Eugene Clifton Stallings, Jr. (born March 2, 1935) is a former American football player and coach. He played college football at Texas A&M University (1954–1956), where he was one of the "Junction Boys", and later served as the head coach at his alma mater from 1965 to 1971. Stallings was also the head coach of the St. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals of the NFL (1986–1989) and at the University of Alabama (1990–1996). Stalling's 1992 Alabama team completed a 13–0 season with a win in the Sugar Bowl over Miami and was named the consensus national champion. Stallings is currently a member of the Board of Regents of the Texas A&M University System. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2010.

Early years and playing career[link]

Stalling was born in Paris, Texas. He attended Paris High School, where he played end as a sophomore alongside future NFL star, Raymond Berry. During his senior year, Stallings was the captain of the football, baseball, and golf teams. He was recruited to Texas A&M University to play college football by assistant coach Raymond George.^[1]

At Texas A&M, Stallings was a member of the famed Junction Boys under head coach Bear Bryant. In 1956, he helped the team finish 9–0–1 and capture its first Southwest Conference championship since 1939. Stallings received his bachelor of science degree from Texas A&M in 1957.

Coaching career[link]

University of Alabama[link]

In 1958, Stallings joined Bear Bryant's original staff at the University of Alabama as a defensive assistant. He was on hand for two of Alabama's national championship seasons, in 1961 and 1964.

Texas A&M University[link]

Shortly after helping Alabama win the 1964 national title, Stallings was named the head coach of his alma mater, Texas A&M, at the age of 29. He coached the Aggies for seven seasons compiling a record of 27–45–1. Under his tenure, the Aggies won the Southwest Conference in 1967, Stallings' only winning season at A&M.

Dallas Cowboys[link]

In 1972, Stallings joined the staff of the Dallas Cowboys as Tom Landry's secondary coach. He remained with the Cowboys for 14 seasons, and helped them win Super Bowl XII.

St. Louis/Phoenix Cardinals[link]

In 1986, Stallings was named the head coach of the St. Louis Cardinals. In parts of four seasons, Stallings compiled a 23–34–1 record with the Cardinals and was the head coach during the franchise's move to Arizona. He came closest to a winning season during the Cardinals' first two years in Arizona, in 1988 and 1989. Both times, the Cardinals were doomed by late-season collapses. With five games remaining in the 1989 season, Stallings announced that he would resign at the end of the season. Instead, general manager Larry Wilson ordered Stallings to leave immediately and named running backs coach Hank Kuhlmann as his temporary replacement.

University of Alabama[link]

Stallings returned to Alabama as head coach in 1990. His first team finished with a 7–5 record,^[2] including a 34–7 loss to Louisville in the 1991 Fiesta Bowl. Following Harold Drew, Stallings became only the second Alabama head coach since the renewal of the Iron Bowl in 1948 to defeat Auburn in his first attempt; Dennis Franchione became the third in 2001.^[3] Stalling's 1991 squad finished the season with an 11–1^[2] record, including a 30–25^[4] victory over Colorado in the 1991 Blockbuster Bowl.

In 1992, Stallings experienced defensive unit led the team to an undefeated regular season and a berth in the first SEC Championship Game where Alabama defeated Florida, 28–21, giving Alabama its 20th SEC title, and its first outright conference title since 1979.^[2] Following a 34–13 victory over heavily favored Miami in the 1993 Sugar Bowl to cap a perfect 13-0 season, Stallings' 1992 team won the first Bowl Coalition national championship.^[5]

In 1993, Stallings' squad won a second straight SEC West Division title, compiling a 9–3–1 record. However, the Tide lost to Florida in the SEC Championship Game. In 1994, Stallings' team finished the regular season with a record of 11–0, an 8–0 record in the SEC, and captured its third straight SEC West Division title. However, they lost the SEC title game for the second year in a row to Florida.^[5] Alabama finished the 1994 season with a 12–1 record, including a 24–17 victory over Ohio State in the Citrus Bowl.^[2]

