Principal photography is currently underway for a feature film depicting the life of R.C. "Rocky" Rosacker, a prominent Fort Worth football coach and military veteran. The project, titled "The Colonel," follows the biography of the man who shaped athletics in North Texas for decades.
Rosacker was born in 1918 and raised in Kansas. He left college to join the Marine Corps as the United States prepared for World War II. His military service extended through the global conflict and into the Korean War. A biography on the film’s official website confirms his participation in both wars.
In 1964, at age 46, Rosacker was compelled to retire early from the military after a physical examination determined he could no longer fulfill the requirements of his rank. He subsequently took a civilian position teaching history in Oklahoma, remaining there for several years before moving into education administration.
Rosacker arrived in Fort Worth in 1969 to serve as the athletic director at Fort Worth Country Day. He revitalized the school’s struggling athletic programs, achieving notable success in football and other sports during his tenure, which concluded in 1981. He later coached at Arlington’s Oakridge School for a period before fully retiring from coaching in 1985. In 1988, the football stadium at Country Day was named in his honor. Rosacker passed away in Fort Worth in 2001 at the age of 83.
Director Williams has previously explored Rosacker’s legacy on screen. He produced a short film about the coach in 2016 and released a documentary titled "The Colonel’s Playbook" in 2021, which focused on Rosacker’s time at Country Day. Williams stated in 2024 that he had been attempting to produce a feature-length film about Rosacker for over 15 years. Initial plans indicated that Neal McDonough would star in the lead role, with production scheduled to begin that fall.
