Virginia coach who helped inspire 'Remember the Titans' dies at 94

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (FOX 5 DC) - Virginia coach Bill Yoast - a coach who helped inspire "Remember the Titans" - has died at the age of 94.

The movie celebrated the transformation of race relations in Alexandria in the larger context of the civil rights movement.

Yoast was played by Will Patton in the movie. His coaching partner, Herman Boone, was played by Denzel Washington. Boone was T.C. Williams' first African American coach.

The two coaches united the team in the newly integrated school, forging one of the most successful squads in the state.

"Bill was not going to allow racial differences to exist in this city," said coach Boone, talking about his friend and former colleague from his own hospital bed on Friday.

Even though Yoast and Boone were as different as "night and day," Boone said, "He and I found a way to talk to each other and trust each other."

Yoast, 94, died at Aarondale Retirement and Assisted Living in Springfield, Virginia.