Nearly 20 years in the making, MUS officially adds Bobby Alston's name to its football stadium

Sally Alston didn't know what she was getting herself into on her first date with Bobby Alston .

"He told me he worked for the school," said Sally Alston, now Bobby's wife for more than four decades. "And then, he starts giving me directions to the school, and I'm like, 'Wait a minute, I thought he said he was available!"

"Anyways, so I follow his instructions, and I walk in at the old stadium, and I'm thinking, 'He can't pick me up because he's probably collecting tickets at the front gate. So, I sit down in the stands, I'm looking around, and I go, 'Oh, my gosh, he's on the sidelines wearing headphones!"

Four decades after surprising his future wife with the fact that he was a football coach at MUS, nobody will ever have to wonder what Bobby Alston has done there. The school officially renamed its stadium to Stokes-Alston Stadium, honoring Alston's nearly half-century run coaching Owls football.

When asked to describe his feelings in one word about the honor, he decided on "grateful."

"I've been blessed and helped by a ton of people to get here," Bobby Alston said. "There are so many things that are done the same way they were when we first started. I had Coach (Jake) Rudolph as a mentor, I had Coach (Jerry) Peters as a mentor, and they just gave me the MUS way of doing things."

"We still got a game to win," said first-year head coach Mark Chubb . "But today, it's all about one big love fest for Bobby Alston."

At Friday's pregame ceremony, MUS officials shared that in 2006 in the construction and naming of Stokes Stadium for the family whose donations made the facility possible, plans were made to honor Alston as a stadium namesake immediately following his retirement. Alston announced in December 2023 that he would retire at the end of the school year.

Amongst the many alums and faculty members, the most memorable attendees were Sally, the Alstons' daughter Meredith Wooten, and son Drew Alston, and Bobby's mother, 90-year-old Shirley Alston.

"Bobby's philosophy was always, 'Use the game of football to teach them about life," Sally Alston said. "They're not gonna play football forever. But, they're gonna be members of the community forever. Seeing them becoming good fathers and good husbands was Bobby's big payoff."

Beyond the four football state championships and 232 wins her father compiled in 27 seasons as head coach, Wooten says the impact Alston had on his players lasted well beyond after they played their last down.

"Everywhere I go in Memphis, there is someone who says, 'Oh my goodness, your dad changed my life', and 'You're Coach Alston's daughter?'" Wooten said. "They always come with stories, so many passionate stories that I hear by now grown men, about how they've changed and been impacted by him in various ways. There's a lot of appreciation and love in the community for him."

As long as Alston coached at MUS, Wooten held out hope that her father would hold on at least a few more years for a special moment for the family.

"We wanted Dad to coach Hudson," Wooten said, referring to her middle schooled-aged son. "But, I knew he wouldn't. He kept telling me, 'Meredith, it's time for me to rest.' And, he wanted Hudson to have his own path and not have that pressure on him.''

Alston's mother summed up the night and her son's accomplishments succinctly.

"He's a God-fearing man," Shirley Alston said. "His daddy was a preacher, and, we've loved him, and he's followed in his father's footsteps. And that means more to me than anything."

You can reach writer Josh Crawford via email @joshua.crawford@commercialappeal.com, or via X @JCrawford5656

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Nearly 20 years in the making, MUS officially adds Bobby Alston's name to its football stadium