By Rubin E. Grant
During his freshman football season at the University of Alabama, Darryl Fuhrman had to decide whether he was going to be an influencer.
“We were doing calisthenics,” Fuhrman recalled. “And coach (Ray) Perkins came over to me and got in my grill. He said, ‘There are three kinds of people, movers and shakers, those who just watch and those who don’t give a darn.’ He said, ‘Which one are you?’ I didn’t know what to say so I said, ‘I’m a mover and shaker.’
“At the time, I thought he was telling me not to be whining and get on with it.”
Furhman, who is from Southside near Gadsden and now lives in Homewood, has gotten on with it. He was a linebacker for the Crimson Tide from 1985 to 1987, playing alongside former linebacking greats Cornelius Bennett and the late Derrick Thomas.
Later, after the 2011 tornadoes devastated Tuscaloosa, Fuhrman, a long-time sales professional, helped organize a flag football game between former Alabama and Auburn football players that raised about $150,000 for the Governor’s Emergency Relief Fund.
Also in 2011, Fuhrman – along with other former Tide and Tiger coaches and players – formed the nonprofit Lettermen of the Iron Bowl, which became Lettermen of the USA in 2014.
Fuhrman is president of the national charitable organization of former college athletes, as well as active and former coaches. They have teamed up to help serve honorably discharged veterans, wounded veterans and former college players in need.
The mission of Lettermen of the USA is to help those who serve by offering the motivation, guidance and support necessary to rise and pursue success “One Yard at A Time.”
On Feb. 21 at 6 p.m., Lettermen of the USA is hosting its second annual “One Yard at A Time” Gala. The event will be held at The Club in Birmingham. The $150 ticket price includes a seated dinner, music, live and silent auctions, photo and autograph sessions.
The gala will feature UAB head football coach Bill Clark as guest speaker and Capt. Gary Mike Rose, U.S. Army Medal of Honor recipient. The event also will include many familiar faces, including Bennett and former Alabama kicker Brian Cunningham.
The Lettermen of the USA member network gives back to its communities by volunteering during natural disasters, helping feed the homeless at local shelters, supporting wounded veterans or simply giving an autographed football to someone who needs encouragement from one of their gridiron heroes.
More than 300 footballs signed by coaches and players, known as “Autographs for Heroes,” have been given to soldiers injured during their military service at the recipients’ favorite schools. In 2011, the first autographed football ever presented by Lettermen of the USA was given by a former University of Alabama football player to a wounded Auburn veteran and signed by the late Pat Sullivan.
The idea for the Gala came about after another encounter Fuhrman had with his former college football coach.
“In 2017, I met coach Perkins at Salem’s Diner in Homewood,” Fuhrman said. “I told him what we’d been doing and that we had given out 200 footballs since 2012. He said, ‘Why isn’t it 250,000?’ and I dropped my fork. I told him it costs money, and he said you better hurry.”
Proceeds from the gala will benefit discharged veterans, wounded veterans and former college players in need.
Lettermen of the USA is looking to expand in the future and establish the “50 Yard Line House” to provide homes for veterans, wounded veterans, disaster victims and former college athletes who have fallen down in life with no fault of their own.
The idea of this program is similar to the Ronald McDonald House. But it would be a center or subdivision used to get these people off the street and provide services and training to get them back on their feet.
“We have taken the many diverse skills of athletes and coaches and built a national platform,” Fuhrman said. “No organization is worth its salt that doesn’t help its own.”
For more information about the LofUSA Gala, visit https://www.lotusa.org, call 205-394-7521 or email [email protected].