UNA RENAMES ATHLETIC BUILDING IN HONOR OF
HAL SELF
FLORENCE
-- The University of North Alabama Board of
Trustees voted unanimously to rename the
Flowers Hall Annex the Henry Harold Self
Field House in honor of the late Lion
football coach and athletic director.
Built in 1984, the former Flowers Hall Annex
houses the athletic department
administrative offices, coaches offices for
the UNA football, volleyball, cross country,
tennis, soccer and golf teams, as well as
the athletic training facilities, weight
room and football locker room.
"It is amazing
the impact an individual can have on so
many," said UNA Athletic Director Mark
Linder of Self's legacy at UNA. "It is a
testimony to walking in compassion and
integrity."
Linder said the
university will set a date for an official
re-naming ceremony on campus.
Self, who passed away on June 6 of this year
at the age of 86, was hired at UNA -- then
Florence State College -- in 1949 to restore
the school's football program that had been
dormant for 20 years. He coached the Lions
for the next 21 years, then served as the
school's athletic director until 1973 and as
a member of the Health, Physical Education
and Recreation faculty until his retirement
in 1984.
During his time
as coach of the Lions he posted a 109-81-8
record that included 13 winning seasons. He
had a combined 31-0-2 record against state
rivals Jacksonville State, Troy State and
West Alabama from 1952-63 and had an
all-time 48-15-5 record against state
schools. While at UNA, he coached eight
All-Americans, including National Football
League great Harlon Hill and George “Goober”
Lindsey of Mayberry/Andy Griffith fame.
A Decatur, Ala., native, Self prepped at
Decatur High School under legendary coach
Shorty Ogle. He then attended the University
of Alabama where he enjoyed a remarkable
career.
As quarterback at the University of Alabama
under Hall of Fame coach Frank Thomas, Self
played in the 1941 Cotton Bowl, the 1942
Orange Bowl, the 1944 Sugar Bowl and the
January 1st, 1946 Rose Bow (the four major
bowls). That Rose Bowl team finished the
1945 season undefeated (10-0) winning the
Southeastern Conference Championship and
beating the University of South California
34-14. Coach Self scored the first and last
touchdown in that Rose Bowl and likewise is
the last Crimson Tide player to have scored
in that game. In 1946, he was awarded the
“Jacobs Award,” given annually for the best
blocker in the SEC and is only one of 3
quarterbacks to ever receive this award. In
addition to football, he also lettered in
track and lettered in baseball for the
Crimson Tide.
Though drafted by the NFL’s Brooklyn Giants,
he instead elected to begin his coaching
career in 1947 at Athens High School where
he had two 9-1 records during his three-year
stint.
At one time during Self's time at UNA, there
were 142 of his former players active in the
coaching ranks.
During his 20 years as head coach of the
Lions, he never had a player who stayed with
the team four years that did not receive his
college degree (a 100% graduation rate). And
during his 33 total years at the
University of North Alabama, he never missed
a day of work.
In 1970, Self was one of a three-man
committee that founded and then wrote the
Gulf South Conference Constitution and
By-Laws.
Self was elected to the State of Alabama
Sports Hall of Fame, the inaugural class of
the UNA Athletic Hall of
Fame and the Morgan County Sports Hall of
Fame.
Self served the City of Florence as a
councilman, as President of the Florence
Industrial Expansion Committee, as a Charter
member of the Y.M.C.A. Board of Directors,
as chairman of the Florence Water and Sewer
Board, as a member of the Florence Chamber
of Commerce, as a member of the American
Water Works and Charter member of the
Research Division, as a member of the
Alabama Education Association and past
President of the University of North Alabama
Unit, and as a member of the National
Education Association.
