OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal
Crimson Memories Former Area Coaches, Players Remember Mal Moore By Lee Davis
Journal Sports Writer
As the news of former University of Alabama athletic director and coach Mal Moore’s death passed through the state last Saturday, one of his ex-players and greatest admirers may have been among the last to know. Robert Higginbotham, who coached Mountain Brook in the 1970s and played for the Crimson Tide in the 1960s, was attending a family event in Pensacola, Fla., when he learned the sad news. “What a shock. Obviously Coach Moore was quite ill, but I didn’t expect to hear this,” Higginbotham said. “If you look at what he did, it revealed what a great coach and a quality person he was.” Higginbotham, who played defensive back at Alabama under the legendary Paul “Bear” Bryant, said Moore was his position coach during his playing years at the Capstone. “You could tell then that he was an outstanding coach,” Higginbotham said. “Coach Moore expected a lot
Patriots, From Back Cover
level have good seniors,” Gann said. “This is one of the best senior classes we’ve had here.” One of the most versatile seniors is pitcher/catcher Luke Porter, a complete athlete who also quarterbacked the Patriot football team. Porter ended March with a 4-1 record on the mound with one save, an ERA of 1.40 and 26 strikeouts. At the plate, he’s batting .517 with 24 RBIs and seven doubles. “Luke does a lot of good things for us,” Gann said. Homewood is living proof of the old adage that a team can’t have too many quality pitchers. Including Porter, no less than five Patriot hurlers have recorded victories in 2013. The leader is senior Brian Browning, who earned a 9-1 victory over John Carroll on March 26 to push his record to 6-0. Browning has earned 70 strikeouts while compiling a microscopic ERA of 0.39. Connor Rivers, also a senior, is
out of his players, but nobody worked harder than he did.” A few years after Higginbotham graduated from Alabama, Moore was reassigned by Bryant to coach the Crimson Tide quarterbacks. By 1973, Moore was the offensive coordinator. “The fact that Coach Bryant thought so much of Coach Moore really tells you everything you need to know,” Higginbotham said. “Coach Bryant clearly had a lot of confidence in him–and if you look at all those championship rings he owned, that confidence was very justified.” Higginbotham said he learned lessons from Moore that helped him in his own high school coaching career. “I guess the main thing I learned from Coach Moore as well as Coach Bryant was the importance of attention to detail,” he said. “Nothing ever got by or was overlooked by Coach Moore. All great coaches understand how important the little things are if you plan to be successful.” Higginbotham believes Moore’s greatest legacy of his 14-year tenure as UA’s athletic director was the upgrade of the facilities–and the hiring of football coach Nick Saban. 4-0 with an ERA of 0.75 with 13 strikeouts. Rivers, an infielder when not pitching, hits at a strong .434 clip with 18 RBIs. The young gun of the group is sophomore Adam Stewart, also 4-0 with 28 strikeouts and an ERA of 0.33. Wesley Walker, who is also a standout at third base, is 2-0 with 12 strikeouts and an ERA of 4.67. Homewood is not a power-oriented team, but senior outfielder Mason Schoettlin leads the team with two home runs. Outfielder Jack Smalley hits .341. The Patriots have a standout at shortstop, where Will Alfano is hitting .333. Backup catcher Jordan Acton also has a strong bat, hitting a hefty .385. Gann said Homewood’s four-game sweep of a tournament in Orlando against top teams from Arkansas and Oklahoma added a lot to the team’s confidence level just as area play was set to begin. “To go down there and fight and win against top flight teams from other states was a great way to get us ready for the area,” Gann said. “We Homewood’s Cade Mullens makes a play on a John Carroll base runner. Journal photo by Lee walls Jr.
sports “After the probation and other things, the morale in Tuscaloosa was pretty low at the end of the 1990s,” Higginbotham said. “Coach Moore came in as athletic director and got everybody on the same page. He raised a lot of money to upgrade the facilities for football and the other sports. That really helped with recruiting.” But the Saban hire was almost certainly Moore’s crowning achievement, Higginbotham said. “Coach Moore saw something in Saban and knew he was the right man for Alabama,” Former University of Alabama athletic direcHigginbotham said. “He simply tor and coach Mal Moore with Bama coach was not going to let Saban get Nick Saban at the SEC Championship game away. And the fact that Coach in Atlanta last year. Moore passed away on Moore had upgraded the faciliSaturday at the age of 73. Journal file photo by Lee Walls Jr. ties so much was probably part of what made the Alabama job championships, three Sugar Bowls, a attractive to Saban.” Cotton Bowl and three Southeastern Higginbotham said Moore should Conference titles. be remembered in much the same Ogilvie rivals Higginbotham in his way as Bryant. admiration of Moore. “Coach Moore’s record as coach “I think Coach Moore deserves a and athletic director speaks for itself,” tremendous amount of credit for the he said. “I am so proud of Coach success Alabama has had in recent Moore for what he accomplished and proud that I had the opportunity to play for him.” Former Mountain Brook running back Major Ogilvie excelled for Alabama as a halfback in Moore’s vaunted wishbone offense from 1977-80. During that time, Alabama went 44-4 and won two national faced some really good pitching and came away with wins. It was a great experience for our players.” For all its early success, Homewood hasn’t really won anything yet, as Gann repeatedly points out. The Patriots began Class 5A Area 9 play against John Carroll Catholic last week and took two key victories over the Cavaliers. Homewood will meet area rivals Briarwood and Ramsay in the early days of April. “We’ve had a nice run so far, but it won’t mean anything if we don’t get it done in area play,” Gann said. “Anything can happen–and usually does happen. All we can do is work and try to get better in every practice and every game. “It’s really hard to single too many players out. Everyone has contributed to what we’ve been doing.” Homewood showed its resilience in the second victory over John Carroll. After whipping the Cavs decisively in their first meeting, the Patriots had to hold off a determined last-inning rally to salvage the second game. John Carroll put two men on base with no outs before Homewood retired the next three batters to claim the win. Porter earned the victory on the mound. There is a buzz in the air surrounding Homewood baseball. Gann is determined, however, to keep his players grounded. “We have high expectations,” he said. “Right now, all we’re thinking about is winning the area. All the rest of it can come later.” Gann sounds just like a coach who knows his team has a chance to be special. He’s hoping the Homewood of February and March can hang around for April and May.
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years,” he said. “It was important for Coach Saban to be associated with a man like Coach Moore who shared his values. I can’t say enough about Coach Moore and what he meant to the Alabama program, not only as athletic director but also for the years he coached under Coach Bryant and Coach Stallings.” Former Mountain Brook and current South Alabama coach Joey Jones played for Moore as a Crimson Tide wide receiver from 1980-82. Like Higginbotham and Ogilvie, Jones expressed great admiration for Moore. “When you think of Alabama football, you think of Mal Moore,” said Jones, who led the Spartans to the state 6A championship game in 1996. “He represented the type of man who comes out of the program: a person with high character, loyalty and dedicated to the school. Coach Moore meant a lot to so many people.” Robert Higginbotham, Major Ogilvie and Joey Jones would be high on that list.