🏈 David Pollack with a good question: "Who’s your favorite player that wasn’t a star, a household name, but still left a mark at UA?

[TerryP]

Keith Pugh

That's a good one. I think he may be more of a household name than you think. In fact, I'd dare say he is.

Today, if you wanted to catch him I'm pretty sure his podcast is still running strong.

You're also talking about Dr. Pugh (Phd.) Look him up with state capitol in your search: well known in the Alabama Congress.

You remember Bo7? He recently put that together in a convo when we were texting about Britt one afternoon. (His dad wrote the insurance policy for the athletic department back then.)

 

[TerryP]

Steve Whitman

Over the years I've seen his picture used a lot when people were doing the "...days to count down." RB.

 

[Kirk Van de Graaff]

Keith Pugh- won a couple of state championships at Greenville then went to UA and was a part of 2 National Championships playing SE in a wishbone offense.

A guy from my days, Craig Sanderson out of Hamilton HS. Smooth route runner and great hands.

Hamilton as in Aggies?

 

[TerryP]

A guy from my days, Craig Sanderson out of Hamilton HS. Smooth route runner and great hands.

That's a good pull.

But, I gotta say. I'll bet he is more of a name than you realize.

I recall Sanderson being quite vocal with Kevin Turner up to and after his death.

 

[UAgrad93]

That's a good pull.

But, I gotta say. I'll bet he is more of a name than you realize.

I recall Sanderson being quite vocal with Kevin Turner up to and after his death.

Craig was a vocal guy. He and Gary Hollingsworth were HS teammates and they had a connection. Crushed all of us when he went down in the ‘90 game against UF.

 

[UAgrad93]

That's a good one. I think he may be more of a household name than you think. In fact, I'd dare say he is.

Today, if you wanted to catch him I'm pretty sure his podcast is still running strong.

You're also talking about Dr. Pugh (Phd.) Look him up with state capitol in your search: well known in the Alabama Congress.

You remember Bo7? He recently put that together in a convo when we were texting about Britt one afternoon. (His dad wrote the insurance policy for the athletic department back then.)

https://capmin.org/ministries/state-capitols/ministry-leaders/alabama/

Great guy! He was the pastor here in Sylacauga when I first arrived. I had the honor and privilege of coaching his boys, KJ in soccer and Kameron in football.

 

[footballer]

Tyrone King, DB

 

[PurlJam]

Just a few back during my playing days.
Wayne Davis
Linnie Patrick (RIP)
Kerry Goode
Howard Cross

 

[SnakeFan]

Joey Jones because he was at Murphy High School same time I was.

 

[PurlJam]

Joey Jones because he was at Murphy High School same time I was.

Drank a beer with him at the Green Top BBQ back when he was the HC at Dora HS.

 

[TerryP]

So, the thread has turned into "let's name players everyone knows."

Got it.

 

[Kirk Van de Graaff]

So, the thread has turned into "let's name players everyone knows."

Got it.

OK, Derrick Thomas.

 

[50+yeartidefan]

So, the thread has turned into "let's name players everyone knows."

Got it.

Me. Snake. Spent a lot of time on gulf.
Me n snake actually got drafted same year

 

[50+yeartidefan]

Someone wrote an article about strange cf players name. Bamas contribute was
Hunter Husband

 

[SnakeFan]

So, the thread has turned into "let's name players everyone knows."

Got it.

Ya can’t corral us, we’re a bunch of cats

 

[TerryP]

Ya can’t corral us, we’re a bunch of cats

Someone wrote an article about strange cf players name. Bamas contribute was
Hunter Husband

Since we've spent some time looking at names and players in the mid sixties, Hunter brings another story to mind. (@SnakeFan I can't control myself.)