After an investigation that ran from late 1993 to August 1995, the NCAA found Alabama guilty of four major rules violations during the 1993 season. Stallings was implicated, along with athletic director Hootie Ingram, in falsifying the eligibility of Alabama cornerback Antonio Langham during that season. Langham had signed with a sports agent and applied to enter the NFL Draft following the 1993 Sugar Bowl, but was not subsequently declared ineligible per NCAA rules. Alabama officials only declared him ineligible the week before the 1993 SEC title game. As a result, Alabama's football program was placed on three years probation, and docked a total of 30 scholarships from 1995 to 1998. Alabama was also forced to forfeit eight wins and one tie from its 9–3–1 1993 season in which Langham participated, resulting in an official record of 1–12. The Crimson Tide were also barred from postseason competition, including the SEC Championship Game and bowl games, during the 1995 season.^[6]

Stalling's 1994 team proved to be tremendously successful, as Alabama finished the regular season undefeated before losing to Florida in the SEC Championship Game. The team concluded the season by defeating Ohio State in the Citrus Bowl to finish the season 12-1.

Alabama went 8–3 in 1995, the only season between 1992 and 1996 that Stallings didn't finish first in the SEC West (although undefeated but NCAA-sanctioned Auburn would have finished first in 1993, even if Alabama had not later been forced to forfeit its regular-season wins that year). However, the Tide would have been ineligible for the SEC Championship Game or a bowl game in any event as a result of the NCAA sanctions.

In 1996, Stallings' team won ten games and earned a berth in the SEC Championship Game, where they lost to again to Florida, which eventually won the national title that season. Stallings announced on November 23, 1996 that he would resign at the end of the season. He completed his tenure at Alabama with a 17–14 win over Michigan in the 1997 Outback Bowl on January 1, 1997.^[2] Stallings compiled an official record at Alabama of 62–25 (70–16–1 if the 1993 forfeits are disregarded).^[2]

Outside of football[link]

Family[link]

Stallings married Ruth Ann Jack after his graduation from Texas A & M. The couple went on to have five children: Anna Lee, Laurie, John Mark, Jackie, and Martha Kate.^{[7][8][9][10]} As a result of John Mark's being born with Down syndrome and a congenital heart defect, Stallings eventually became heavily involved in projects promoting better education and quality of life for the developmentally disabled;^[11] the two appeared in a 1987 NFL public service announcement for the United Way.^[10][12] Following Stallings' retirement, he moved back to the Paris area with his wife and son to establish Hike-A-Way Ranch, a working cattle ranch in Powderly, Texas.^[7][13]

Board leadership[link]

Stallings serves on many boards, including President George W. Bush’s Commission on Intellectual Disability, and he was formerly a member of the board of Abilene Christian University. Other boards include Tandy Corporation, People’s National Bank of Paris, Paris Regional Medical Center, Disability Resources, the Texas Rangers Law Enforcement Association, the Great Southern Wood Corporation, and the Boys and Girls Club of Paris, Texas.

Stallings was appointed to the Texas A&M Board of Regents by Texas Governor Rick Perry in 2005. He served on the Committee on Audit and the Committee on Academic and Student Affairs. Stallings was chair of the Policy Review Committee and a member of the Special Committee on Educational Access. His term expired on February 1, 2011.

Writing[link]

Stallings co-wrote the book Another Season: A Coach's Story of Raising an Exceptional Son (ISBN 0-316-81196-3) with AP journalist Sally Cook, which described his and his family's relationship with only son John Mark Stallings. John Mark, also known as "Johnny," was a dedicated follower of his father's career, a longtime Crimson Tide fan, and a tour guide in the Crimson Tide facilities. John Mark died on August 2, 2008, due to a congenital heart condition;^[8][14][15] in 2009, an updated paperback edition of the book was published with added material on the final years of John Mark's life.^[16]Two facilities at the University of Alabama were named for the younger Stallings: the Stallings Center that serves as home to the RISE Center for young children with disabilities, in 1994, and the equipment room in the University of Alabama football building in 2005.^[15] Most recently, Faulkner University in Montgomery, Alabama, named its new football and soccer field after John Mark Stallings on October 8, 2010,^[17] an honor that had been planned prior to his death two years before:

