R E S O L U T I O N
1-1 WHEREAS, Gene Stallings has exemplified the best that can be
1-2 found in the annals of football coaching history; and
1-3 WHEREAS, His coaching career brought him accolades and honors
1-4 few in the world of sports have achieved; and
1-5 WHEREAS, Coach Stallings has demonstrated in countless ways
1-6 that being a nationally known figure does not keep a man from being
1-7 a humble human being; and
1-8 WHEREAS, He has epitomized all that a nurturing husband and
1-9 father can be to his wife and children throughout a lifetime of
1-10 trials and triumphs; and
1-11 WHEREAS, This man of character, strength, and integrity has
1-12 brought hope and commitment to untold numbers of mentally disabled
1-13 individuals and their families throughout America; and
1-14 WHEREAS, He and his wife, Ruth Ann, have lovingly cared for
1-15 their Down's Syndrome baby boy, Johnny, through 34 years of growth
1-16 and development and have shared that love and devotion with their
1-17 four lovely daughters, Anna Lee, Laurie, Jackie, and Martha Kate,
1-18 as well as their husbands, Dr. Tim Young, Dr. David Vanderpool,
1-19 John Chalk, and Keith Gunn--all graduates of Abilene Christian
1-20 University; and
1-21 WHEREAS, Gene and Johnny filmed a commercial for the United
1-22 Way that was the most widely ever distributed by that national
1-23 charity and received the greatest letter response the United Way
1-24 has ever had; and
2-1 WHEREAS, By Christian example, this man and his family have
2-2 served to inspire and motivate not only some of the best athletes
2-3 in the world but also innumerable people from all walks of life
2-4 throughout the country; and
2-5 WHEREAS, He is a devoted member of the Church of Christ and a
2-6 dedicated member of the Board of Trustees of Abilene Christian
2-7 University; and
2-8 WHEREAS, With dignity and character he has accepted
2-9 disappointing defeats as well as many great moments of triumph in
2-10 college and professional sports; and
2-11 WHEREAS, Eugene Clifton Stallings, Jr., was born in Paris,
2-12 Texas, on March 2, 1935, the son of Eugene Clifton Stallings, Sr.,
2-13 and Nell Moye Stallings; he earned All-District honors in football
2-14 and basketball at Paris High School and was selected to the
2-15 All-State second team; and
2-16 WHEREAS, He spent his college playing days under the
2-17 legendary Paul "Bear" Bryant at Texas A&M University and earned
2-18 All-Southwest Conference honors, was tri-captain of the 1956 squad
2-19 with Jack Pardee and Lloyd Hale, and won the Southwest Conference
2-20 title; and
2-21 WHEREAS, After his playing days were over, Coach Stallings
2-22 became assistant coach under Bear Bryant at the University of
2-23 Alabama, where between 1958 and 1964 the Crimson Tide went 60-11-5
2-24 and won a pair of Southeastern Conference championships and two
2-25 national championships; and
2-26 WHEREAS, He returned to Texas A&M in 1965 as a 29-year-old
2-27 head coach, compiled a 27-45-1 record in seven seasons, won the
3-1 Southwest Conference Championship in 1967, and closed out the
3-2 season with seven consecutive wins; and
3-3 WHEREAS, Coach Stallings moved into the professional ranks
3-4 when he took a job with Tom Landry and the world-famous Dallas
3-5 Cowboys in 1972; he remained on the staff for 14 storybook seasons
3-6 and saw Dallas win seven division titles, three conference
3-7 championships, and the Super Bowl in 1978; and
3-8 WHEREAS, In 1986 he made his NFL head coaching debut with the
3-9 St. Louis Cardinals, where the Cards led the NFC in total defense
3-10 and ranked fourth overall in the NFL; and
3-11 WHEREAS, The Cardinals moved to Phoenix in 1988, and he
3-12 compiled a 23-34-1 record in one of the toughest divisions in the
3-13 NFC; and
3-14 WHEREAS, He took over the reins at the University of Alabama
3-15 on January 11, 1990, on the recommendation of his mentor, Coach
3-16 Bryant, and won four Southeastern Conference West titles and the
