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Ceremony for players killed by lightning postponed
This Sunday marks 55 years since tragedy struck Gibbs High School in St. Pete when two football players were killed by lightning. FOX 13's Briona Arradondo has the story.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Gibbs High School football team has a new head football coach this season.
His name is Herbans Paul.
He's not from St. Pete but he knows all about the program.
"I only took [the job] for how special it was," Paul said.
As soon as he became the man in charge, Paul was not as concerned with the X's and O's as much as the school's history.
"The first thing you want to do as a head coach is how can I honor those who were here before," Paul said.
He is doing that in a big way on Friday night.
"It is such a warm feeling that such a tragic incident is not forgotten," 1971 Gibbs High School graduate Norvell Fuller said.
55 years ago, tragedy struck the Gibbs High School football program.
"That was something I have never experienced and don’t want anyone to experience," 1971 Gibbs High School graduate Julian Henderson said.
The backstory:
In the middle of a practice in September 1970, without a cloud in the sky, a lightning bolt struck a huddle of Gladiator football players.
Fuller was a team captain that season. the head football coach told Fuller to take the play off, and he witnessed it all from the sidelines.
"It just snuck up on us and, 'BAM,' the loudest thing you ever want to hear," Fuller said. "You could see the big bolt just splat everyone like bowling balls."
Henderson was in the huddle playing right tackle when the bolt struck. He lost movement for an hour on the left side of his body.
Courtesy: Matthew Williams
"My whole left side was paralyzed," Henderson said. "It was paralyzed on the inside of my body. I just felt like my blood was boiling."
Two Gibbs football players died that day — Vincent Williams and Robert Newton. Fuller recalls the screws in their helmets being melted from the strike.
Former assistant Gibbs assistant coach Thomas "Jet" Jackson tried his best to resuscitate the fallen players before the ambulance came.
It was a day filled with devastation and so many questions.
"Why was I spared," Henderson said. "Why were those two taken and not me? The only thing that I can come to is that there is a time and a purpose for all things."
Despite the tragedy, the Gladiators decided to play the rest of the season in their honor.
What they're saying:
"We loved those young men, and we worked hard with them to have a great season. We went on anyway. We did the best we could with the 28, 29 guys we had. We stuck together as one big family."
That big family is coming together for what is believed to be the first memorial game for Robert and Vincent at the historic Newton-Williams Memorial Stadium on Friday night as the Gladiators battle Northeast.
"This is special because the community is acknowledging it," Fuller said.
The names Newton and Williams are displayed above the concession stand outside the stadium. However, they are not just names. They are an important piece of the fabric when it comes to the history of Gibbs High School. Something the Gladiators on that 1970 team never want to forget.
"It’s good to bring it back and let people know the human side of a gladiator," Fuller said.
Local perspective:
That day resulted in a change. All schools in Florida now have radars on top of their buildings that can track lightning even when it might not look like there will be a strike.
Many players from that 1970 team that witnessed the tragedy have passed on, but for the Gladiators still here, it means the world that a new coach would want to dedicate a game to their fallen brothers.
"It is much appreciated, and it is a long time coming," Henderson said.
Courtesy: Matthew Williams
Paul would not have it any other way.
"I want the kids to understand the history of our school," Paul said. "I don't think there are too any schools with that much rich history in Pinellas county."
And the Gladiators on the field that day, have just one request for the rest
"As long as they keep the name, Newton-Williams Field, that will be great," Jackson said.
What's next:
Approximately 40-50 family members of Newton and Williams will gather at Gibbs High School for the coin toss before the game against Northeast as they celebrate the lives of their lost loved ones.
The Source: FOX 13's Mark Skol Jr. gathered the information for this story.