A Hall of Fame coach who has made state-championship history, a four-star football recruit and a softball player undeterred by a disability are the winners of the fourth annual John Stallworth Award.
Al Rauls, the softball coach at Buckhorn High School, football standout Malik Langham of Lee High School and Sparkman High softball standout Taylor Davis will be honored on Thursday, June 7 at the pairings party, as part of the 16th annual John Stallworth Foundation Golf Tournament festivities.
The award is presented by the John Stallworth Foundation, which provides scholarship assistance to deserving students. The award itself comes with a donation to the coach’s program and with a one-time scholarship award for the two winning athletes.
Along with honoring the John Stallworth Award winners, guests will meet the celebrity participants in the June 8 golf tournament and hear from students who have earned John Stallworth scholarships. With proceeds from past tournaments, the Foundation has issued more than a half-million dollars in student scholarships. The Foundation currently has 10 scholars attending Alabama A&M, Stallworth’s alma mater, and 10 students attending other universities in the state of Alabama.
Davis was an All-State softball player despite being born with Erb’s Palsy, a condition that requires her to catch and throw with the same hand. She won the Cornelius A. Martin Award at Sparkman, is a Bryant-Jordan scholar, a leader in Sparkman’s FCA program and had a 3.84 GPA. She has signed a scholarship with Western Kentucky, where she plans to major in pre-med.
Langham, an All-State defensive end, has signed to play at the University of Florida. He was the state’s Class 5A Lineman of the Year, with 104 tackles, 14 for a loss, and 11 sacks. An honor student, Langham also played on the Lee basketball team.
Rauls was the first African-American coach to win a state baseball championship (1992, at New Hope) and when Buckhorn’s girls won the 2017 state title, he became only the second coach to win a championship in both sports. His 2018 team also reached the state tournament. A former college baseball player at Florida A&M, he has been head baseball coach at Alabama A&M and also coached at Bob Jones, Sparkman and Butler.
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