Ronald Edwin "Sunshine" Bass (born October 28, 1955) is a former American football player who played at

T.C. Williams High School Alexandria City High School (formerly named T. C. Williams High School) is a public high school in the City of Alexandria, Virginia, United States, just outside of Washington, D.C. The school has an enrollment of over 4,100 students. The high sch ...

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of downtown Washington, D.C. In 2020, the population was 159,467. ...

, and the University of South Carolina. He was portrayed by actor

Kip Pardue Kevin Ian "Kip" Pardue (born September 23, 1975) is an American actor and model, who became known for his roles in the films ''Remember the Titans'', '' But I'm a Cheerleader'', '' The Rules of Attraction'' and ''Thirteen''. Early life and educ ...

in the 2000 film ''

Remember the Titans ''Remember the Titans'' is a 2000 American biographical sports film produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Boaz Yakin. The screenplay, written by Gregory Allen Howard, is based on the true story of coach Herman Boone, portrayed by Denze ...

'' which is about his high school’s 1971 State Championship team, on which he was the starting quarterback.

Early life

Bass was born in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, in October 1955, the son of Williamson G. "Bill" Bass and Betty Jean McCauley. Bass' father was an

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

. Due to his father's military career, Bass and his family moved frequently as he was growing up. The family lived in

Smackover, Arkansas Smackover is a small city in northern Union County, Arkansas, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population was at 1,865. It had a large oil boom in the 1920s, with production continuing for some time. History In 1686, the French ...

Stillwater, Oklahoma Stillwater ( iow, Ñápinⁿje, ''meaning: "Water quiet"'') is a city in, and the county seat of, Payne County, Oklahoma, United States. It is located in north-central Oklahoma at the intersection of U.S. Route 177 and State Highway 51. As of t ...

, Huntington Beach, California, and finally

. Most of Bass' education took place in

Huntington Beach Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County, California, Orange County in Southern California, located southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. The city is named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 duri ...

, where he attended Gill Elementary, Stacey Jr. High, and Marina High School. After moving to Alexandria, Bass finished his last two years of High School at T.C. Williams, graduating with the class of 1972.

High school

' During his early years at Huntington Beach, Bass realized he wanted to play football. At Marina High, he started his sophomore year as a defensive back while also playing backup quarterback. After moving to Virginia, Bass became the starting

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

, as well as adopting the nickname "Sunshine", at

. The nickname was given to him by his teammates due to his blonde hair and sunburn. Bass was a starter on the team during both his junior and senior years, and led T.C. Williams to the Virginia AAA state High School championship his junior year in 1971.

''Remember the Titans''

Bass and others have stated that many scenes in the 2000 film ''

'' are fictional, and do not portray the real-life Ronald Bass accurately. For example, in the movie, Bass is depicted as a long-haired hippie. He has, however, been quoted in the ''Greenville News'' as saying, "I was never quite like that ... But that's Hollywood. I'll say for the record my hair was never that long." In the film, Bass, played by

, arrives after camp begins and is introduced to the Titans' coaches by his father, United States Army Colonel Bass, as they had just arrived in town. In real life, the Bass family had already been in Alexandria before camp started and had practiced with rival quarterback "Rev" in unofficial workouts held during the summer. "Ronnie went down (to the Burg) every day, and he related to the kids there in the ghetto," Boone stated in the film's DVD commentary. "This is one of the reasons they called him 'Sunshine.' ". Commenting on the scene in the movie in which his character kisses Gerry Bertier (

Ryan Hurst Ryan Douglas Hurst (born June 19, 1976) is an American actor, known for his roles as Gerry Bertier in ''Remember the Titans'' (2000), Sgt. Ernie Savage in ''We Were Soldiers'' (2002), Tom Clarke in '' Taken'' (2002), Opie Winston in the FX dram ...

) on the lips in the locker room, Bass has stated that the incident never happened. Bass has also observed that in the movie, "( Denzel Washington) did come across as a

disciplinarian Discipline refers to rule following behavior, to regulate, order, control and authority. It may also refer to punishment. Discipline is used to create habits, routines, and automatic mechanisms such as blind obedience. It may be inflicted on ot ...

, which Coach Boone was, he was a perfectionist, which Coach Boone tried to be, and he had a temper and was in your face a lot." Boone admits, in his DVD commentary, that he was a disciplinarian, but adds that he has a warm side that doesn't come across in the film. "I wanted to make the team," Bass noted. "I think that's where most of the kids' minds were. We were just trying to play football."

College career

Bass went on to play at the University of South Carolina on a football

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholars ...

. He started at

his junior and senior year and lettered all four years. As a sophomore, in the October 26, 1974, game against their rival and 14-point favorite

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

, Bass ran the ball 39 times for 211 yards and two touchdowns in a 31–23 upset victory. He was named ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

'' offensive player of the week.

Statistics

References

External links

71originaltitans.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bass, Ronnie Living people 1955 births People from Fort Walton Beach, Florida American football quarterbacks High school football players in the United States South Carolina Gamecocks football players Sportspeople from Alexandria, Virginia People from North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina T. C. Williams High School alumni