Meet Larry Thornton: The man who brought national attention to the Magic City Classic
Birmingham native Larry Thornton's storied career is one for the books. But what's truly legendary is how he leveraged that career to uplift the community he loves.
"You hear some guys who say, man cave? Well, this is my sanctuary."
Thornton's sanctuary is his art studio, set up on the ground floor of his Lay Lake home.
"Most people race to the lake to get on their boats," said Thornton. "Okay, I race to the lake to get to my drawing board, because I know that I'm about to create something that I think is going to be wonderful and beautiful and add value."
Adding value is all Thornton has ever done; his career began with a $5-an-hour job, eventually rising to become an executive for Coca-Cola.
"So I'm now advertising manager," said Thornton. "Within a year or two, I get a company car with a car phone. Our listeners will probably not know what a car phone is, but it was a big deal in that day."
He was the first African American to open a McDonald's franchise in Birmingham.
"I had been working for Coca-Cola at that time for 15 years," said Thornton. "And to have an opportunity to switch over now and go to work for Ronald McDonald was appealing."
Thornton has since owned several McDonald's franchises.
When he tried to resign from Coca-Cola to focus on his franchises, the company refused to accept his resignation.
"I go in to the president, and I'm turning in my resignation," said Thornton. "He says, no, we're not taking your resignation. We want you to stay with us."
"And so the long and short of it guy is that I have been leaving Coca-Cola for 45 years, and today I am still with Coca-Cola."
Thornton leveraged his affiliations with Coca-Cola and McDonald's to bring national attention to the Magic City Classic, a longtime state football rivalry.
"I graduated from one of these fine institutions, and I have a special heart for the historical contributions that both of these institutions and any HBCU have made," said Thornton.
Thornton serves on the board of directors for the Alabama Sports Council, which produces the Classic on behalf of the schools.
Birmingham-based Eventive Sports manages the event, with Executive Director Perren King.
"Larry is single-handedly the reason that I feel as confident as I do in being able to represent both brands the way that we do...I can't think of an area that he does not touch," said King.
"McDonald's Magic City Classic presented by Coca-Cola, Guy. It doesn't get any better than that," said Thornton.