Greg Boone was a three sport scholar-athlete who graduated from Bel Air High School in 1979. Upon graduation he played football for Duke University, then played for the United States Football League’s Tampa Bay Bandits from inception in 1983 until the league folded. He then played a season for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL. Greg still lives and works in the Tampa area.
Harford Lifestyle Sports: After your high school freshman season the football program at BAHS had two varsity wins in the prior two years….then your sophomore year Coach Carr arrives…do you recall any sort of excitement or the team feeling like it was a new day?
GB: I don’t remember the anticipation but I remember how we were inspired to play. Our offensive formation was called “Dominate” (aka, 4 yds and a cloud of dust).
By the time we were done with 2 a days (summer practices) we all believed we would dominate. Coach Carr instilled discipline in us like a drill sergeant and we fell in line. I will never forget we were playing some team and the referee warned us that we were hitting too hard and subject to penalty. Legal hits, but just too hard:)
HS: The BA v John Carroll game in 1977 was big….it was BA’s first winning season in a while, and we were playing for the county championship against a team that BA hadn’t played in eight years. During that eight years, BA had a record of 24-76, while JC had been 69-31.
Leading up to the game, BA warmed up at BAHS then bussed over to Bynum Run Pond (below JC’s field), and appeared on the sideline 5 min before game time, entering the field thru a hole in the fence. That game ended with BA winning 24-13 in front of 3000 spectators. (according to the Aegis). Here’s my question: What do you recall about that game, the preparation and shenanigans leading up to it?
GB: To be honest I vaguely remember happenings before the game but I will never forget how cool that was showing up late and walking up the hill, side by side in one line. Coach Carr was a players coach, he got the most out of us because of cool things like that.
*The following year, BA and JC both had an outstanding teams. With one game left in the season, BA was 6-3 and JC was 7-2, and the game is at BA on a Friday night. The Aegis estimated that 5,000 people were at that game….bars and restaurants on Main St closed for the game, which BA won 29-6. The BA/JC rivalry was running in full speed.
HS: How many years were you on the BAHS track team? I recall you placed at the outdoor State Meet in the high hurdles and were part of the State champion sprint relay team with Rich Mascari, Dave Windley and Dominic Corson….which was a new program at BA. You had also been a successful 3 year wrestler for BA who had a couple of very big wins. Why did you choose to run indoor track instead of wrestle your senior year?
GB: I believe I ran the 120 high hurdles for three years. Track really helped my 40 time. Obviously not meant offensively but I was the token Black guy in a sprint relay:)
HS: Why did you choose to run indoor track instead of wrestle your senior year?
GB: I hated wrestling. The only reason I wrestled the 1st year is because I missed my bus and either Coach Jacovitte or Heagy said they would give me a ride (home) after practice. It happened to be wrestling tryouts that day and I had never missed my bus before (serendipity or fate idk). Evidently I was pretty good at it and I was raised not quit something once you start. But you have to be a disciplined and motivated man to suck 8-10 lbs 2 -3 times a week. I was disciplined but not motivated; football was my sport. So I figured I would stay in shape with track my senior year.
HS: Our head football coach Lynn Carr was a recruiting machine. It seemed like 2-3 college coaches a week were on campus. Other than your ultimate choice of Duke, which other schools were you seriously considering? Why did you choose Duke?
GB: I considered Purdue, Michigan, UVA. I went for a visit to Purdue, I felt like I would be just another number (same for Michigan). I liked UVA but something about the coach was inauthentic. But I liked Duke right away aside from the academics, they didn’t have an outright red-shirt program.
HS: In my research I see that you had a 14 yard touchdown pass vs Annapolis your junior year for BA and an almost identical td pass playing for Duke vs University of MD. Are you 2-2 with 2 TD passes for you career?
GB: You are very thorough! I have no idea, but I like your stats so I agree.
HS: Is your kickoff return for a TD for Duke in 1982 your career highlight? If not what is your career highlight? If it is, what’s number two on your list?
GB: Definitely my college highlight. I think Tennessee was ranked and we were playing a close game the 1st half. During halftime Coach Spurrier comes up to me and says “Booner, we need a spark” (I used to do a pretty good Spurrier imitation). So they kickoff and he knocks the ball 5 yards deep like he did 1st half, and I just thought “why not”, I am coming out. One of the best decisions I ever made. Two days later I heard Howard Cosell do the play by play on Monday Night Football. “Greg Boone the diminutive back from Duke takes the ball 5 yards deep, hurdles two defenders and puts on a tremendous burst of speed to go 105 yards untouched into the end zone.” Gotta love Howard Cosell.
USFL highlight – 1st Running back to rush for over 100 yds. It was our second game of the season. I was the starting fullback and we switched to a 1 back offense because the 1st&2nd string RBs were injured. 157 yards on 31 carries, mostly YAC yards.
HS: You told me that your college coach Steve Spurrier, who left Duke to become the head coach for the Tampa Bay Bandits of the USFL, told you he’d draft you if you were still available. Were you hoping or expecting to play pro prior?
GB: Not at all, back then at 5’ 9” 195 conventional thinking was [that I was] too small.
HS: How was the USFL viewed by players vs the NFL in 1983?
GB: I think we had a very good product, we knew we were not the NFL but we probably would have dominated the CFL.
HS: What was a your major at Duke? Did your years with the Bandits and the Buccaneers make it difficult to get a job in your field of study at Duke?
GB: I started out in Engineering but with football and surprisingly poor study habits (high school was pretty much memorization) I switched to Economics with a minor in Psychology.
No, sports on the resume actually helped get interviews.
