John Reed

John “Neal” Reed played tackle for the Albertville Aggies from 1950-1954. He was one of seven children born to Edwin and Myrtle Reed who were active in the Albertville School System. Neal was the youngest of five boys who played football for the Aggies.

Neal was Captain of the football team during his junior and senior years. Member of the “A” Club for four years and President for three years. All-State “AA” Football and All-Southern during his senior year. Neal was Class President during his junior and senior years and a member of the Beta Club. He was in the Junior Civitans for three years and featured in Who’s Who for two years.

Neal attended Bullis School in Silver Springs, Maryland in 1954-1955. For his outstanding play in the Silver Bowl against Villanova, he was awarded the most valuable player trophy. In 1955-1956, Neal attended the United States Military Academy (West Point), where he played football under Plebe Coach “Doc” Blanchard and Head Coach Colonel E.H. Blaik.

In 1956, Neal transferred to Georgia Tech, where he was a three-year letterman from 1957-1959. He was the starting right guard for the 1958 and 1959 teams. All three years he played for legendary coach Bobby Dodd. In his final season of 1959, Reed helped Georgia Tech to win over three top 10 teams including Clemson, SMU, and Tennessee. The Tennessee game was special because he was featured in “Sports Illustrated” for an outstanding block that took out two Tennessee tacklers. He was also named to the SEC Team of the Week for his performance in the Notre Dame game. That same year Tech earned a spot in the Gator Bowl, only to fall to Arkansas 14-7.

Neal graduated from Georgia Tech and worked in management for 37 years prior to his retirement from the transportation industry in 1997. He and his wife have three married children and nine grandchildren - all who reside in Columbus, Ohio. Neal currently spends time with his family and participates in church and community affairs.