The tragic death and heart-warming legacy of Tony Tadlock, Jackson State's first white football player
The knock on the door was terrifying. All knocks at 2 a.m. are alarming, especially when a loved one works as a first responder.
But on Easter in 1988, this knock would change the lives of the firefighter's parents, his girlfriend and his son.
When Jean Tadlock, the mother of firefighter Tony Tadlock, answered the door in her Pearl neighborhood and saw the look on the policeman’s face, she knew. Upon hearing that her son was dead, her legs buckled as she crumpled against her husband, Ralph Tadlock.
Tadlock, a former Jackson State football player, was doing what he loved most in life, fighting fires and serving his community. What makes the Tadlock story so appealing is not how he died, but in how he lived.
He was such an individual and free spirit that he broke the color barrier at Jackson State by becoming the program's first white football player. Tadlock was not an immediate star. As a freshman in 1975, he was the team's long snapper on punts and field goals. With hard work and perseverance, he started in his junior season at center on the same offensive line that featured future Pro Football Hall of Famer Jackie Slater and future high school coaching legend Willie Collins and blocked for future NFL back Ricky Patton.
Collins said Tadlock had good upper body strength and good speed. He was a smart player and would do things to draw opponents offsides before the snap count.
“He was one of the guys,” former JSU coach James Hartfield said of Tadlock. “If another team jumped on him, they had a fight on their hands with his teammates, because he was our guy.”
In Tadlock’s first start at center, Tennessee State’s players were playing rough against him. After one series, the JSU players let their Tennessee State counterparts know that they were ready to fight to protect Tadlock. After that, the game was played fairly, according to then-athletic director Dr. Walter Reed.
“He was a great athlete,” Reed said. “He deserves to be in the Jackson State Hall of Fame. It is long overdue.”
Hartfield said he can remember like it was yesterday when the news came on the TV about Tadlock’s death. He called it one of the saddest days of his life.
“He was the perfect fit for Jackson State because he fit right in,” Hartfield said. “He was loved by everybody -- professors, coaches and players.”
The call
There were three men on the Flowood Fire Department truck answering the call in the second hour of April 3, 1988: Captain Hubert Dukes, driver Jake Busby and Tadlock. When they arrived on scene, they saw the smoke and knew there was hidden fire. They pulled a line off the truck and advanced to the doorway of the building housing a printing business.
Tadlock entered, and Dukes was in the doorway pulling in slack on the hose. The 30-year-old Tadlock had made it only a few feet when the second floor of the roof collapsed, trapping Tadlock inside. He was unable to be rescued.
“His death was heart-wrenching,” Flowood Chief Jeffrey Welborn said. “His death made me have a gut check on whether I was going to stay in the fire service or not. We were all devastated when we found out about his death.”
Welborne said Tadlock’s death was especially emotional to him because both men started the same day on June 30, 1987, at Flowood FD, about 10 miles from Jackson, and worked together until that fateful morning.
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Tony Tadlock's legacy
Tadlock’s girlfriend, Holly Clark, was pregnant at the time of his death, though he did not know she was carrying his child. She named their son Tony Tadlock Jr.
Tony Jr. was raised with the help of his grandfather, Ralph Tadlock, who served as a role model and father figure. His grandparents and mother made sure to share with Tony Jr. photos of his dad in the uniforms of the Jackson State football team and of the Flowood Fire Department. They told him that his father was a hero to many people.
Tadlock is on the Honor Roll of the National Fallen Firefighter Foundation. His name is on the wall of the National Fire Academy and on the memorial wall at the Mississippi State Fire Academy. Flowood Fire Department has a monument in front of Station One that bears his name and image.
"As I was growing up, my family gradually told me that my father was always looking over me," Tony Tadlock Jr. said.
Tony Tadlock Jr. has gone on to coach for six Mississippi High School Activities Association boys basketball titles, winning three with Raymond High, about 14 miles west of Jackson.
“It is important for me to be able to carry on his name and legacy,” Tony Tadlock Jr. said. “When people hear my name, they hear his. I want to be able to use my platform and make a difference just like he was able to do. It is more than a job for me. I can assure you that.”
This story has been updated. An earlier version of this story misstated who Tadlock blocked for in his Jackson State career.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Legacy of Tony Tadlock, first white football player at Jackson State
