Month: January 2021

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Board of Directors of the State of Alabama Sports Hall of Fame is proud to announce that Reeves Sims will be recognized as the 2021 Frank “Pig” House Award recipient at the 53^rd Annual Induction Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, May 8, 2021.

The Frank “Pig” House Award is given to someone who has performed outstanding service to sports in Alabama, and whom the Board of Directors feels worthy of special recognition. The award is named after the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame’s first Chairman of the Board who was instrumental in the founding of the Hall of Fame.

Reeves Sims was born May 25, 1936 in Birmingham, AL. A graduate of Woodlawn High School and Auburn University, Sims is being recognized for his life of volunteer service, including 25 years in the Air National Guard where he retired as a Lt. Colonel. As a member of the Monday Morning Quarterback Club and charter member of the Birmingham Tip-Off Club, he volunteered at the first AHSAA Super Six and AHSAA Final 48 championships when they were established in the 1990s; he has been a part of every championship event since. Sims has also been a Pro-Am Chairperson for the Regions Tradition golf tournament since it began in 1992. He proudly serves his alma mater Auburn University and volunteers annually at the SEC Baseball Tournament. Since the late 1990s, he has volunteered with the Bryant-Jordan Student-Athlete Program. Among many other organizations, he has also served as director for local chapters of the YMCA and FCA. For his selfless contributions, Sims has already been recognized with the 2005 Birmingham YMCA Lifetime Achievement Award, 2004 Birmingham Tip-Off Club Leon Marlaire Award, 2014-15 Birmingham Tip-Off Club Frank Nix Distinguished Service Award, 2016 PGA Tour Champions Volunteer of the Year Award, and the 2019 NFHS State Award for Outstanding Service.

Sims joins a distinguished list of others who have been honored by the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame as Frank “Pig” House Award recipients. They are: Sammy Dunn (2004), Avalee Willoughby (2007), Buddy Anderson (2014), Emanuel “Tubb” Bell IV (2017), and Don Hawkins (2020).

The 53^rd Induction Banquet and Ceremony will be held in the Birmingham Ballroom, at the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel, on Saturday, May 8, 2021. For more information or to purchase tickets, please contact the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame Museum at (205) 323-6665.

###

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Board of Directors of the State of Alabama Sports Hall of Fame is proud to announce that Rubin Grant will be recognized as the 2021 Mel Allen Media Award recipient at the 53^rd Annual Induction Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, May 8, 2021.

The Mel Allen Media Award was created to honor media members in the State of Alabama who have made a lifetime contribution to sports through their work as a media member. The award is named after the 1974 ASHOF Inductee Mel Allen, of Birmingham, who was known as the “Voice of the New York Yankees” for two decades.

Rubin E. Grant was born August 3, 1957 in Montgomery, AL. His roots are planted deeply in Alabama sports, dating to his days as a student at Carver High School in Montgomery. While attending school at the University of Alabama, he was the sports editor for the Crimson White, covering the Crimson Tide under Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant. After graduating in 1979, Grant spent 25 years covering sports for the Birmingham Post-Herald. At the Post-Herald, he served as prep editor, reporting on local high school football stars like Bo Jackson, Cornelius Bennett, and Carnell “Cadillac” Williams. In 1981, Grant won the Herby Kirby Award, the Alabama Sports Writer’s Association’s highest award. For his 25 years of covering the Barons he was inducted into the Birmingham Barons Hall of Fame. In 2002, Grant won first place in the Alabama Associated Press Managing Editors Competition for his columns on high school sports. Since 2004, he has worked as a freelance journalist and he co-authored the book Tales from Alabama Prep Football in 2006.

Grant joins a distinguished list of others who have been honored by the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame as Mel Allen Media Award recipients. They are: John Pruett (2014), George Smith (2014), Tom Roberts (2015), Ron Ingram (2017), Cecil Hurt (2019), and Paul Finebaum (2020).

The 53^rd Induction Banquet and Ceremony will be held in the Birmingham Ballroom, at the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel, on Saturday, May 8, 2021. For more information or to purchase tickets, please contact the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame Museum at (205) 323-6665.

###

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Board of Directors of the State of Alabama Sports Hall of Fame is proud to announce that Angus Cooper II and John McMahon, Jr. will be recognized as 2021 Distinguished American Sportsmen at the State of Alabama Sports Hall of Fame 53^rd Annual Induction Banquet and Ceremony on Saturday, May 8, 2021.

Angus R. Cooper II was born March 28, 1942 in Mobile, AL. He graduated from University Military School in Mobile in 1960, where he excelled in football, basketball, and baseball. He served as team captain of all three sports his senior year. Cooper earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Alabama in 1964. Throughout his business career, he has leveraged the success of his family business to benefit sports and education institutions throughout the Southeast. For a number of years, he served on the Athletic Committee of Tulane University and played a role in the construction of a new football stadium for the school. From 2000-2012, he served on the University of Alabama Board of Trustees and was chosen to lead the Chairman of the Board’s Athletic Committee. During Cooper’s tenure as Chairman of the Athletic Committee, the University of Alabama developed one of the most successful athletic programs in the nation. In 2006, Cooper was involved with the search process for a new head football coach that resulted in the hiring of Coach Nick Saban. Since 2010, Cooper has served as Chairman of the Senior Bowl in Mobile. Along with serving as the final evaluation of college football players before the NFL Draft, Cooper has expanded the Senior Bowl’s mission to encourage and support inner-city kids through year-round athletic programs.

John J. McMahon, Jr., a well-known business and community leader in Birmingham, has supported numerous civic, public, and athletic efforts of statewide significance during his career. McMahon graduated with his bachelors degree from Birmingham-Southern College in 1965 and his law degree from the University of Alabama in 1968. He currently serves as Chairman of Ligon Industries, LLC, and formerly served as President and Chairman of McWane, Inc. He served on the Board of Trustees at both Birmingham-Southern College and the University of Alabama, where he served as Chair of the Athletic Committee. He has served as a board member and officer of the Crimson Tide Foundation since its inception. He is also an original member of the 4 and 20 Club – a support organization established in the mid-1970s for University of Alabama basketball. For many years, he has been a member of the Monday Morning Quarterback Club, Red Elephant Club, and Birmingham Tip-Off Club. McMahon played an instrumental role in assisting the Birmingham Athletic Partnership with the development of the BAP Corporate Partner program, which provides funding to athletic and extracurricular programs within the Birmingham City Schools. For his generous contributions to the success of University of Alabama Athletics, he has been recognized as a member of the Bryant Society and an honorary member of the Alabama A Club.

Cooper and McMahon join an impressive list of others who have been honored as Alabama Sports Hall of Fame Distinguished American Sportsmen. They are: Bob Hope (1988), Hugh Culverhouse (1991), Former President George H.W. Bush (1992), Charles O. Finley (1993), Larry D. Striplin, Jr. (1998), Bill Ireland (2000), Roy Kramer (2003), Jim Wilson, Jr. (2005), Michael E. Stephens (2006), Joseph Gibbs (2008), Nick Bollettieri (2009), Rick Woodward (2010), Don Logan (2011), Ron Froehlich (2015), Mike Slive (2015), Edgar Welden (2016), Pete Derzis (2017), Jimmy Rane (2018), Daniel Moore (2019), and Robbie Robertson (2020).

The 53^rd Annual Induction Banquet and Ceremony will be held in the Birmingham Ballroom, at the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel, on Saturday, May 8, 2021. For more information or to purchase tickets, please contact the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame Museum at (205) 323-6665.

###