Crimson Notes 5/28/10

Even though the “Bama Nation” currently lives in the glory of Nick Saban, a former Tide coach is finally receiving the credit his is due. The National Football Foundation has named a total of 14 players and coaches to enter the prestigious College Football Hall of Fame…and Gene Stallings is on the list.

Coach Stallings joins Barry Alvarez of Wisconsin as the only two coaches to be inducted in this year’s Hall of Fame class.

The official ceremony will be held at the National Football Foundation Awards Dinner on Dec. 7 at the famed Waldorf-Astoria in New York City.

During his tenure at Alabama, Gene Stallings was responsible for some of the “golden years” in ‘Bama history. Stallings roamed the sidelines from 1990-96 and accumulated a winning streak of 28 games, and obtained the 1992 SEC and national championship.

Courtesy of the National Football Foundation:

A member of College Football Hall of Fame coach Bear Bryant's "Junction Boys" as a player at Texas A&M, Stallings returned to his alma mater in 1965 as head coach. In his third season, the Aggies captured the Southwest Conference title and defeated Alabama in the Cotton Bowl. After spending the next 17 seasons as an NFL coach, Stallings took over as head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide in 1990. Following back-to-back bowl appearances in his first two seasons, Stallings led the Tide to the 1992 National Championship, posting a 13-0 season record. Stallings coached 13 First Team All- Americans during his head coaching career.

Since his retirement from football, Stallings has served on President George W. Bush's Commission on Intellectual Disability and wrote a book about his late son, John Mark, who was born with Downs Syndrome. In 2005, he was appointed to the Texas A&M Board of Regents by Governor Rick Perry.

Stallings has been inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, Texas Sports Hall of Fame, Texas A&M Hall of Fame, Gator Bowl Hall of Fame and Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame. He and his wife Ruth Ann reside in Powderly, Texas, and have five children.

Finally, courtesy of the Paul W. Bryant Museum, I give you a look at
Denny-Stadium (yes, Denny-Stadium) from 1968.

The video provided below contains no audio, but fans of the Crimson Tide get a rare chance to see the stadium empty and complete with BRAND NEW artificial turf.



Via the video description, and I quote…

“Paul Bryant recommends artificial turf be installed at Legion Field in Birmingham and Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa and notes the University will immediately begin installing the synthetic grass on the practice fields on the University campus. The approximate cost of putting in a 100-yard field is $200,000. City officials in Birmingham seem to concur with Bryant's wishes, noting the atrocious playing conditions that exist with the seemingly ever wornout grass at Legion Field.”