Touchdown Tony: Running with a Purpose

In the movie tie-in to the Fall 2015 film, Woodlawn, Tony Nathan (the central character of the film) shares his experiences as an African American running back on a mostly white team in 1970s Birmingham, Alabama. His courage and superb ability helped heal a city and propelled him to a successful football career as both a player and coach in the NFL. The movie stars Jon Voight, Nic Bishop, and C. Thomas Howell.

When Tony Nathan got his hands on a football, it was like Superman putting on his cape for the first time. He stepped onto the field and became a different person—a hero destined to change the course of Alabama history. Somehow, when he held a football, he knew exactly what to do, and it was those instincts that helped him navigate life in one of the most tumultuous cities in America.

In this powerful memoir, Tony reveals how he summoned the courage to “run with purpose” during the times when racial tensions ran high as he grew from a boy trapped by the racial divide in Birmingham, Alabama, into a successful man and football hero.

Tony’s courage, character, passion, and strength contributed to his impressive career on the field—including two Super Bowls with the Miami Dolphins—and then as a coach who helped train other winning players.

Inspirational and uplifting, Touchdown Tony is not only a behind-the-scenes look at a great football player’s life and career, it is also a story of redemption and one man’s hope to change the future.