"you beat all the odds!"
- Pat Dye | Auburn Coaching Legend
The Other #22
Against All Odds traces the hardships and ultimate redemption of ‘the other #22,’ Donnie Hixon, as he journeys from a childhood of hard knocks in the Harrisburg neighborhood of Augusta, Georgia, to Hollywood, USA. Hixon’s unlikely role as the stunt double for Burt Reynolds, in 1974’s The Longest Yard, rights a series of life-altering setbacks as a youngster.
Separate tragedies that took the lives of his father and brother before his eyes as a young boy had a traumatic effect on Hixon's childhood. To make matters worse, as a young teen, he was forced to quit school to help provide for his mother, dashing his dreams of playing high school sports. Hixon's athletic arena was replaced with the overnight shift at Augusta's iconic produce curb market of the 1950s at Fat Man's. As friends enjoyed social events, Hixon's teenage years were framed within earshot of the Richmond Academy football stadium and its roaring crowds.
Separate tragedies that took the lives of his father and brother before his eyes as a young boy had a traumatic effect on Hixon's childhood. To make matters worse, as a young teen, he was forced to quit school to help provide for his mother, dashing his dreams of playing high school sports. Hixon's athletic arena was replaced with the overnight shift at Augusta's iconic produce curb market of the 1950s at Fat Man's. As friends enjoyed social events, Hixon's teenage years were framed within earshot of the Richmond Academy football stadium and its roaring crowds.
A true story
About Donnie Hixon
Donnie Hixon was born and raised in Augusta, Georgia and followed in his brother’s footsteps as a standout athlete. Tragedies in the Hixon family forced Donnie to quit high school and a four-year stint in the Marine Corp served to further his athletic prowess and put him on a trajectory for success. Upon returning home from the military, Hixon embarked on a long and successful career in the mortgage finance industry.
From the late ’60s through the early 70’s he played for and coached the Augusta Eagles semipro football team. In 1973 Hixon caught the eye of Paramount Pictures and was chosen as Burt Reynolds’ stunt double in one of the iconic sports movies of all-time, The Longest Yard.
Filmed at Reidsville State Prison in the fall of ‘73, Hixon played alongside some of the greatest actors and football players of that era and continued his acquaintance with Reynolds throughout the years. Now retired, Hixon looks back on his amazing opportunity in the movie business as a blessing and dream come true.
From the late ’60s through the early 70’s he played for and coached the Augusta Eagles semipro football team. In 1973 Hixon caught the eye of Paramount Pictures and was chosen as Burt Reynolds’ stunt double in one of the iconic sports movies of all-time, The Longest Yard.
Filmed at Reidsville State Prison in the fall of ‘73, Hixon played alongside some of the greatest actors and football players of that era and continued his acquaintance with Reynolds throughout the years. Now retired, Hixon looks back on his amazing opportunity in the movie business as a blessing and dream come true.
