HUNTSVILLE – John Stallworth spread the Alabama A&M University name across the nation during a National Football League Hall of Fame career with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Now, as a member of the school’s 2024 Golden Class that recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, the legendary Bulldog is spreading wealth that followed him from professional greatness back to the Tennessee Valley.
Stallworth, a 1974 AAMU graduate who spoke at this year’s commencement, presented a $1.2 million endowment from his foundation to the university.
The funds will provide tuition assistance for academically gifted students at AAMU. The foundation, established in 1980 by John and his wife, Flo, provides merit-based scholarships to deserving students.
“The gift from the John Stallworth Foundation confirms the dedication that our alums have to this institution,” said AAMU President Dr. Daniel Wims. “Not only is this impactful to our institution, but it assists with the solidification of our growing brand and reputation.
‘We commend the Stallworths for their continued support and commitment to their alma mater and for having the foresight to secure educational opportunities for our students,”
Scholarship recipients, to be known as Stallworth Scholars, must meet the required funding criteria and will be recognized yearly at the AAMU Honors Convocation as a John Stallworth Foundation Endowment Scholar.
The Bulldogs retired Stallworth’s No. 22 jersey number.
AAMU’s recent growth of increased enrollment, grants, research funding and infrastructure improvements, coupled with its most recent announcement of due diligence to purchase a campus to operate under the AAMU umbrella, corresponds with the upcoming embarkment of its sesquicentennial celebration next year.
AAMU has revealed its intentions to explore buying the campus of Birmingham-Southern College, which is closing its doors this month.
Stallworth is chair of the AAMU 150th Celebration Committee. After his collegiate playing days, he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played in six AFC championships and four Super Bowls, all won by Pittsburgh, and was a three-time Pro Bowl selection during his career from 1974-87.
Furthermore, he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002 and is also a member of the Huntsville-Madison County Sports Hall of Fame, the Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame and the Pittsburgh Pro Sports Hall of Fame. He served as President and CEO of Madison Research Corp., formed in 1986 prior to his 1987 retirement from football, and sold the company in 2006. In 2009, he became a part-owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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