UGA had a linebacker named Happy Dicks. Here's the story:

Happy Dicks was a linebacker at the University of Georgia in the mid-60’s, which will make this article about the journalist from Georgia, the late, Lewis Grizzard, AΦ ’68, that much funnier.​

​

On the eve of the Georgia – South Carolina game 41 years ago, I was hanging out with three Sigma Pi brothers (the Hound, Tex, and Bake), drinking a few cold PBRs at the old Callaway Gardens Apartment on the Atlanta Highway. We were discussing the upcoming game against the Gamecocks and lamenting the fact that we were going in with several key players out with injuries, including our starting DE, Billy Payne and his roommate, MLB, Happy Dicks.​

​

About 10:00 that night, another fraternity brother, Lewis Grizzard, came in after he got off work. Our buddy was inactive at the time because he had gotten married over the summer to his high school sweetheart, Nancy. In addition to taking a full load at the University, he was working two jobs to help pay for (as he called it) “this expensive habit.”​

​

A talented young man, he was writing two columns daily – one in the morning for the Athens Banner Herald and one in the afternoon for the Athens Daily News. Lewis walked in, went straight to the refrigerator, got a beer, plopped down in a chair, pushed his glasses back up his nose and announced, “Gentlemen, with any luck at all, tomorrow morning you’ll witness journalistic history. I have submitted my column and if it gets by my editor – and there’s a good chance of that happening, since he looked drunk earlier this evening – you’ll enjoy the greatest headline in the history of sports journalism.”​

​

He refused to tell us what it was, and to be honest with you, we all forgot about it. As Lewis went home to his lovely, young bride, the four of us went back over to the Fraternity house to get a head start on the weekend.​

​

The next morning, as usual, I went straight for the Sports Section. As I pulled it out, I could do nothing but smile, because our buddy had pulled it off. To this day, Vince Dooley calls it his most memorable column ever – all because of the headline, which read:
DOGS TO PLAY COCKS WITH DICKS OUT​

​

There’s no doubt about it, it was “the greatest headline in the history of sports journalism.”​

 

[TerryP]

Billy Payne

And yes, that Billy Payne.

 

[bama alum]

Gus White.
View attachment 30985 was one, I can name a few over the years though.
Al Bell
Lamonde Russell
Preston Gothard
Peter Kim

.

Lamonde Russell! Good answer!

Going with both Paul Ott Carruth and Jesse Bendross

 

[TerryP]

OK, Derrick Thomas.

There's this guy that grew up in Coosa County who is also a Thomas, Adalius. (Several reasons I remember this kid.)

He was from Equality, AL. Now there's probably 150 in that town; less than 20 are black. Back in the DuBose era it wasn't much different: I'd bet a little smaller. A city named "Equality" threw me for a bit of a "what?" Not surprised as much shockingly curious.

DuBose/Cottrell/Ellis pretty much passed on him and that just confused me. Being from such a small town, no one knew who he was and there's wasn't a way to "advertise" yourself to other colleges. They knew.

Jeff Bowers, down at S. Miss found him, signed him, and the rest is history.

In '99, when Bama won the SECCG against UF, Thomas was 2nd team All-American. DPOY twice in CUSA. Super Bowl Champ. A few pro-bowls. 1st team All-Pro. (Two or three years with the Pats.) UDFA.

 

[UAgrad93]

There's this guy that grew up in Coosa County who is also a Thomas, Adalius. (Several reasons I remember this kid.)

He was from Equality, AL. Now there's probably 150 in that town; less than 20 are black. Back in the DuBose era it wasn't much different: I'd bet a little smaller. A city named "Equality" threw me for a bit of a "what?" Not surprised as much shockingly curious.

DuBose/Cottrell/Ellis pretty much passed on him and that just confused me. Being from such a small town, no one knew who he was and there's wasn't a way to "advertise" yourself to other colleges.

Jeff Bowers, down at S. Miss found him, signed him, and the rest is history.

In '99, when Bama won the SECCG against UF, Thomas was 2nd team All-American. DPOY twice in CUSA. Super Bowl Champ. A few pro-bowls. 1st team All-Pro. (Two or three years with the Pats.) UDFA.

Yep! Went to Coosa-Central HS in Hanover just down the road from us here in Sylacauga. He was a good one. Bought cleats for the entire team one year, then after a pro-bowl season, bought brand new helmets and shoulder pads for their teams.