“You have everything to gain and nothing to lose, so play that way.“

– Harvey Russell

Harvey Nual “Rusty” Russell is my eminent person because he was one of the most exceptional men in history. Not because he created the lightbulb or traveled to space, but because he managed to do the right thing no matter what. To begin with, Harvey served in the military during WWI. His notable contributions were during the Battle of Saint-Mihiel. The month was September of 1918, and Harvey served as a medic to his platoon. The opposing belligerents were the Germans. Amid the battle, a canister holding mustard gas exploded beside Rusty. It burned his lungs, hindered his vision, and critically injured him. However, he managed to treat his fellow soldiers despite this. I admire his ability to care for others in times of adversity; it’s a quality I wish to emulate from him. After being injured, Harvey then woke up in a hospital with what seemed to be permanent blindness for six months. Nothing changed until he pledged to God he would dedicate the rest of his life to helping children. His sight returned, partially, but Harvey did not leave unscathed. He now possessed a sense of PTSD from the traumatic events in battle. Through it all, he managed to remain strong and learn from his experiences. Proceeding his service in the military, Harvey pursued his passions for sports; something both Harvey and I share. At the same time, it is difficult to compare myself to Harvey because of the different time he lived in. Returning to his story, Harvey played at Howard Payne University as the captain of both the basketball and football teams from 1919 to 1921. He then used his athletic knowledge to become an excellent coach for university teams. Following these events, Rusty was offered multiple coaching jobs for prestigious high schools. Alternatively, Harvey chose a coaching occupation at the Fort Worth Masonic Home and School in 1927. This school was not like the other Class A schools of this time. It was home to about one hundred and sixty orphans. In addition, the Masonic Home football team only had twelve players to play both offense and defense. Putting that into scale, teams usually have around fifty players with individualized roles to play. Together, Harvey and his band of orphans faced many challenges like dealing with the abusive staff at the school, terrible injuries, and finding a way to play against considerably larger teams. Even so, Harvey’s leadership and the effort put in by every individual player got them to the Class A state finals in 1932. He beat them with a strategy called the “spread offense“. The plan was to have the quarterback in a shotgun position, a spread-out line of horizontal defense, and three to five receivers. This was better for the small players of Fort Worth to use against the bigger opposing teams because it exploited the enemy’s weaknesses. Even now in modern-day football, you can observe this technique in action all the time. It will go down as one of Harvey’s most important contributions. Harvey’s judgment, perseverance, and leadership qualities attract me to his story. These qualities exemplify the goals I have set for myself in TALONS. It is my desire, to achieve such abilities during my time in this program. Harvey should be remembered for pursuing opportunities, not for the betterment of himself, but the betterment of others. In this way, he also stands out from the different people in his profession. He deserves acknowledgment for his military bravery, athletic contributions, and leadership skills. If you were to take something away from this, I wholeheartedly suggest using Harvey Russell as an inspiration to do the right thing. 

For the next step of my research, my goal is to uncover the effect that Harvey Russell had on his companions and peers. Seeing what influence he made as a mentor.