What Happened to the Real Willie Weathers? Gridiron Gang (2006) True Story

Michael Black is most often named as the real Willie Weathers. Here's what Gridiron Gang changed. In 1990, Michael Black was 16 and locked up at Camp Kilpatrick, a Los Angeles County probation camp for boys in the hills above Malibu, the year its football team, the Kilpatrick Mustangs, moved up from eight-man to 11-man high school football. Lee Stanley's documentary Gridiron Gang, hosted by Louis Gossett Jr., filmed their whole season; it first aired in 1992 and won an Emmy. The 2006 film Gridiron Gang is based on it: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson plays coach Sean Porter, a county probation officer, Xzibit plays Malcolm Moore, and Jade Yorker plays Willie Weathers, the team's star running back. Seven years later, Michael Black was Washington State's tailback in the Rose Bowl. This is the Gridiron Gang true story, with each of the film's scenes set beside the real one: the real Sean Porter giving the speech first, in 1990, camp director Paul Higa, the real Malcolm Moore, the Mustangs' 26-0 opening loss at Boron, Michael Black's 324-yard, six-touchdown game, the Freedom League co-championship, the playoffs, and the CIF Southern Section Division X final against Montclair Prep. Then the three endings: the documentary's, Hollywood's, and the real one, which went by way of a youth prison, a phone call to Lee Stanley, junior college at West Los Angeles, Washington State coach Mike Price, the All-Pac-10 team, the Apple Cup, the 1998 Rose Bowl against Michigan, the NFL draft and the Seattle Seahawks. With what Michael Black, Sean Porter, Jack Sims, Lee Stanley, Mike Price, Dwayne Johnson and director Phil Joanou have said, and the reporting of the Los Angeles Times, The Seattle Times and The Spokesman-Review. CHAPTERS 0:00 The Rose Bowl, January 1, 1998 0:48 Three endings 1:43 Sixteen (Spring 1990) 5:13 Three-Pronged (Summer-October 1990) 9:48 Seven in a Row (September-November 1990) 12:21 Only Champions (November-December 1990) 15:46 Six Months Later (1991-1993) 18:22 The Hard Way Around (1993-2001) 📚 Recommended Reading & Watching Material: • Gridiron Gang Film (Blu-ray): https://link.amazon/B0hn1eL4u • Gridiron Gang Film (Prime Video): https://link.amazon/B0csXb4zo • Gridiron Gang 1992 Documentary (Prime Video): https://link.amazon/B066CnVPh (As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.) SOURCES AND CREDITS Every source for this video, with links, plus the photo and footage credits: https://beneaththegame.com/sources/gr... FILM CLIPS Gridiron Gang (2006), Columbia Pictures (Sony Pictures). Short, muted clips from the film are used for commentary, criticism and education, to compare what the film shows with what the record says. The 1992 documentary Gridiron Gang (Lee Stanley, Stanhaven Productions) and ABC's broadcast of the 1998 Rose Bowl are credited on screen and on the sources page. All rights remain with their owners. #GridironGang #MichaelBlack #MovieVsReality