Another black day for Alabama! No, it’s not just another loss in their worst-season record book. Rather, it’s a loss of a gem. Bill Battle, the household name of the Alabama football, breathed his last at the age of 82.

Battle has been a legend both on and off the field and gave his best for the Tide. From 1960 to 1962, he showcased his athletic supremacy under coach Paul Bear Bryant and was a part of Bryant’s first national championship team in 62. After college, he deviated a little and took his talent to Oklahoma, leaving his mark as a graduate assistant over there. An assistant coach and head coach tenure at the United States Military Academy and Tennessee, respectively, followed. The homeboy returned home in 2013 and graced the athletic director’s chair for four long years.

In an official statement of Alabama Athletics, the current Alabama director of athletics, Greg Bryne, dished a heart-wrenching speech” ”It’s difficult to put into words just how much Coach Battle means to The University of Alabama and college athletics, as a whole. He excelled in so many areas and was a true visionary. Beyond his accomplishments, he was an incredible man, and I am forever grateful for the friendship we built over the years. We will miss him tremendously and are praying for Mary, Pat, Mike, Shannon, Kayla, and the entire Battle family.”

A Birmingham, Alabama native born to William Raines “Bill” Battle Jr. carried the legacy in his blood. His father, Bill Battle Jr, served as the athletic director at Birmingham–Southern College from 1952 to 1974. His grandfather, William Raines Battle, was a Methodist minister. He continued the family bequest with a remarkable career. However, there is not much information available about his spouse or kids. But regardless, the loss is irremediable for them, for all!

The least that we could pick up, Bill has four kids, including two sons named Pat and Mike, and daughters, Shannon and Kayla. The family fought an unprecedented battle with some rare diseases, found some solace, and returned the favor to the same society they took it from.

Bill Battle and his better half made this world a better place

Back in 2008, Mary and Bill Battle’s youngest daughter, Kayla, faced a significant setback in her life. The kid lost her ability to walk, leaving the family in serious jeopardy. However, god was kind. They landed at UAB and found renowned Robert Kimberly, M.D., professor of medicine, and Howard L. Holley Research scholar in rheumatology. They got their daughter the best treatment for a diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis and saw the recovery results unfold pretty quickly.

However, the odds with the diseases didn’t end there. It seems the Battle family has actually been synonymous with battle. Wordplay apart, the man himself, Bill Battle got a victim of another physical mayhem. But the worst part was when UAB doctors gave the harsh verdict on Bill’s multiple myeloma, a life threatening blood-cell cancer, they didn’t have the best solution around. UAB had no comprehensive multiple myeloma program back in 2014. Bill’s curated doctor had no option left but to refer him to a better medical institution with the neeful infrastructure for the critical therapies. Moving outside of Alabama with a detoriated health brought another hardship to the family.

However, the philanthropic couple ensures nobody else doesn’t have to the same pain they undergo. From that mindset, Mary and Bill Battle have been investing in money and resources for the betterment of immunology and cancer research. The family even set up a fund named after their daughter, the Kayla Smeraglia Single Cell and Cytometry Core Equipment Fund in the Division of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology.

It relentlessly helped the doctors and the scientists with ultra modern technologies beneficial for thetop-tier  treatment and saved thousands of life to date.

Bill Battle is no longer a part of this world, but his noble work both on and beyond the field shines through the earth and heaven.