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The T.R. Miller Tigers started a decade with a new coach. Fred Bowers took over a program in 1960 that had struggled the two previous years and was not about to get better any time soon. Miller won only one game in 1960 and Coach Bower’s second team in 1961 was even worse. Miller not only lost every game in 1961 (0-10) but scored only 41 points the entire season. Jim Jeffreys took over the team in 1962 and although the team managed to tie two games (the days before overtime) it set a school record for futility by scoring only 26 points the entire year. In the first eight games of 1962, Miller scored only 7 points total. The Tigers had hit rock bottom.
In the fall of 1963, T.R. Miller High School moved to a new high school on the north side of town. There was a plan for a new stadium but it was a couple of years away so the team continued to play at Rotary Field. The 1963 team led by Jimmy Ezell did manage two victories over Choctaw County and Jay and a tie with Evergreen. The team was competitive in seven of the ten games and there was some improvement, particularly on defense. But a 2-7-1 record gave Miller its four worst seasons in school history. Over the four year span (1960-63) the Tigers won but three games and averaged only 5 points per game. On Friday, November 15, 1963, W.S. Neal defeated T.R. Miller 34-6. No one realized at the time that it was the dividing point of the football program at T.R. Miller High School. What would occur over the next 40+ years would catch the attention of the entire state of Alabama and turn the name T.R. Miller into one of the state’s greatest high school football traditions.
Coach Darrell Fitts took over the Miller program in 1964. When The Tigers went to Frisco City for their first game on Friday, September 11th, they won 19-0. It was their first road win since November 6, 1959 and their first shutout since 1958. The Tigers used the pass catching of All State end Chuck Cunningham (signed with Ole Miss) and the running and return skills of speedy All State back Mike Sasser (signed with Alabama) to dominate opponents. The team reeled off four straight shutout wins and by the time they played a tough Andalusia team on October 9th, Miller was the fifth ranked team in Class 2A. The game was played at Rotary Field to an over flow crowd. The teams tied 13-13. On October 30th the Tigers won a hard fought 27-26 game at Monroeville. On November 20, 1964 everyone gathered at Rotary Field for the Miller-Neal game. The once tied Tigers faced a W.S. Neal team that had lost early in the year to a great 4A Foley team and had dominated its opponents behind a defense that had given up only 33 points and the tough running of big Donnie Fountain. But Miller lost Sasser to a concussion early. Neal scored in the first half and then held on as a huge rain storm made offense difficult in the second half for a 7-0. win. But the community of Brewton fell in love with the ’64 team and football at T.R. Miller would be different in the future.
The success of 1964 made scheduling a challenge and the 1965 team played a brutal first half schedule that included bigger schools Sylacauga, Parrish High in Selma, Crestview and a great Andalusia team. They would lose 4 of the first 5 before settling down in the second half of the season behind the running of Ronnie Overstreet and the tough line play of Bill Fouts. On October 29, 1965 the Tigers moved from Rotary Field to their new stadium on the Miller campus. When end Jeff Kaylor caught a pass and scooted down the right sideline to paydirt, Miller won the first game in Brewton Municipal Stadium over Monroeville 7-0. Miller lost a hard fought 13-12 decision at W.S. Neal to end the season at 5-5.
Darrel Fitts left the Tigers to go to Mountain Brook and Miller hired an unknown coach named Mack Wood from tiny Geraldine in North Alabama. His goal was to keep the Tigers competitive and build on the success of Coach Fitts. Again facing a tough schedule against bigger teams, Miller was 4-4-1 going into the final game vs W.S. Neal. Led by freshman QB Bucky Phillippi, the Tigers defeated Neal 25-14 for their first win over the Eagles since 1958. The 1967 team got off to a fast start and was ranked in the top ten early in October. But an injury to sophomore QB Phillippi in a controversial loss to Florala at midseason hurt the team. Miller finished at 6-3-1 but Mack Wood’s teams continued to get better. He brought a toughness to the Miller program as well as an off season weight program. Everyone in Brewton looked forward to the 1968 season. The Tigers had a strong junior class and some top notch seniors in tackle Charlie Walker and end Van Allen. Miller tied Greenville and lost to a great Atmore team in a close game early before reeling off six straight dominating wins. But a 32-17 lost to Neal in the finale left a bad taste in the team’s mouth, despite going 7-2-1. It was the team’s best record in over a decade.
As the 1969 season began, Miller used a strong, experienced group of seniors to butcher its first six opponents. The defense led by linebacker Steve Glass and defensive tackle Frank Sims recorded eight shutouts during the season. The offense was led by QB Bucky Phillippi who made All American teams and signed with Auburn. His passes to Jimmy McCracken opened up the running game for backs Greer Horton and Lee Kaylor. When Miller finished the season undefeated at 9-0 they were only the second Tiger team to win all of their regular season games. By doing so they made the AHSAA playoffs for the first time. (The playoffs were begun in 1966). When Miller defeated a favored Abbeville team 41-14 in Dothan, the Tigers were in their first state championship game. On November 28, 1969 Aliceville came to Brewton Municipal Stadium on a cold night to challenge a determined Miller team. Mack Wood’s Tigers shut out Aliceville 27-0 behind a smothering defense and became the 1969 2A State Football Champions. The defense gave up only 28 points the entire season and Miller set a school record with 11 wins.
At the beginning of the 1960’s, the T.R. Miller football team was one of the poorest teams in the state. By the end of the decade Miller was a football champion, and the expectations of everyone in Brewton concerning its high school football team would be forever changed.
