everyday I come home, it's a constant reminder of our past, and it makes me sooooo proud as to just how far my community has come since that happened..That's part of our history we can never deny, we can just learn from it, and allow it, to teach us how to get along with each other & become better human beings cause of our past..

Here's a link to the "Freedom Riders" Bus when it was stopped & burned here in the Wellborn Community..It's scary to think all this happened in the neighborhood I grew up in & am living in right now..CLICK ME

And here's an actual news clip of the burned bus.....CLICK ME


I apologize Mods this post has curved away from the football aspect of my original post..Feel free to move this to Non Sport if need be..
 

ptw1961

1st Team
Dec 8, 2011
793
0
0
Thankfully we have come a long way since those days. Thanks for the post. I enjoy reading your input on this site. You are obviously a very dedicated Tide fan!
Excellent post & I agree 100% with everything you stated..My Dad & PaPa used to tell me stories of how truly bad it once was, not just in the Wellborn area, in the Deep South in general..I would just shake my head in disgust of the stories they told me, heck, my PaPa witnessed when rioters stopped the "Freedom Riders" Bus off Highway 202 here in the Wellborn area, where they pulled the "Freedom Riders" off the bus to beat them & then set the bus fire..All that happened about a mile & a half from my house..I pass by the National Historic Marker that they have in place of the incident everyday I come home, it's a constant reminder of our past, and it makes me sooooo proud as to just how far my community has come since that happened..That's part of our history we can never deny, we can just learn from it, and allow it, to teach us how to get along with each other & become better human beings cause of our past..

Here's a link to the "Freedom Riders" Bus when it was stopped & burned here in the Wellborn Community..It's scary to think all this happened in the neighborhood I grew up in & am living in right now..CLICK ME

And here's an actual news clip of the burned bus.....CLICK ME


I apologize Mods this post has curved away from the football aspect of my original post..Feel free to move this to Non Sport if need be..
 

TIDE-HSV

Senior Administrator
Staff member
Oct 13, 1999
84,527
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Huntsville, AL,USA
Sand Mountain is a foothill of the Appalachian Mountain range that begins somewhere in Jackson or DeKalb county and extends into the heart of Marshall County. The cities of Albertville, Boaz, and Guntersville are pretty much Sand Mountain.
Actually, Sand Mountain is not part of the Appalachians at all, the foothills of which run to the east of Sand Mountain and actually all the way down to Birmingham. Sand Mountain is part of the southern reaches of the Cumberland Plateau. The Appalachians are crinkled fold mountains, caused by the push of the African Plate into America. They are Cambrian-early Permian and are millions of years older than the Cumberland Plateau to the west. Their mates to the east, once joined, are now the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. The Cumberland Plateau "mountains" are flat on top and are of the Ordovician era, sedimentary and not nearly as old as the ancient Appalachians. BTW, Guntersville is not on Sand Mountain at all, but lies down in the valley of the Sequatchie Rift, into which the Tennessee breaks just west of Chattanooga. It runs south until it runs into the Cullman Massif (part of the Appalachian Foothills), and turns WNW towards the NE corner of Alabama. I live on just about the last western gasp of the Cumberland Plateau, Monte Sano, in the eastern edge of Huntsville...
 

BradtheImpaler

All-American
Nov 16, 2010
2,001
0
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Sugar Hill, GA
When did Wellborn get moved to Sand Mountain? After reading that inaccuracy, I had to question the other recollections.
That gets corrected by the author. That error is the recollection of the guy who brought it to his attention, but you're right that it calls into question other assertions by that guy.

I tend to think that it was just a horribly unlucky play. It happens sometimes, especially when a player has been running you ragged and you finally get a chance to put a lick on him. Lord knows I played on some awful football teams in my day, and there were many times when I - or we - would take a little satisfaction in exacting some sort of physical revenge, but we never intended to kill anyone. Thankfully, we never did.
 

TideMan09

Hall of Fame
Jan 17, 2009
12,187
1,156
187
Anniston, Alabama
Thankfully we have come a long way since those days. Thanks for the post. I enjoy reading your input on this site. You are obviously a very dedicated Tide fan!
There's only three things in my life more important than Crimson Tide Football, that's The Lord & my two Baby Girls, everything else is just clutter as Coach Saban would put it..LOL..And I very much appreciates the kind words ptw..
 

ptw1961

1st Team
Dec 8, 2011
793
0
0
Impressive geological knowledge, Earl. The foothills of the appalachians actually run just east of Jacksonville and as you said, all the way to Birmingham
Actually, Sand Mountain is not part of the Appalachians at all, the foothills of which run to the east of Sand Mountain and actually all the way down to Birmingham. Sand Mountain is part of the southern reaches of the Cumberland Plateau. The Appalachians are crinkled fold mountains, caused by the push of the African Plate into America. They are Cambrian-early Permian and are millions of years older than the Cumberland Plateau to the west. Their mates to the east, once joined, are now the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. The Cumberland Plateau "mountains" are flat on top and are of the Ordovician era, sedimentary and not nearly as old as the ancient Appalachians. BTW, Guntersville is not on Sand Mountain at all, but lies down in the valley of the Sequatchie Rift, into which the Tennessee breaks just west of Chattanooga. It runs south until it runs into the Cullman Massif (part of the Appalachian Foothills), and turns WNW towards the NE corner of Alabama. I live on just about the last western gasp of the Cumberland Plateau, Monte Sano, in the eastern edge of Huntsville...
 

