Archie Wade, the first Black faculty member at the University of Alabama, passed away on January 13. He was 85 years old.
Dr. Wade’s career began coaching basketball and baseball at historically Black Stillman College in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, before going on to play professional baseball. In 1964, he was hired by the University of Alabama to coach football, where he helped integrate the team and recruited the university’s first Black football players.
In 1970, he was hired as the University of Alabama’s first Black faculty member. During his tenure in the College of Education, he helped to establish university’s Black Faculty and Staff Association. He retired from the university in 2000 as an associate professor emeritus in the department of kinesiology. In recognition of his historic contributions, the university hung a plaque with his name in Moore Hall, the former home of the department of kinesiology, in 2013. Eight years later, Moore Hall was renamed to Wade Hall.
Dr. Wade was a graduate of Stillman College, where he majored in business administration. He earned his master’s degree in physical education from West Virginia University and his doctorate in physical education from the University of Alabama.
