AHSAA | Alabama High School Athletic Association

DR. KEN BLANKENSHIP – Has been involved in Alabama high school athletics for all but two of the last 45 years as a coach, a game official and an administrator. He initiated the summer All-Star Sports Week as the current director of the AHSAA Athletic Directors & Coaches Association and has served as director of the prestigious Bryant-Jordan Student-Athlete Scholarship Program for 13 years. He began his career in coaching at Shorter and Selma for seven years, then served in several State Department of Education administrative positions for 23 years. During this time he was a basketball official for 12 years and a track official for 23 years. Upon retirement he worked with the establishment of the AHSAA Hall of Fame and served two years as Troy State University athletic director. A graduate of Wetumpka High School and Troy State University.
SUSAN COOK – This pioneer of girls sports in Alabama built the volleyball program along with the entire girls program at Homewood High School during her 32 years as a coach, teacher and girls athletic director. Her volleyball teams won over 700 games, including state championships in 1991 and 1992 and four runner-up finishes. She also coached basketball, softball, track, gymnastics and swimming and received state coach of the year honors twice. She started the volleyball officials association in the Birmingham area in the 1970s and the volleyball program at UAB. A graduate of Satsuma High School and the University of Montevallo.
TERRY CURTIS – Spent 32 years coaching football in the Mobile area, the last 16 as head coach at Shaw, Murphy and UMS-Wright high schools with a 135-43 career record. His 2001 and 2002 UMS-Wright teams were Class 4A state champions and he was named 4A Coach of the Year both times. A certified athletic director and past president of the AHSAA athletic directors/coaches association, he has been active in the All-Star Sports Week Coaching School and has served as officials coordinator for the state baseball finals since its inception. He was head coach in the Alabama-Mississippi game in 1999. A graduate of Murphy High School and Auburn University.
SAMMY DUNN – Has enjoyed an ultra-successful, 26-year career at Vestavia Hills where his baseball teams won nine state championships from 1991-2000, including a record seven straight. The 1998 team won the national high school title and he was named national coach of the year. He has received several state coach of the year honors and has a career record of 621-159. He is a member of the University of Montevallo Hall of Fame and a former president of the state baseball coaches association. In 2003 he received the first special recognition award from the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. A graduate of Fairfield High School and the University of Montevallo.
JOHN FULGHAM – Spent all but two of his 35 years in education as a coach, teacher and administrator at Carver High School in Montgomery. After coaching two years at Coffee County Training School, he served as head football coach and athletic director at Carver where his 22 teams posted a 133-73-11 record and won a state AIAA title in 1964. He was named coach of the year twice. He gave up his coaching duties in 1974 but continued as athletic director until his retirement 11 years later. He is a member of the Tuskegee University and Montgomery Area Sports halls of fame. A graduate of Tuscaloosa County Training School and Tuskegee University.
EARL GRISHAM, SR. – Of his 33 years in high school athletics, he gave 25 years of dedicated service to Lauderdale County High School as coach and teacher. His football teams compiled a 156-106-3 record with a Class 2A state championship in 1974, an undefeated regular season in 1972, six playoff appearances and 21 winning seasons. His overall career record was 198-139-5. He began his coaching at Falkville and at three Georgia schools-Osbourn, Sandy Springs and East Hall. He is a member of the Lauderdale County Hall of Fame. A graduate of Lauderdale County High School and Florence State Teachers College (now North Alabama).
BILL JOINER – Became a legend during the 1960s when his Sidney Lanier teams dominated high school basketball with four titles and two runner-up finishes in a seven-year period. He produced state championship teams in 1962, 1963, 1965 and 1967. He was also involved in another Sidney Lanier state championship team as an all-state player in 1949. After retiring from his basketball duties with a career record of 235-43, he took over as head football coach for five years. Always willing to share his knowledge, he was a popular basketball clinician speaker. He coached seven years at Walton County, Fla., at the outset of his coaching career. A graduate of Sidney Lanier High School and Troy State University.
LAVON KELLY – Has been involved with high school athletics for 36 years as a coach, administrator and an official. He coached football for 17 years at Wildwood, Fla., Newville, Louisville, Dale County, Houston Academy, Carroll and G. W. Long with an overall record of 110-65-4. He also directed seven basketball teams to a 102-42 record. He spent 13 of his 19 years in administration at G. W. Long High School and the other six at Midland City Elementary and Southdale Middle schools. He served on the AHSAA Legislative Council for 23 years and on the Central Board for nine. As an official he called basketball for 10 years and baseball for eight. A graduate of Barbour County High School and Troy State University.
SPENCE McCRACKEN – Has been associated with success during his entire 31-year coaching career, 25 as a head football coach with a 234-65-1 career record. After six years as an assistant coach at Decatur, Ga., and Robert E. Lee, the head-coaching success began during five years at Montgomery Academy where his teams posted a 33-20-1 record. Then in 1984 it was on to Robert E. Lee where his 11 teams won 82.5 percent (118-25) of their games, including state championships in 1986, 1991 and 1992. The undefeated 1984 team was ranked second nationally by USA Today and he was named national coach of the year. Moving to Opelika in 1995, his nine teams have posted an 83-20 mark. He served as president of the AHSAA athletic directors/coaches association and coached in two Alabama-Mississippi all-star games, one as a winning head coach. A graduate of Robert E. Lee High School and Auburn University.
BOBBY WILSON – Established a legacy of excellence at Sidney Lanier during a 13-year span (1957-69) that will not soon be matched in Alabama high school football. His teams won six state championships, 1957, 1961, 1964, 1966, 1967 and 1968. The three in a row were Class 6A titles during the first three years of the AHSAA playoff system. The Lanier program also won several state titles in other sports during Wilson's eight-year tenure as athletic director, including football, basketball and track in 1966-67. He began his career in Boca Ciega, Fla. He played in the first AHSAA North-South all-star football game in 1948 and was South head coach in the 1962 game. He is a member of the Baldwin County and Montgomery Area Sports halls of fame. A graduate of Baldwin County High School and the University of Alabama.