TIDE-HSV

Senior Administrator
Staff member
Oct 13, 1999
84,527
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Huntsville, AL,USA
Impressive geological knowledge, Earl. The foothills of the appalachians actually run just east of Jacksonville and as you said, all the way to Birmingham
Sorry for not mentioning Jacksonville. :) Yes, the Appalachians keep on the SW after the Cumberland Plateau has completely played out. Cheaha, highest point in AL, is part of the Appalachian foothills. I used to love to take visitors up to the top of Chilhowee Mountain, east of Chattanooga, have them look south to the Chilhowee Divide and say "To your right is North American. To your left is Africa..."
 
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TideMan09

Hall of Fame
Jan 17, 2009
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Anniston, Alabama
Story brought back some bad memories for me- I was only 11 years old at the time but remember this very well. Attended his funeral and knew the family- graduated from Jacksonville High School in 1980. There was always a "feeling" around town that Wellborn targeted Speedy to get him out of that game- but certainly very few people really believed that anyone was trying to kill this great kid. His death hung over the school and town for quite some time. I have seen this film on several occasions when I was in High School- some coaches at the school showed this to our baseball team one day. It was a very different time back then- sad story about a young life that was ended way too soon. It was actually too tragic for anyone to accept- but yes, I do believe this was more accidental than intentional.
You have seen our area grow up from what it once was then, especially Jax St Football, I sure hope Coach Clark turns the Gamecocks around, Coach Crowe sure left him a big 'ole mess to clean up..



Impressive geological knowledge, Earl. The foothills of the appalachians actually run just east of Jacksonville and as you said, all the way to Birmingham
Actually, Sand Mountain is not part of the Appalachians at all, the foothills of which run to the east of Sand Mountain and actually all the way down to Birmingham. Sand Mountain is part of the southern reaches of the Cumberland Plateau. The Appalachians are crinkled fold mountains, caused by the push of the African Plate into America. They are Cambrian-early Permian and are millions of years older than the Cumberland Plateau to the west. Their mates to the east, once joined, are now the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. The Cumberland Plateau "mountains" are flat on top and are of the Ordovician era, sedimentary and not nearly as old as the ancient Appalachians. BTW, Guntersville is not on Sand Mountain at all, but lies down in the valley of the Sequatchie Rift, into which the Tennessee breaks just west of Chattanooga. It runs south until it runs into the Cullman Massif (part of the Appalachian Foothills), and turns WNW towards the NE corner of Alabama. I live on just about the last western gasp of the Cumberland Plateau, Monte Sano, in the eastern edge of Huntsville...
Have y'all ever been hiking & exploring on Dugger Mountain..That's some beautiful land that's for sure..
 

TIDE-HSV

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You have seen our area grow up from what it once was then, especially Jax St Football, I sure hope Coach Clark turns the Gamecocks around, Coach Crowe sure left him a big 'ole mess to clean up..





Have y'all ever been hiking & exploring on Dugger Mountain..That's some beautiful land that's for sure..
Actually haven't hit that one, but I'm sure it is. Everything in that area is...
 

TIDE-HSV

Senior Administrator
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BTW, the top sedimentary layer of the Cumberland Plateau is "teenage" sandstone, underlaid by fractured limestone, or "karst." So, our soil, just like Sand Mountain, is basically sand, modified by humus from the trees and other plants. Its pH tends to be on the acid side. We have three acres total and the soil varies all the way from eight feet deep to bedrock to a few inches...
 

Tides_of_Change

1st Team
Sep 27, 2012
459
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Hey Tideman, what year did you graduate from Wellborn? I was Class of '01. Growing up, I heard mention of "that Jacksonville player who was killed" from time to time but never with such depth nor specifics as what this story entails. Would've especially never thought there would've been video footage of the play.
 

Crimson1967

Hall of Fame
Nov 22, 2011
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You have seen our area grow up from what it once was then, especially Jax St Football, I sure hope Coach Clark turns the Gamecocks around, Coach Crowe sure left him a big 'ole mess to clean up..
He seems to have them going pretty well so far. Very impressive win last week, tough one tomorrow against Tennessee State.

Is the Burgess mentioned in the article related to Bill Burgess?

I thought the article was very well written and very non judgmental. The hit was late, but in the heat of the battle it can be hard to stop.
 

Florida Tom

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Aug 15, 2011
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I was at Wellborn during this time. It's things like this that is TE reason I moved at 18. Wellborn was an awful place, the biggest racist from North Alabama made a home there. I still have a place in Oxford which most people moved to, there & Golden Springs.

