Coach Gene Stallings & His Son Johnny

[Andy Curtin]

I have only known Coach Gene Stallings just over three years. Gene is a member of the Legends Poll and I've had the privilege of talking to him on our weekly conference calls during the last four college football seasons. He is a serious man who was able to mold his players to his image, and was very successful in doing so, as evidenced by Alabama's National Championship in 1992 with Gene as the Crimson Tide's head coach.

As most college football fans knew, Gene and his wife, Ruth Ann, had a boy they named Johnny, who was born with Down Syndrome. As with almost all Down Syndrome children, Johnny had serious health problems his entire life. Most do not live very long lives. Johnny Stallings was the lucky exception. He lived to be 46 years old, and was the light of his parents' life.

I never met Johnny personally, but I had the opportunity to talk to him on several occasions when I called on the phone for Gene. We had many interesting conversations. He sounded like an excited eight year-old boy, even though I knew he was over 40 years old. After attending his funeral, I wish I had been lucky enough to meet him in person. There must have been close to 1,000 people at his funeral. All could see what a great strong faith-based family the Stallings' are.

Gene, Ruth Ann, their four daughters, their husbands and children all bore witness to what a wonderful life they shared with Johnny. Despite the disabilities he had, Johnny was very active, and as Ruth Ann once told me, he was always smiling.

One story tickled me particularly. After an Alabama bowl win, Gene instructed his football operations director to get everybody on the bus so they could get back to the team hotel. Gene and all the players were dead tired from the rigors and the excitement of the game. Gene boarded the bus and waited for the players and the Alabama travelling party to do likewise. After an unusually long wait, Gene was getting impatient and asks his football operations director what was causing the holdup. After checking around he reported back to Gene that Johnny is signing autographs for the Alabama fans! Well, they continued to wait until Johnny was finished. Johnny was a mini-celebrity everywhere he lived and made an impression on all the people he met.

The Stallings family has great faith in God. I just pray God gives them strength to get through this sorrowful time. Gene and Ruth Ann were lucky to have Johnny. They were able to share 46 precious years with Johnny. And best of all, they know as Gene said, "Johnny has a one-way ticket to Heaven."