Malcolm Laney (1910 – March 24, 1985) was a head coach for the Alabama men's basketball team (1944–1945), the Alabama golf team (1952–1954) and an assistant coach for the Alabama football team (1944–1957). He was also the head football coach at Woodlawn High School in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

(1934–1943).

Early years

John Malcolm Laney was born in 1910 at Ragland,

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

. He later moved to

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

and attended Phillips High School in Birmingham where he played on both the football and basketball teams. After one year at

Birmingham–Southern College Birmingham–Southern College (BSC) is a private college in Birmingham, Alabama. Founded in 1856, the college is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). More than 1 ...

, Laney transferred to the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...

. At Alabama, he lettered on the men's basketball team as a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

for the 1930, 1931 and 1932 seasons. He played on the squad with his brother Walton Laney and was a part of the undefeated 1930 squad led by head coach

Hank Crisp Henry Gorham Crisp (December 10, 1896 – January 23, 1970) was an American football, basketball, baseball and track coach and college athletics administrator. In spite of an accident when he was 13 years old that resulted in the loss of hi ...

. After he graduated in 1932, Laney coached a YMHA team in Birmingham before he became the head football coach at Woodlawn High School.

Coaching career

Basketball

After not fielding a team for the 1943–1944 season due to the effects of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, on December 29, 1944, Alabama

athletic director An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches an ...

announced Laney as the new basketball head coach. Prior to his appointment with the Crimson Tide, Laney had served as a basketball referee over the previous 15 years. During his only season as head coach, he led Alabama to a record of ten wins and five losses (10–5).

Football

In 1934, Laney entered his first season as head football coach at Woodlawn High School in

. He remained at Woodlawn through the 1943 season and ended his high school coaching career with the Colonials with an overall record of 76 wins and 14 losses (76–14). Additionally, during his tenure as head coach, Woodlawn captured seven Birmingham city championships and five state championships. While there, some of the future stars he coached included

Harry Gilmer Harry Vincent Gilmer Jr. (April 14, 1926 – August 20, 2016) was an American football halfback and quarterback in the National Football League for the Washington Redskins and Detroit Lions. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fam ...

, Earl Fullilove,

Holt Rast Holt Rast (October 10, 1917 – November 22, 1998) was an American football player and entrepreneur who founded Rast Construction. Rast served in the United States Army from 1942 to 1946 and was later elected to serve in the Alabama House of Repr ...

and

Travis Tidwell Travis Vaughn Tidwell (February 5, 1929 – July 1, 2004) was an American football player and coach. Tidwell played high school football for Woodlawn High School. He played college football at Auburn University and then in the National Footbal ...

, and each would later become a member of a

College Football All-America Team The College Football All-America Team is an honor given annually to the best college football players in the United States at their respective positions. The original use of the term '' All-America'' seems to have been to the 1889 College Footbal ...

. From Woodlawn, he went on to serve as an assistant coach with the Alabama football team from 1944 to 1957 under both coaches

Harold Drew Harold Delbert "Red" Drew (November 9, 1894 – October 20, 1979) was an American football, basketball, and track and field coach for over 40 years. He was the head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide football team from 1947 to 1954, compiling a r ...

and

Jennings B. Whitworth Jennings Bryan "Ears" Whitworth (September 17, 1908 – March 3, 1960) was an American football player and coach of football and baseball. He served as the head football coach at Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College—now known as Okla ...

Golf

From 1952 through the 1954 seasons, Laney coached the Alabama golf team. During his tenure as head coach, Laney led the Crimson Tide to an overall record of 23 wins and four losses (23–4). He was also the coach for Bobby Hill when he captured Alabama's first SEC golf championship in 1952.

Later life

After his tenure as a coach ended, Laney continued to serve at Alabama as a field representative for the University Alumni Office from 1958 until his retirement 1972. In 1975, he was appointed interim director of Alumni Affairs. He started Camp Laney, a boys summer camp that still survives to this day, at

Mentone, Alabama Mentone is a town in DeKalb County, Alabama, United States. It is located atop Lookout Mountain. A number of private summer camps are located near Mentone. For a number of years, Mentone has hosted an unusually large number of summer camps. Ment ...

, in 1959. In recognition for his contributions to sport in the state, Laney was inducted into the

Alabama Sports Hall of Fame The Alabama Sports Hall of Fame (ASHOF) is a state museum located in Birmingham, Alabama, dedicated to communicating the state’s athletic history. The museum displays over 5,000 objects related to athletes who were born in Alabama or earned fame ...

on February 18, 1984. He died on March 24, 1985, at

Tuscaloosa, Alabama Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal and Piedmont plains meet. Alabama's fifth-largest city, it had an estimated population o ...

Head coaching record

College basketball

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laney, Malcolm 1910 births 1985 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Alabama Guards (basketball) Alabama Crimson Tide football coaches Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball coaches Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball players Alabama Crimson Tide men's golf coaches Birmingham–Southern Panthers football players High school football coaches in Alabama People from Ragland, Alabama Players of American football from Alabama Basketball players from Alabama