The sports world lost a legend on Aug. 2 in Paris, Texas. He's the son of a Junction Boy, which makes him a grandson of Bear Bryant. At the same time, he's both a son of Aggieland and a son of Alabama. Gene Stallings' son, John Mark "Johnny" Stallings, touched a lot of lives in his 46 years, melting even the hardest hearts of the toughest athletes to play for Gene in college at Texas A&M, Alabama or in the NFL with the Cowboys and Cardinals. And Johnny never strapped on the pads for a single play. ... Johnny made his difference by showing everyone he met, and even those he didn't, that someone with Down syndrome or a disability could make a difference in this world. ... With help from four sisters, the Stallings family raised a man who has become a legend in Alabama for his smile and his positive outlook on life. ... The outpouring of love given to the Stallings family over the past week is a direct reflection of the love one man had for life and everyone he met. We should all be so lucky to live like that.

^[18]

Awards and honors[link]

Stallings received a number of national coaching awards in 1992 and was the SEC Coach of the Year twice, in 1992 and 1994. In 2000, Stallings was awarded Distinguished Alumnus of Texas A&M University. He was awarded the Legends Award from the All Sports Association in Dallas in 2001. Stallings has also received many humanitarian awards, including the Arthritis Humanitarian Award of Alabama, National Boys Club Alumni of the Year, Dallas Father of the Year, Humanitarian Award of the Lion’s Club of Alabama, and Paris Boys Club Wall of Honor.

Stallings has been inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, Texas Sports Hall of Fame, Texas A&M Hall of Fame, Gator Bowl Hall of Fame and Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame. He also received an honorary doctoral degree from Harding University.

Gene Stallings involvement in the disability community, has also been strong. His son, John Mark was born with Trisomy 21, Down syndrome, and Gene Stallings has a school for children with disabilities named after him on the University of Alabama Campus, for which he hosts a charity golf tournament every year. The playground at the school is called the John Mark Stallings Playground.

Head coaching record[link]

College[link]

*Alabama forfeited eight wins and one tie, as well as the 1993 SEC West title, after Antonio Langham was ruled ineligible. Official record is 1–12 (0–8 SEC).
‡ The 1995 Alabama team was on probation and ineligible to win the conference title, to be selected to a bowl, or to be selected in the coaches poll.
& Record at Alabama is 62–25 (38–16 SEC) including forfeited games.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Gene Stallings at the College Football Hall of Fame
• Gene Stallings at the College Football Data Warehouse
• Gene Stallings' Official Website

Frans Hals' depiction of Mark the Evangelist, usually regarded as the same person as John Mark.

John Mark is a character in the New Testament. According to William Lane, an "unbroken tradition" identifies him with Mark the Evangelist.^[1] John Mark is mentioned several times in the Acts of the Apostles. The first mention is in Acts 12:12, when Peter is coming to his mother's house:

When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.

John Mark himself appears a bit later in the same chapter, in Acts 12:25, as the travel companion of Saul (Apostle Paul) and Barnabas:

When Barnabas and Saul had finished their mission, they returned from Jerusalem, taking with them John, also called Mark.

John Mark is mentioned soon after the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15:37-41. Paul (Saul) does not have a too flattering impression of his former associate, arguing over him with Barnabas in Antioch:

Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

This is apparently the same occurrence that was earlier mentioned in Acts 13:13, this time referring to John Mark simply as "John":

From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem.

This John had joined their mission in Antioch. Acts 13:4-5 says:

The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.

Ultimately John Mark returned to the ministry. This is evidenced by the instruction to Timothy that he should "Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry." 2 Timothy 4:11

John Mark is also usually identified with Mark the cousin of Barnabas.

References[link]

• Easton's Bible Dictionary, 1897