Alabama AD made impact even in Chilton County
When Mal Moore visited Clanton four years ago, close to 200 crimson-clad fans turned out to hear him talk about some of the University of Alabama’s biggest personalities: former football coach Paul “Bear” Bryant, current coach Nick Saban and basketball coach Anthony Grant.
Moore spent most of his 30-plus years at UA facilitating the success of others. He was a backup quarterback and assistant coach for Bryant and known for being the man who hired Saban away from the National Football League.
Serving at the same time as two of college football’s most successful coaches, Moore was never at the forefront, perhaps until his death on March 30.
Fans and members of the university community suddenly took stock of what they had in Moore, someone with an unbridled love for Alabama, a history of success and perhaps most importantly, a legacy of character.
Moore spoke to the Chilton County Chapter of the University of Alabama Alumni Association on April 21, 2009.
“I’ve been there a long time, and I don’t remember a time when there was the excitement about the direction of our academics and the direction of our athletics, just the oneness of everyone at the university,” Moore said at the time, shortly after his hiring of Saban contributed to that momentum.
The Crimson Tide won three national championships in football with Saban as coach and Moore as AD. Those rings were added to the seven titles Moore was part of as either a player or assistant coach at Alabama.
Also prominent on Moore’s long list of accomplishments are the national championships won by UA’s softball, gymnastics and women’s golf teams in 2012.
But Moore was also admired for his personal life. He supported his wife, Charlotte, in her battle with Alzheimer’s disease that lasted from 1990 until her death in 2010.
Troy Mims, a member of the local UA alumni club, was a member of the 1966 Alabama football team, when Moore was an assistant coach.
Mims said he didn’t have much interaction with Moore during that season but had the opportunity to get to know him better when he spoke at Clanton’s First United Methodist Church.
“He was just a good all-around player, coach and athletic director,” Mims said. “And all of that was possible because he was just a good all-around person.
“He leaves a legacy there. He was all Alabama. He’ll be missed.”