Bobby Humphrey
The Gulf Coast Athletic Club opened its October 23, 2023 meeting in the Clubhouse at Craft Farms Golf Resort at 7:00pm. President George Autrey welcomed the crowd of approximately 60 members and guests. Scholar Athletes were in the house for the fourth meeting in a row. George asked all to continue to RSVP for meetings.
New members and guests were introduced and welcomed. A special guest was introduced, new Gulf Shores High School Men’s Varsity Head Basketball Coach, Jimbo Tolbert.
The Prolific Pigskin Prognosticator contest, or Office Football Pool, continues 8 weeks in with Fletchakl or Ken Fletcher still in control with a 4-point lead that may be hard to catch! Some familiar names are coming back to life, but Randy Harkins and Doug King are right on Ken’s trail.
Gulf Shores Athletic Director Paul Davis gave the Gulf Shores High School Dolphins report. Football is now 8-0. Dolphins are ranked #1 in 5A. Vigor from Mobile is here Friday for Homecoming and then another toughie, B. C. Rain. Volleyball won the area tourney and Swimming is strong. Cross Country is up and running, and had their best finish in the Baldwin County Meet. GO, DOLPHINS!!
Dr. Gaylon McCollough introduced our fourth set of Scholar Athletes. Emily True has a 3.9 GPA and 31 on the ACT. This is her 4th year of Varsity softball and she also has participated in Volleyball and Bowling. This National Honor Society member wants to go to Ole Miss and major in Marketing & Communications.
Our Male Scholar Athlete is Otto Brewer III has a 3.8 GPA. This stalwart of the GSHS Football Defensive Line also plays Tight End. This young man is head of Turning Point USA, a youth leadership program and GSHS has the largest chapter in the USA. He would like to be an Investment Banker and has yet to choose a college as he’s weighing scholarship offers.
These 8 Scholar Athletes, having been selected to be honored by the Club, are eligible for a Male & Female scholarship worth from $2,500 to $5,000 at year end, depending on how well the Club does at its Annual Golf Tournament to be held this Friday at Craft Farms. Doc also thanked Taylor Means and others for their assistance in gathering this information.
Making another encore appearance for Team Reports was the undisputed King of the Crying Towel, Kevin Corcoran. A report was circulated that Dec was last seen at Notre Dame. After numerous team reports, the famous Crying Towel was given to Tennessee for their recent failure at Alabama. “Rocky Flopped”. No further explanation needed.
Returning to our Club as Guest Speaker was former Alabama and Denver Broncos Running Back Bobby Humphrey. Bobby is an incredible story, growing up in the Projects next to Legion Field in Birmingham, selling Cokes in the upper deck as a kid, then returning to star for the University of Alabama.
Remarking that he and his wife, who still hold the 400 Meter record at UAB at 53 seconds – folks, that’s fast - had five children, all of which played Division One sports in college, he said how excited he is about college Football, so fun to watch, but NIL is now involved in recruiting. He said it’s so important to enjoy what you’re doing. “Don’t let anyone shatter your dreams” and “always do your best since you never know who’s watching”.
Bobby told some great tales, especially about his Mother who didn’t want him playing football. Funny how that turned out. In Q&A, he said it was a huge jump from high school to college. When asked about his best game, he recounted the Tennessee game in 1986 when he ran for 215 yards, when he was “in a zone” and it gave him the confidence he needed to play SEC Football.
He said to seize the moment as you never know how much time you have left. He didn’t do that as his Pro career lasted only 5 years after making the Pro Bowl his first year.
After Bobby received a Standing Ovation, Doctor McCollough, who has known Bobby 40 plus years, told the Club that Bobby is a clear example that sports and athletes offer a way out to better yourself.
The $105 50-50 prize was awarded to Michigan’s own Poppa Rocco.
The 11/13/23 GCAC Speaker will be Senior Bowl Exec Jim Nagy.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:33pm.
