Chappell Family Has Deep Ties to Alabama Football
A Crimson Tide Connection
Chappell Family Has Deep Ties to Alabama Football
Buddy Smothers –Carroll County News Leader
Today is the last installment of a three part series about loyalty to your favorite sports team. In the first article I told about my loyalty to the New York Yankees and how the relationship began. Last week I told about Richard and Brad Chappell and their allegiance to the University of Alabama Football Team. Today we are going to uncover the roots of this relationship that make them lifelong Crimson Tide Fans.
As I told you last week my relationship to the Chappell family goes back to the late 1970's when Richard and I first met. Richard was a teacher and coach at McKenzie while I held the same status at Hollow Rock-Bruceton Central. All of this plus my serving as one of Brad's Cooperating Teachers while he was completing his Bachelor's Degree from Bethel led me to believe that I had a good grasp on the family. During one of my visits I discovered how wrong I could be.
While it is not unusual for people to display materials that show their support for their favorite teams I realized very quickly that some of the items were very personal. The item that intrigued me most on this visit was a football card for a player from the University of Alabama whose last name was Chappell. Little did I know at the time that this card as well as other items would take me on a journey that begins in the" Heart of Dixie".
As Richard began to discuss his family history he took me to Sylacauga, Alabama where one of his Great Grandfathers Isaac "Ike" Green was born in 1844. Ike was a veteran of the Confederate Army who drew a pension for his service from the state of Alabama.
On February 27, 1875 Alex Chappell who is one of Richard's Grandfathers was born in Sylacauga. Alex worked at the nearby Gantts Marble Quarry and was the father of twelve children who included eight girls and four boys. Among the boys were Howard and Porter Hudson who is Richards's father and one of Brad's grandfathers.
As the effects of the Great Depression spread across the nation many families faced the same issue of staying and starving or moving to another location and starting over. The Chappell brothers took the later route.
Porter Hudson's move was to Tennessee with his first stop being in Jackson before settling in Memphis. In Memphis he attended college at Southwestern (Rhodes College) where he was a member of the football team. Also during this time he met and married Charlotte Drake. The couple had three children one of which is Richard Drake Chappell who was born in 1945.
After graduating from high school Richard enrolled at Memphis State and earned his degree in Education. His teaching career began in the Memphis School System before moving to Fayette Academy and finally to McKenzie in 1977 where he spent the remainder of his career as a classroom teacher and coach. During all of this he met and married Peggy Bigham. Together they had three children; daughters Cindy, Bethany, and a son Brad.
Upon graduation from Bethel Brad began his teaching-coaching career at Dresden High School before assuming the same positions at McKenzie Middle School. In 2011 he returned to Bethel as a member of the Athletic Administration Staff. Today he holds the position of Senior Associate Director of Athletics.
Brad is married to Christie Bateman Chappell. They have four children Nick, Jake, Allie, and Drew. Drew and his grandfather Richard share the same birthday (May 5th). This year Drew will celebrate his 15 birthday while Richard will turn 75.
Howard Chappell's journey took him to Tuscaloosa where in the fall of 1931 he enrolled as a student and became a member of the Crimson Tide Football Team. During his playing career which stretched from 1931-33, Tide recorded a 24-4-1 record including a 9-1 record in 1931 which resulted in a SEC Championship. During these years his teammates included Paul Bryant and Don Hutson.
Following graduation Howard began a teaching-coaching- administrative role at Deshler High School in Tuscumbia Alabama. His coaching career which spanned 19 years was interrupted by WWII when he served in the U.S. military. His overall coaching record was 193-59. Today the football stadium bears his name and features a statue of him. He was inducted into the Alabama High School Athletic Hall of Fame because of his development of a tackling and blocking machine.
While the inspiration for this story began with a football card the item that really caught my attention was a letter on display in Brad's office at Bethel University. The letter was written by Paul Bryant and addressed to Alex Chappell. Mr. Chappell was a patient at the Sylacauga Nursing Home. Coach Bryant was writing him to congratulate him on his 104th birthday. To me this speaks to the character of Coach Bryant. To say the least in my eyes he has risen to a new level. Considering I am a fan of the Tennessee Volunteers this speaks volumes.
Pictures and article courtesy of Carroll County News Leader and Buddy Smothers