All I will say about the incident is how utterly tragic it was & theories bounced back & forth from both sides. I only played one year of football, baseball & basketball was my sports. But from what I know about the Head Coach whose name I will not use because he has passed, is he was a tough, gruff, hard nose that may have said tke him out but he did not mean kill him. A lot of people were saying things like he had a concussion ( we did not know what that was back then) & Jax players were honing him up on both sides just to keep his balance, which was not what I was at all.

Wellborn work hard on its reputation & it's that view of the area that prompted the stories.

I can tell you that Cannon was a great kid, always friendly always smiling good guy all around & his death bothered me for a long time. You did have Reverend Lowlery trying to get an all out riot & it it came very close to that.

To me it was a very sad accident that took a fine young mans life, but the actions of a lot of Wellborn folks in the past helped create these stories. Jax could have took a higher road on this but most coaches hated the Welborn coach which he earned as well.

There are many shocking stories of this done to Blacks in Wellborn during this time & it's just shameful to me & I regret I did not do more to stop it.
 

TideEngineer08

TideFans Legend
Jun 9, 2009
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Beautiful Cullman, AL
Actually, Sand Mountain is not part of the Appalachians at all, the foothills of which run to the east of Sand Mountain and actually all the way down to Birmingham. Sand Mountain is part of the southern reaches of the Cumberland Plateau. The Appalachians are crinkled fold mountains, caused by the push of the African Plate into America. They are Cambrian-early Permian and are millions of years older than the Cumberland Plateau to the west. Their mates to the east, once joined, are now the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. The Cumberland Plateau "mountains" are flat on top and are of the Ordovician era, sedimentary and not nearly as old as the ancient Appalachians. BTW, Guntersville is not on Sand Mountain at all, but lies down in the valley of the Sequatchie Rift, into which the Tennessee breaks just west of Chattanooga. It runs south until it runs into the Cullman Massif (part of the Appalachian Foothills), and turns WNW towards the NE corner of Alabama. I live on just about the last western gasp of the Cumberland Plateau, Monte Sano, in the eastern edge of Huntsville...
I tried, but I was hoping you'd be along to explain because I knew you'd have a better grasp of it.

I mentioned Guntersville because I thought the city limits started just before the drop off the mountain.
 

glasscutter256

All-American
Jan 31, 2009
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Huntsville
I went to J'ville High School. Class of '93 His jersey was still up above the doorway leading into the gym. His picture was still up too. He wasn't talked about too much, but those of us who asked, learned about the great Speedy Cannon. I knew he died while playing, but I didn't know where or how it happened.
I actually graduated with some Cannons. Christi Cannon. I never asked how they were related, although I'm sure they were. She was a pretty fast runner too if I remember correctly.
Our reunion is this weekend. Hopefully she will be there and I'll ask.
 

TideMan09

Hall of Fame
Jan 17, 2009
12,187
1,156
187
Anniston, Alabama
I was at Wellborn during this time. It's things like this that is TE reason I moved at 18. Wellborn was an awful place, the biggest racist from North Alabama made a home there. I still have a place in Oxford which most people moved to, there & Golden Springs.

All I will say about the incident is how utterly tragic it was & theories bounced back & forth from both sides. I only played one year of football, baseball & basketball was my sports. But from what I know about the Head Coach whose name I will not use because he has passed, is he was a tough, gruff, hard nose that may have said tke him out but he did not mean kill him. A lot of people were saying things like he had a concussion ( we did not know what that was back then) & Jax players were honing him up on both sides just to keep his balance, which was not what I was at all.

Wellborn work hard on its reputation & it's that view of the area that prompted the stories.

I can tell you that Cannon was a great kid, always friendly always smiling good guy all around & his death bothered me for a long time. You did have Reverend Lowlery trying to get an all out riot & it it came very close to that.

To me it was a very sad accident that took a fine young mans life, but the actions of a lot of Wellborn folks in the past helped create these stories. Jax could have took a higher road on this but most coaches hated the Welborn coach which he earned as well.

There are many shocking stories of this done to Blacks in Wellborn during this time & it's just shameful to me & I regret I did not do more to stop it.
I have no doubt it was like that back during that time, I never denied its reputation, as its been labeled a "Redneck" community as far as I can remember..All I can speak for is my experience & the way I see it at the present time..And now the community is a great place to live & raise a family..
 

TIDE-HSV

Senior Administrator
Staff member
Oct 13, 1999
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Huntsville, AL,USA
I tried, but I was hoping you'd be along to explain because I knew you'd have a better grasp of it.

I mentioned Guntersville because I thought the city limits started just before the drop off the mountain.
You may be right. However, the main part of town lies down by the river. There's a lot of friction between the mountain folk and valley folk. In fact, I think Marshall County was the only one in the state with two courthouses - one down in G'ville, the other up in Albertville. I don't know if it still does...
 

TIDE-HSV

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Oct 13, 1999
84,527
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Huntsville, AL,USA
there is also some top notch hairball creekboating to be found dropping off sand mountain in a rainy year
Know it well. Would you believe I ran Town Creek once at 2500 CFS? Mind-blowing. The Blockage wasn't even there. The creek was just going over it, with a monster hole below it. We had lunch and portaged that one...
 

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