The name Landon Darty, which continues to resonate with the people of Carbon Hill as an inspiration even after 65 years, was associated with many titles.
To the people of Walker County, he is remembered as one of the most successful athletes ever to graduate from Carbon Hill High School. To fans of the University of Tennessee, he is remembered as an integral part of the success of the 1956 Southeastern Conference championship football team. Others recall him as an intelligent coach. His son, Lan, remembers his father as a loving role model.
“He never missed a football or baseball game. He rarely even missed a practice. He was just that kind of dad. We never doubted that we were loved. I could not have asked for a better father,” Lan warm-heartedly said as he looked back on the impact Landon had on his life.
Photo courtesy Pat Morrison.
It has now been eight years since Landon passed away at age 74 on Sept. 12, 2010, but his presence is still felt throughout the country. His two passions, football and hunting, took him around the continent, and he touched lives everywhere he went. After making history and life-long friends at Tennessee, he decided to travel and discover what the world had to offer. Landon found himself living in Colorado and British Columbia at different times and made time for plenty of exploration everywhere in between. But love eventually called him home.
He met his wife of 43 years, Peggy, in college and decided the best place to raise a family was his true home in Walker County, the same county in which he was later buried. Lan says that his father’s funeral was heartbreaking like most, but that it was also a celebration of an incredible life. “There were, I think,12 guys that he played football with at the University of Tennessee that came as honorary pallbearers. We sat around the night before, and they all told stories.They flew in from all over the country. They shared a lot of stories and a lot of laughs. He was one of those full of charisma, bigger-than-life kind of characters.”
Landon will always be remembered as a hometown hero and an SEC champion, and the essence and teachings of the man will never be forgotten.
Out of the many lessons Lan learned from his father, he believes the most important was to love life. “He was an eternal optimist. He encouraged us to believe we could do anything we set our mind to, but also just to have fun in life and not take ourselves too seriously. Be somebody that you can be proud of.” 78
This article was originally posted by 78 Magazine.
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