BLACK HISTORY MONTH BC ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: Mr. Dennis Jasper Famble '80

“I don’t know if I would be where I am today if it was not for BC. I am dyslexic and my teacher from St. Mary’s Catholic School wanted me to go (to BC). I never thought about going to BC, but she knew my struggles and stuff, and she told me and my parents, and cried, ‘Don’t send him to any other school! Send him to BC because he is going to backslide if he doesn’t get that structure!’ If it wasn’t for BC with the structure, and I got to learn study skills that I took on with me to college, I don’t think I would be where I am today. The coaches meant a lot to me. The staff as well. I was the first African-American Most Valuable Player on the football team. Coach Harry Deal, Coach (Jim) Walsh, Coach (Tony) Orsini, Coach (Tommy) Brennan, Coach (Tommy) Cannon, those guys really shaped me into a pretty good football player and person. I owe a lot to BC. The BC family has always been gracious and awesome to me. I will always love the BC family.”

“I had a niece that was a Spanish teacher here (at Mays High School) and there was an opening, and she begged me to apply for this job, so I did and got it. I always tell folks, ‘Never say what you’re not going to do because I always said I never wanted to be a teacher, and I ended up being one.’” Famble said BC’s coaches and teachers had a big impact on him. “I told you I’m dyslexic. During practices, I didn’t really go in and try to run the plays because I was probably going to mix the numbers up. My dad worked on the weekends, and we had our games on Saturdays, so he would take off to come and see me play. And I wasn’t playing. He came to me one time after a game and he said, ‘Why are you not playing?’ And I said, ‘Well, the coach said I don’t know the plays.’ He said, ‘Where is the coach?’ I showed him. I pointed at Coach Deal, right? He grabbed me and we went over to Coach Deal, and he said, ‘Hey, coach, how are you doing?’ They exchanged pleasantries and then he said, ‘Why is Dennis not playing?’ And Coach Deal said, ‘Dennis doesn’t know the plays.’ Dad looked at him and said, ‘Are you the Coach?’ He said, ‘Yeah.’ And dad said, ‘Teach him the plays!’ Just like that. And so that Monday, Coach Deal brought me into his office, and he basically had little cardboard pieces, and he showed me all the plays that I needed to know where I was getting the ball. That’s how he taught me football. When I played in little league it was just Dennis (run) right, Dennis (run) left. Coach Deal had a lot to do with my success at BC. Somebody was ahead of me, and he got hurt so (Deal) put me in (a varsity game). The season was probably half over, and I was J.V., and they gave me the ball and the first time I ran the ball I got a first down. The second time they gave me the ball I ran a touchdown.” Deal was BC’s varsity running backs coach. Walsh was BC’s varsity head coach. During Famble’s senior season in 1979 he “ran for about 1,200 yards and 12 or 13 touchdowns” and the Cadets won the region championship for a third consecutive season. BC lost, 31-6, to nationally ranked Warner Robins in the first round of the playoffs. Famble was one of six Cadets selected to the all-city team. BC finished the 1979 season with a 10-2 record. “We were playing juggernauts back in the day. Not too many people can say they played against Buck Belue and Lindsay Scott in high school. I played a little basketball and ran track, too. I was in JROTC all four years. My senior year, I got Outstanding Senior. Obviously, I had a target on my back because there were only three African-Americans starting on offense. There was me, Dexter Reynolds and William Sanders. Dexter played cornerback and running back. William played defensive tackle. Dexter graduated from Georgia Southern. William graduated from Purdue.” Famble graduated from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in graphic design. He played running back and wide receiver for UTC “but I tore up my knee, so my career was kind of short in college after that.” Famble was a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.