Former Columbus High star athlete, leader in college football dies at 64
Steve Hale, the standout Columbus High School athlete who assisted some of the South’s legendary college football coaches and led one of the most prestigious all-star games in the sport, has died.
Hale died Thursday in Columbus, according to Striffler-Hamby Mortuary. He was 64.
After starring as an option quarterback at Columbus High, Hale played on scholarship for East Carolina University, where he became a starting defensive back.
Hale worked as an assistant coach under Pat Dye at East Carolina, Bear Bryant and Ray Perkins at Alabama and Danny Ford at Clemson (including the 1981 national championship). He also coached at Louisiana-Lafayette and Southern Mississippi.
For 19 years, Hale served as president and CEO of the Senior Bowl, the collegiate all-star game in Mobile, Alabama, where NFL scouts flocked to assess top prospects before the draft.
Former state Rep. Jed Harris, a friend of Hale’s since childhood, told the Ledger-Enquirer via Facebook that Hale died with “no prior warning” from cardiac arrest Thursday night in Columbus.
Harris, who played baseball with Hale in the 1970 East Columbus Babe Ruth League, called him “a very decent person.”
“Steve and his wife returned to Columbus six years ago to help look after both sets of aging parents,” he said.
Hale was at home when he went into cardiac arrest Thursday evening and was pronounced dead that night after being taken by ambulance to St. Francis Hospital, Harris said.
“He was one of the most significant college sports figures to come from Columbus,” Harris said.
Hale certainly was significant to the football career of Phenix City Mayor Eddie Lowe as he helped recruit him from Central High School to Alabama in 1979. Lowe played inside linebacker, and Hale coached outside linebackers.
“He was a very good coach,” Lowe told the L-E. “He was a caring coach. He could build a relationship with the players. . . . I could tell he was a very good person.”
The Rev. Johnny Flakes III, pastor of Fourth Street Missionary Baptist Church, played left halfback in the option offense Hale quarterbacked in the early 1970s at Columbus High.
Flakes described Hale as a committed and encouraging friend.
“He was just devoted,” Flakes told the L-E. “You could count on him.”
Hale’s reliability extended to his family.
“He had tremendous core values,” Flakes said. “… It was not surprising for Steve to come back and make sure his father and mother were taken care of. His wife was a part of that, and you could see it with his two sons.”
The graveside burial service was conducted March 8 in Parkhill Cemetery, followed by visitation with the family.
This story was originally published March 8, 2021 at 12:25 PM.
