BAMANEWSBOT
Staff
As highlights of Ken Stabler's football career played on the videoboard at Ivan Jones Stadium on Friday night, Foley Mayor John Koniar read a citation detailing the achievements of the former Oakland Raiders quarterback. The citation had a lot more than football in it.
Stabler died on July 9 at age 69, a victim of colon cancer. For the people of Foley, Stabler was more than an NFL MVP for the Raiders, and before that, a quarterback for Bear Bryant at Alabama. He was family, friend, teammate, neighbor, philanthropist and, yes, a sports star. That's what Friday night was about.
As part of its year-long centennial celebration, Foley recognized the heritage of Foley High School athletics on Friday night, stretching from the first game of the girls' baseball squad in 1924 to the football team's intrasquad scrimmage before the festivities.
Stabler was a Foley Lions star before he went on the Crimson Tide and the Raiders – and not just in football. Sure, his Snake nickname was born on a Foley football field, but Stabler was a talented enough left-handed pitcher to be picked three years in the Major League Baseball draft and he averaged scoring 29 points per game for the Foley basketball team.
So on a night when Foley celebrated its school's athletics, the city also remembered its most accomplished athlete. Members of Stabler's family were guests for the program.
Carolyn Bishop, Stabler's sister, said the event was bittersweet because of her brother's recent death, but the family was honored the city had chosen to recognize him. Bishop said she wiped away a few tears during the event, but also said it was the "first time I've laughed in four or five weeks."
Bishop said she wished Stabler could have been there, and, in some ways, she felt he was.
"He called me earlier this year and said he was coming over," Bishop said. "He said there were a couple of things he wanted to take care of. So when he got here, I asked him about them, and he said, 'I don't want to do them now. I just want to ride around and look at Foley.' And that's what we did. We rode all around Foley, every side street, everywhere.
"This was home for him. He loved Foley."
As part of the ceremony, a captain from each of the five Foley High football teams that included Stabler presented a member of Stabler's family with a football. The captains were Dotson Creighton, Don Foster, Norman Moore, Denny Price and Lester Smith.
Alexa Stabler, one of Stabler's three daughters, drew a big cheer from the crowd when accepting her football by saying: "Thank you for being here. Foley was a special place for him as I'm sure it is for you. Go, Lions!"
The team captains were just a handful of the players, coaches and cheerleaders from Foley's athletic past on hand for Friday night's celebration. They all gathered on the field and were recognized by the decade in which they played, to appropriate period music ranging from the Charleston to "Happy."
The gathering featured seven Foley football coaches, including Jones, who guided the Lions from 1955 through 1968 and was Stabler's coach. Winston Wise, who was Foley's coach for the two seasons before Jones came aboard, also attended, as did Smith, Barry Pennington, Jimmy Nazary and Russ Moore, along with current coach Tad Niblett.
An NFL Films crew was on hand to record the evening for a documentary about Stabler. The project started before Stabler's death. Bishop said her brother had told her he wanted her to be a part of it. As it turned out, the NFL Films crew came to Foley to talk to her on Thursday and was able to stay over for Friday night's celebration.
As she headed off the field after night full of neck-hugging, Bishop said her football was heading for the mantle in her home.
Continue reading...
Stabler died on July 9 at age 69, a victim of colon cancer. For the people of Foley, Stabler was more than an NFL MVP for the Raiders, and before that, a quarterback for Bear Bryant at Alabama. He was family, friend, teammate, neighbor, philanthropist and, yes, a sports star. That's what Friday night was about.
As part of its year-long centennial celebration, Foley recognized the heritage of Foley High School athletics on Friday night, stretching from the first game of the girls' baseball squad in 1924 to the football team's intrasquad scrimmage before the festivities.
Stabler was a Foley Lions star before he went on the Crimson Tide and the Raiders – and not just in football. Sure, his Snake nickname was born on a Foley football field, but Stabler was a talented enough left-handed pitcher to be picked three years in the Major League Baseball draft and he averaged scoring 29 points per game for the Foley basketball team.
So on a night when Foley celebrated its school's athletics, the city also remembered its most accomplished athlete. Members of Stabler's family were guests for the program.
Carolyn Bishop, Stabler's sister, said the event was bittersweet because of her brother's recent death, but the family was honored the city had chosen to recognize him. Bishop said she wiped away a few tears during the event, but also said it was the "first time I've laughed in four or five weeks."
Bishop said she wished Stabler could have been there, and, in some ways, she felt he was.
"He called me earlier this year and said he was coming over," Bishop said. "He said there were a couple of things he wanted to take care of. So when he got here, I asked him about them, and he said, 'I don't want to do them now. I just want to ride around and look at Foley.' And that's what we did. We rode all around Foley, every side street, everywhere.
"This was home for him. He loved Foley."
As part of the ceremony, a captain from each of the five Foley High football teams that included Stabler presented a member of Stabler's family with a football. The captains were Dotson Creighton, Don Foster, Norman Moore, Denny Price and Lester Smith.
Alexa Stabler, one of Stabler's three daughters, drew a big cheer from the crowd when accepting her football by saying: "Thank you for being here. Foley was a special place for him as I'm sure it is for you. Go, Lions!"
The team captains were just a handful of the players, coaches and cheerleaders from Foley's athletic past on hand for Friday night's celebration. They all gathered on the field and were recognized by the decade in which they played, to appropriate period music ranging from the Charleston to "Happy."
The gathering featured seven Foley football coaches, including Jones, who guided the Lions from 1955 through 1968 and was Stabler's coach. Winston Wise, who was Foley's coach for the two seasons before Jones came aboard, also attended, as did Smith, Barry Pennington, Jimmy Nazary and Russ Moore, along with current coach Tad Niblett.
An NFL Films crew was on hand to record the evening for a documentary about Stabler. The project started before Stabler's death. Bishop said her brother had told her he wanted her to be a part of it. As it turned out, the NFL Films crew came to Foley to talk to her on Thursday and was able to stay over for Friday night's celebration.
As she headed off the field after night full of neck-hugging, Bishop said her football was heading for the mantle in her home.
Continue reading...
