Monuments honor 3 state teams

By Sam Waller

Monuments honoring Albany’s three state football championships were being installed Wednesday, Oct. 4 in front of the entrance to Robert Nail Memorial Stadium.

The six-foot-by-six-foot granite monuments were placed next to the sign which honors the title teams of 1960 and 1961.

Albany claimed its third championship on Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2022 by defeating Mart 41-21 in the Class 2A Division II final at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

“I was a little concerned about rain chances for Wednesday, but the monument company was able to get it done,” said AISD superintendent Jonathan Scott.

The project was funded by the Albany Athletic Booster Club, who ended up raising $50,000 to install the three monuments. Among the fundraising projects was the raffle of a football autographed by the players and coaches of the 2022 team.

“With a project like this, there’s so much planning involved,” Scott said. “To see the final result is extremely gratifying.”

Albany has reached the state final eight times since 1954. The last five of those have been under Albany’s longtime head coach Denney Faith, who is one win shy of 350 career victories entering this week’s District 6-2A Division II opener against Miles.

Scott said plans are in the works for a dedication ceremony, but nothing had been finalized at this week’s press time.

“I spoke with Coach Faith about a ceremony,” Scott said. “We are currently working on an idea. Whatever we do, we will invite the ’60-61 teams.”