Major Ogilvie Joins the Gary Harris Show to Talk “Wishbone Boys”

In light of the premiere of the “Wishbone Boys”, this weekend in Tuscaloosa, Tide 100.9 and WVUA 23’s Gary Harris had Major Ogilvie on the Gary Harris Show to talk about Coach Bryant, discuss the wishbone offense, and preview the documentary on him and his teammates.

Ogilvie, a native of Birmingham and graduate of Mountain Brook High School, started his Capstone career in 1977. From that season, until 1980, the running back rushed for 1,718 total yards and 25 touchdowns on 299 attempts. Ogilvie was also a part of the ‘77, ‘78, ‘79 SEC Championship victories and the back-to-back national championships in ‘78 and ‘79.

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Ogilvie is considered one of the best backs in Alabama football history and is believed to be one of the best to wear No. 42.

The main focus of the upcoming documentary, the “wishbone” offense, was made popular by Coach Bryant.

“A lot of times, the play was based on what the defensive end made the quarterback do, but even on down the field, we had safeties that played pretty close on us, so we could run into them and pick up some extra yards,” Ogilvie said.

“I wanted to contribute and be a part of the team,” Ogilvie elaborated. “We were surrounded by a lot of good people- good coaches, good players- it was a good time to be down there.”

In one of the biggest games in Crimson Tide history, the “Goal Line Stand,” Ogilvie played a huge role. After a Penn State interception, Ogilvie hit the Nittany Lion linebacker and killed the play.

“Well at the end of the day, that’s what we’re out there to do… I played safety on the kickoff team and on the kickoff coverage team, and it’s a natural thing that comes,” Ogilvie said. “… after that play, the defense made two really big plays to take them out of field goal position.”

The documentary, which premieres Saturday night at the Bama Theater, covers the dominance of the offensive scheme. Ogilvie had praises for the upcoming movie.

“This one [documentary] is about eight, nine, 10 years in the making… we went down to the beach and did the interviews for it… there are a lot of stories there,” Ogilvie said. “The big one being that Coach Bryant made the change to the wishbone… and the success that it led to.”

“We’re going to be telling some stories, and it’s going to be a lot of fun. I’m really excited to see it,” Ogilvie concluded.

The full interview with Ogilvie is available below.

You can also find the interview with A.P. Steadham, one of the creators of the documentary below.