I just received a text message from my son Bubba that I had been uneasily waiting for for several days. I had hoped and prayed I would get something different but in my heart and reasoning mind was almost certain I would get exactly what came at 2:41 pm. I had lost a good friend and a true idol in many ways. My friend and Bubba's father-in-law, Billy Neighbors had ended this part of his journey and moved on to the eternal life he claimed and was promised so long ago.
As a high school football lineman in the early 60's, living in Alabama I first came to know Billy as one of Coach Bryant's first recruits and the cornerstone of arguably the best team in college football history. Billy was everybody's All-American and pretty much considered the best lineman in college football during those first heady days of Coach Bryant's tenure. I watched in awe as he appeared on the Bob Hope All-American show and starred in the Senior Bowl at the conclusion of his senior year. I read every article and remember every picture of Coach Bryant, Billy, Pat Trammel, Lee Roy Jordan, Benny Nelson and all the rest of those great teams that finally ended the Civil War for a lot of us Alabamians.
Even though I was always an Auburn fan I found it hard to ever believe there was a better lineman alive. I continued to follow my hero's career as he played 10 years in the AFL and NFL at New England and Miami. Billy was bigger than life to me and I had never even met him. That's just the way it is with young folks in Alabama back in the day.
Later as the 80's broke my hero was sending his kids to play and excel for my old rival Alabama. Wes and Keith, two sons followed their dad to Tuscaloosa and even though they continued to harass my Tigers I had to admire the boys because of the place in my mind I had their Dad. I did not even know Billy was also the father of a beautiful, smart and talented daughter, Claire, until Bubba had the good sense to find her, fall and love and ask her to marry him.
I don't know if it was 15 or 16 years ago but when my son told me he was dating and very serious about Billy Neighbors daughter I was totally blown away. When the time came for me to meet this person I had idolized so long I had no idea what to expect. We met at a sandwich shop on Governors Drive across from the hospital where our grandchildren were born and Billy completed this part of the journey. On that night I could not have had greater expectations if we had been meeting the President of the US or any other person alive at the time. That night, along with my wife Patsy, Billy's fantastic wife Susan, Charley Warren and his wife I finally met the man I had held in such high regard for so long. He was nothing like the man I had created in my mind since those days back in the early sixty's.
From the first time I met Billy I was impressed this man was so much more than I had ever imagined. Billy along with my Dad and a few others in my life showed me what a real man was really all about. It was easy to see the man's man I had expected. By then in his mid to late 50's Billy was still imposing as a physical specimen. 6'0 to 6'2 and still weighing around 250 pounds I saw the Billy Neighbors I had expected to see. Thick as a side of prime beef but carrying very little of any excess weight, I would not have doubted his ability to still move anyone the Green Bay Packers would have put in front of him. The thing I did not expect was the kind, sensitive, loving father and grandfather and husband I came to know.
From then on I was around Billy through all kinds of times. I was with him in New York when he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and later in Indianapolis when he was enshrined. We have shared many meals and ball park time. He was no different than when he was watching every son, daughter, grandson, grand-daughter play T-ball, college football or being confirmed as a member of a church. I have seen and witnessed great family men in my own family and others I have been around, but no one any more devoted to their family than Billy Neighbors. My last meal in his home was this past Easter. Billy's love for those around him, his own and all others surrounding them was immeasurable. Every child and grandchild will never doubt what was important to 'Big Billy'. These kids and all those who knew him in any way know that while the history of the pictures on the wall in the basement den were reminders of a wonderful life, nothing equaled the love this man had for Susan, Wes, Claire, Keith, all the grand kids and those people Billy embraced in his huge reach.
Billy was so much more than anything that will be written about him. He loved Coach Bryant, all his teammates both at Alabama and in the Pros. He also loved the guy that came by the office and cleaned up his car from time to time. He loved those who tried to be winners in their lives and loved them regardless of the level of success they reached. Billy loved the University of Alabama but when his grandson Conner went to LSU he loved the Tigers. It took a big man to have and share all the love Billy Neighbors shared.
Billy Neighbors was a winner long before Coach Bryant found him and he was a winner on the last day of April 2012. If God is assembling a team to win that final battle the Bible tells us about he's got his Captain and indisputable leader with him today.
Billy was a lot more about love than I ever dreamed. For this he is being brought home to never suffer another minute throughout eternity. When the day comes for Christ to come again, don't be surprised to see #73 leading all the angels out of the huddle.
Monday, April 30, 2012
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