Willie Buchanon said he’s “flattered beyond belief.”
An Oceanside High School and MiraCosta College product, he’s one of the greatest football players in San Diego State history. The Green Bay Packers selected him in the first round of the 1972 NFL draft. He played 11 years in the NFL — seven with the Packers and four with the San Diego Chargers — and finished his career with 28 interceptions in including an NFL-record four in the same game.
He’s a member of the Junior College Hall of Fame, the San Diego State Hall of Fame and the San Diego Hall of Champions.
And on Tuesday night, as part of Black History Month, Generational Black Pioneers will debut a play on Buchanon’s life.
Written and directed by Tiffany Vakilian, the production follows Buchanon’s life from childhood to the present. The one-night-only play will be held at Oceanside High School’s Performing Arts Center, a 502-seat on-campus facility.
The curtain rises at 7 p.m., with the production running a little more than 90 minutes. Tickets are $20 for general ission and $15 for students and are available by emailing [email protected]
Students from Oceanside and El Camino high schools make up the cast.
“The play is as much about Willie’s faith and his community as it is about his playing career,” Vakilian said. “The man has had an amazing life. He lived through Woodstock, the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Malcom X.
“He’s a community leader, a businessman in the city where he grew up. We want to celebrate his impact while inspiring the next generation through historical storytelling.”
Buchanon, who became a realtor after his playing days were over, has been involved at Oceanside High for decades as an assistant track coach and consultant to the football team.
On Sundays, he works for the NFL, looking for uniform violations at Chargers games at SoFi Stadium.
“I’ve had a wonderful life, been honored in so many ways,” Buchanon said. “But for someone to think enough of me to write a play … well, that’s pretty darn special.”
