Greatest Names In Bama Football History-Holt Rast
Alabama football has always attracted top talent. And having coaches who are able to "coach up" top talent makes it even better. Frank Thomas was such a coach, and he coached up many a player. Another player who benefited from Thomas' coaching and yet came to the Capstone with an abundance of raw talent was Holt Rast (October 10, 1917 - November 22, 1998), another of those "greatest names" in Bama football history.
Rast was drafted by the Chicago Bears of the National Football League in 1942 in the 18th round as the 170th overall pick. However, Rast never played for the Bears. He instead entered the U.S. Army after his graduation in 1942, where he served until 1946. He was a captain in the 9th Division Combat Engineers, and was twice wounded. He was awarded the Purple Heart with oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star Medal and Silver Star. Rast was honorably discharged in 1946 at the rank of Major.
The people of Jefferson County elected him to serve in the Alabama House of Representatives from 1958 until 1966. Governor George C. Wallace appointed him to assist with the development of the Alabama Sports Hall of fame in 1967. In 1975 he founded Rast Construction.
1977 found Rast being inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame for football.
1994 saw Rast again being honored in the sports field. He was selected by the Southeastern Conference as an SEC Football Legend.
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Former Crimson Tide Lineman Joe King Passes
Former University of Alabama offensive lineman Joe King passed away yesterday. He was 47.
King was seriously injured in an auto accident on June 22, 2014 when he lost control of his truck, leaving the road and striking both a culvert and a tree. That accident left him paralyzed all this time.
King was a mountain of a man, standing 6 feet 7 inches tall, and weighing more than 300 pounds. He played from 1985 to 1988 under head coaches Ray Perkins and Bill Curry. Though in his college career King struggled with a substance abuse problem, in recent years he worked as a counselor in drug and rehabilitation programs with law enforcement. He turned that bad period in his life into a training program to help troubled individuals.
According to AL.com, King gave a series of interviews from his hospital bed with Gloria Cooper and others from WTZT in Athens, Alabama. She said that King "had a very good heart." She spoke of how he wanted to help others, to be an inspiration in hopes that "at least one person" might be able to learn from the life that he had lived. He encouraged addicts to continue with their group meetings and for their sponsors to stay accountable.
His faith was something else he wanted to share with others, and used the interview as a way to do just that. He even spoke of being able to lead two people to Christ from his hospital bed.
Kings funeral will be held at Collier-Butler Funereal Home in Gadsden, Alabama. Service time is scheduled for 11 AM.
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4-Star Prospects Backs Off Ohio State, Considers Bama
Photo Credit: 247Sports
Four-star 6' 5", 250-pound defensive end/outside linebacker prospect Terrell Hall has decommitted from Ohio State and reopened his recruitment. His announcement came via Twitter late yesterday afternoon.
The University of Alabama is one of the schools that the Washington, D.C. native is focusing on, having recently spent a week in Tuscaloosa. The Tide is interested in Hall as a Jack linebacker where he can show off his versatility and athleticism, according to AL.com. Hall is rated as the No. 10 weak side linebacker, No. 141 overall, and the No. 1 prospect in Washington, D.C.
Hall stated in a tweet, "I believe it's best if I open up my recruitment back up to make sure I'm making the best decision for my future.
Other than Alabama and Ohio State, it appears that Georgia and Penn State rank high with Hall.
He had also commented that he wanted to make some visits to SEC schools this fall.
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College Game Day Opens 2015 With Bama & Badgers
It's less than five weeks away. College football returns, and more specifically, Alabama football returns.
The nation's most popular college pre-game show, ESPN's College Game Day, will kick off the 2015 season at the Fort Worth (Texas) Stockyards for the September 5th meeting between the University of Alabama Crimson Tide and Wisconsin Badgers. The game will be played at Arlington's AT&T Stadium, with the kickoff slated for 7 PM CT. The game will be broadcast live on ABC.
Both teams are ranked in the preseason coaches poll. The Tide comes in at number 3, with the Badgers placing at number 18.
This will be Alabama's 32nd (20-12) appearance on Game Day, and the 24th appearance under head football coach Nick Saban (17-6). The Tide has the most Game Day appearances since the 2007 season, with Oregon as the runner up with five fewer appearances.
Incidentally, this will be Bama grad Rece Davis' debut as Game Day host, replacing Chris Fowler who hosted the show since 1990. He will be joined by Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard and David Pollack. Other contributors will include Samantha Ponder, Tom Rinaldi, George Whitfield and Gene Wojciechowski. Of course there will again be guest pickers again this year.