3-17 national championship in 1992; Coach Stallings resigned on November
3-18 23, 1996, immediately after winning one of the most exciting games
3-19 in the history of the Alabama-Auburn rivalry by a score of 24-23
3-20 and compiling a terrific 52-10-1 record at Alabama; and
3-21 WHEREAS, Gene and Ruth Stallings were honored with the
3-22 National Christian Service Award by Abilene Christian University in
3-23 1994, helped found two institutions--Disability Resources, Inc., in
3-24 Texas and Rainbow Omega in Alabama--to provide comprehensive care
3-25 for developmentally disabled persons, and were named Family of the
3-26 Year in 1991 by the Tuscaloosa Association of Retarded Citizens;
3-27 and
4-1 WHEREAS, A program in Alabama called RISE, which provides
4-2 services for children with disabilities from birth to five years of
4-3 age, named their new facility in Tuscaloosa "The Stallings Center"
4-4 because of a million-dollar gift given in his honor by a friend,
4-5 Pete Hannah; and
4-6 WHEREAS, Coach Stallings is widely known for his charitable
4-7 activities with golf tournaments, speaking tours, and other
4-8 activities in support of the mentally retarded and mentally
4-9 disabled; he has also received the 1982 National Boy's Club's
4-10 Alumnus of the Year Award and, in 1983, the Dallas
4-11 Father-of-the-Year Award; and
4-12 WHEREAS, He was elected to the Texas A&M Hall of Fame in 1982
4-13 and in 1992 was honored with "Coach of the Year" Awards by
4-14 Atlanta's 100% WRONG Club, the Pigskin Club of Washington, D.C.,
4-15 the Maxwell Football Club, the Washington Touchdown Club, the
4-16 Nashville Banner, Kodak, the Associated Press, ABC/Chevrolet, the
4-17 Birmingham News, and Finalist-Football News as well as the Paul
4-18 Bryant and Walter Camp "Coach of the Year" Awards; and
4-19 WHEREAS, This gentle man and his lovely wife, Ruth Ann, are
4-20 shining examples for people everywhere as they reach out to help in
4-21 countless ways those who need their inspiration and faith in God to
4-22 overcome; now, therefore, be it
4-23 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 75th Texas
4-24 Legislature hereby honor Coach Gene Stallings on the occasion of
4-25 his retirement to his native state of Texas and extend to him and
4-26 his wife, Ruth Ann, and their children warmest best wishes for
4-27 continued success and fulfillment in all of their future endeavors;
5-1 and, be it further
5-2 RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
5-3 prepared for Coach Stallings and his family as an expression of
5-4 highest regard by the Texas House of Representatives.
Hunter
Patterson
Roman
Laney Gutierrez Oliveira
Alexander Haggerty Olivo
Allen Hamric Palmer
Alvarado Hartnett Patterson
Averitt Hawley Pickett
Bailey Heflin Pitts
Berlanga Hernandez Place
Bonnen Hightower Price
Bosse Hilbert Puente
Brimer Hilderbran Rabuck
Burnam Hill Ramsay
Carter Hinojosa Rangel
Chavez Hirschi Raymond
Chisum Hochberg Reyna of Bexar
Christian Hodge Reyna of Dallas
Clark Holzheauser Rhodes
Coleman Horn Rodriguez
Cook Howard Roman
Corte Hunter Sadler
Counts Hupp Seaman
Crabb Isett Serna
Craddick Jackson Shields
Cuellar Janek Siebert
Culberson Jones of Lubbock Smith
Danburg Jones of Dallas Smithee
Davila Junell Solis
Davis Kamel Solomons
Delisi Keel Staples
Denny Keffer Stiles
Driver King Swinford
Dukes Krusee Talton
Dunnam Kubiak Telford
Dutton Kuempel Thompson
Edwards Lewis of Tarrant Tillery
Ehrhardt Lewis of Orange Torres
Eiland Longoria Turner of Coleman
Elkins Luna Turner of Harris
Farrar McCall Uher
Finnell McClendon Van de Putte
Flores McReynolds Walker
Gallego Madden West
Galloway Marchant Williams
Garcia Maxey Williamson
Giddings Merritt Wilson
Glaze Moffat Wise
Goodman Moreno Wohlgemuth
Goolsby Mowery Wolens
Gray Naishtat Woolley
Greenberg Nixon Yarbrough
Grusendorf Oakley Zbranek
_______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 222 was adopted by the House on March
3, 1997, by a non-record vote.
_______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House