Anyone who has seen the movie "Remember the Titans" -- the T.C. Williams High School (Alexandria, Virginia) state championship story -- should remember Julius Campbell, the team's African-American captain portrayed in the film. Campbell, 65, d/ied of organ failure on Friday, according to The Washington Post.
Campbell's 1979 T.C. Williams team was the first integrated high school football team in Alexandria. The team finished undefeated, went on a run to the Virginia AAA state championship and presented a message of unity during a time of racial tension in suburban Washington, D.C. "Julius was very, very instrumental on that team at simply getting kids to just talk to one another, kids who never talked to kids from another race their entire lives," former Titans coach Herman Boone, who led the team from 1971 to 1979, told The Post. "By doing so, they learned many things about each other that were not passed down to them and for that, the world owes Julius a debt of gratitude." Despite facing tough physical breaks that derailed his collegiate career, Campbell never let what could have been affect his outlook on the world, as his coach was quick to note. "He had a hell of a sense of humor," Boone told The Post. "Everybody loved being around Julius Campbell."