Hearing that Gene Stallings has added AL Crimson Tide.com fan page to profile is an honor. It made me think about the day that I had the opportunity to meet Coach Stallings and his son John Mark.

Where We Were

We were both at an Alabama Crimson Tide basketball game (Virginia I believe was playing us)  and I remember spotting him in the crowd. My wife and I were dating at the time, and we took the opportunity to walk over there and introduce ourselves.   In addition to his warm personality and the deep love, we could sense that he had for his son as he introduced us to him.   It's funny, I remember how big his hand seemed to swallow my little average hand shake. He also seemed very tall as he stood up out of his seat to greet us.

Warm Memories of Coach and His Son Jon Mark

Coach Stallings and his son were very cordial, and if memory serves me correctly, he asked the both of us if we were students at the University. We were actually junior college students at the time at Snead State, but we could tell coach loved the U of A.

John Mark was glowing as he was thoroughly enjoying watching the Crimson Tide basketball team play, we shook his hand as he nodded his head and gave us the biggest smile. He was a happy young man spending time with his personal hero, not the coach but the father who loved him.

It was a fun day to remember. If you have any memories of Coach Stallings or John Mark Stallings, please be sure to post in comments below.

I will leave you with a TV interview of Coach Gene and his son from the tv news show dateline.  Trust me, its a tear jerker and if you haven't seen it, you need to!  You will be able to sense the love he had for his son just like I could tell on the day I met the two of them enjoying the time they had together on the day I met the both of them. 

God bless you Coach Stallings and we will miss you, John Mark.

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