Three with Ties to Alabama Athletics Slated for Induction into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame Saturday
When the State of Alabama Sports Hall of Fame holds its annual induction banquet and ceremony on Saturday, three members of the Crimson Tide family will officially enter the hall.
This year’s inductees with ties to The University of Alabama include Ken Donahue as well as the late Jim Goostree and Kevin Turner.
Donahue spent 38 years as a football coach, including stints at Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi State and Memphis State. He was named Working Coach of the Year in the SEC twice and in 1985 Football News named him the nation’s Best Assistant Coach. He spent 21 years as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator at Alabama. During that time period the Tide defense led the SEC in least yardage allowed seven times, in rushing nine times and in pass defense three times. Alabama won 11 SEC titles and three national championships during his tenure.
Goostree served as athletic trainer for 27 years at The University of Alabama. He was inducted into the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame in 1984, the same year he was promoted to assistant athletic director. As an administrator he was in charge of the Tide Pride donor program, supervised the renovation and expansion of Bryant-Denny Stadium, the building of the indoor practice facility and football buildings, the renovation of Coleman Coliseum and Paul Bryant Dormitory and the construction of the baseball stadium. He died in October of 1999.
A native of Prattville, Ala., Turner played football for Alabama, serving as captain of the 1991 team earning the Tide’s Sylvester Croom Commitment to Excellence award in 1990. A third round draft choice in the 1992 NFL Draft to New England, he played three seasons with the Patriots before being traded to the Philadelphia Eagles, where he played five seasons. He was presented the NFL Ed Block Courage Award in 1996 by the Eagles for overcoming adversity on and off the field. He passed away in 2016 due to ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease).