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Former Alabama coach Gene Stallings hospitalized after mild stroke
Former Alabama head coach Gene Stallings was hospitalized Thursday night after suffering a mild stroke.
Stallings, 82, told the Tuscaloosa News he was not feeling well before introducing Clemson coach Dabo Swinney — one of Stallings’ former players — at a banquet in Montgomery. After attending the banquet, Stallings went to a local hospital where it was determined he had a stroke prior to the event.
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As of Saturday, Stallings was back at his home in Paris, Texas, where he’ll have to take it easy for quite a while.
“I introduced Dabo (Swinney, the Clemson head coach and a former player for Stallings at Alabama) as the speaker but I didn’t feel well at all. So I went to the hospital and they determined that I’d had a stroke before the banquet,” Stallings said.
Stallings flew back to Texas on Friday but had to cancel a planned appearance in Tuscaloosa this weekend. He said that doctors had recommended that he curtail travel plans for the next six weeks.
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Stallings, who was Alabama’s head coach from 1990-96, told Al.com he lost peripheral vision in his right eye, but is able to see straight ahead. He is due to undergo further testing, he said.
In 1954, Stallings was a member of the famed “Junction Boys” on the Texas A&M team coached by “Bear” Bryant at Texas A&M. After playing for the Aggies, Stallings began coaching as an assistant under Bryant at Alabama from 1958-64. He later became the head coach at A&M before a long stint as an assistant for the Dallas Cowboys. He briefly was the head coach of the St. Louis (later Phoenix) Cardinals for four seasons before returning to Alabama.
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During his seven seasons as the Tide’s head coach, he had a 70-16-1 record and won the 1992 national championship.
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Sam Cooper is a writer for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
