Glenn Daniel

Coach Sidney Glenn Daniel, 95, a resident of Luverne, Alabama, passed away peacefully in his home on Saturday, April 3, 2021. A celebration of Coach Daniel’s life will be held at 4:30 PM on Wednesday, April 7th, in Glenn Daniel Stadium at Luverne High School.

Coach Daniel was raised in Montgomery and Selma. He graduated from Albert G Parrish High School in 1944. Following his service in World War II, he attended college at University of Kentucky on a basketball scholarship under Adolf Rupp. He later attended Livingston University (B.S.) and University of Alabama where he received his Master’s degree. Coach Daniel began his coaching career in 1947 at Pine Hill High School. He coached PHS to its first undefeated season in 1951 and the Birmingham News selected that team as state champions. Coach Daniel moved to Luverne in 1955 where he served as head football coach at Luverne High School for the next 38 years. He led the Luverne Tigers to their first state championship in 1991. The Tigers made the playoffs eleven of his last twelve seasons as head coach. At the time of his retirement in 1992, he was Alabama’s winningest high school football coach and remained so for several years. After retiring as head coach in 1992, he returned to serve as defensive coordinator for Luverne’s second state championship in 1997.

Coach Daniel was a member of the inaugural class of inductees into the Alabama High School Hall of Fame in 1991. He was inducted into the National High School Sports Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Wiregrass Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.

While earning numerous awards during his coaching, his highest achievement was the positive impact on the lives of hundreds of young men on the playing field and of hundreds more students in his classrooms at LHS. He was a role model and a mentor to many for more than four decades.

Coach Daniel was named the Crenshaw County Citizen of the Year in 2000. He was celebrated for his contributions to the growth and development of young people as teacher, coach and coordinator of the Luverne Parks and Recreation Program.
Coach Daniel was a faithful member of the Luverne Church of Christ and is remembered as an outstanding Sunday School teacher to the adult class. For his family, he was Daddy and Deedaddy, and was cherished by them as the heart and soul of the family. He loved each of them deeply and valued every moment spent with them.

Coach Daniel was preceded in death by his wife of 62 years, Gladys McNeel Daniel; their son, Sidney Glenn Daniel Jr; two granddaughters, Jill & Julie Daniel; grandson-in-law, Kirk Stephens; and parents, Sidney Albert & Osie Horne Daniel.

He is survived by his three loving daughters, Diane (Curt) Porter, Becky Daniel Ensey, and Deborah (Glenn) Maloy; daughter-in-law, Celia Daniel Hoffman; eleven grandchildren, Trey Daniel, Jana (Gered) White, Michelle (Neal) Armstrong, Jeannine (Robert) Birmingham, Leslie (Lanny) Dunham, Jennifer Stephens, Daniel (Stephanie) Porter, Dan Ensey, Mary Glenn Ensey, Brent (Molly) Maloy, and Andrew Maloy; and eighteen great-grandchildren, Michael, Julie, Summerlin, Kristen, Sidney, Addison, Porter, Connor, Grant, Ethan, Micah, Lawson, Gage, Barrett, Colton, Kinsley, Turner, and Holden.

Active pallbearers will be Trey Daniel, Daniel Porter, Dan Ensey, Brent Maloy, Andrew Maloy, Neal Armstrong, Gered White, and Robert Birmingham.

The family requests that any memorial donations be made to the Luverne Athletic Club or the Luverne Church of Christ.

They will receive friends at Luverne Church of Christ on Tuesday, April 6th, from 5 - 8 PM.

**If you would like to send a floral arrangement, please call Turners Funeral Home at (334) 335-5891 for the contact information for our local florists rather than through the website, in order to ensure prompt & timely delivery of your order.