Paul Teague
Paul Teague played varsity football for the Albertville Aggies from 1972-1975. He is the son of the late Bobby Joe Teague and Wauline Teague. Paul has two older brothers, Durall and Johnny, both of whom played football for the Aggies, and a sister, Beth Formby.
Paul played one year of junior high football, and in the spring of 1972, the big ninth-grader was pulled up to the varsity squad by Head Coach Ken Barrett. Barrett always said that Teague had a lot of “savvy.” Paul became a starting guard before the season was over and was named the most improved lineman of the 1972 squad. In 1973, Marshall County Sports Hall of Fame Charter Member Vernon Wells took over as the head coach. As a sophomore, Paul was moved to offensive tackle and defensive end, where he started all season. In 1974, as a junior, Paul was moved to center because the coaches believed the best lineman on the team should play that position in the newly installed split-veer offense. He continued to play defensive end and was named to the All-Region team.
In 1975, his senior year, Paul was moved to the middle linebacker position on defense and remained the starting center. The Aggies went 8-2 that season and missed the playoffs by one game. He was named to the All-County, All-Region, and All-State teams that year and participated in the Alabama North-South High School All-Star Game, where he was the starting center for the North squad. Paul was a two-sport athlete in high school and made All-County three years in both the shot put and discus. In his senior year, Paul was the County champ in the shot put and discus and placed second at both the State Indoor and Outdoor Track Meets in the shot put.
During his senior year, several college scouts came calling. University of Alabama Assistant Coach “Shorty” White told Coach Wells that Coach Paul Bryant wanted to sign only one center that year. Their first choice was Dwight Stephenson from Miami, but if Stephenson didn’t sign, they wanted Teague. Stephenson did sign and went on to an outstanding career at Alabama and in the professional ranks. Following graduation, Paul received a football scholarship to attend Livingston State University, now the University of West Alabama. After the third game of his freshman season, Head Coach Jim King and Offensive Coordinator Jack Crowe moved Paul to the starting position at center, where he graded a winning score the remainder of the season. Coach Crowe took over as the head football coach in 1977. In the fifth game of his sophomore season against Alabama State, Paul suffered a knee injury that sidelined him for the rest of the season, but was still named second team All-Gulf South Conference. Paul bounced back from knee surgery only to be sidelined again for the first four games of the 1978 season with a broken jaw. With this and other injuries, he returned to the lineup and finished the season as an offensive tackle. In 1979, Paul avoided further injuries to have an excellent senior season. He completed his eligibility and was named the first team All-Gulf South Conference center.
Paul returned to Sand Mountain and in 1982 married Mary Nell Price of Boaz. The couple recently celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary. They have two children, Casey Teague of Boaz and Meagan Green of Altoona. Paul has been employed with Mitchell Grocery for the past 15 years and enjoys fishing, small engine repair and watching high school and college football. He is a member of the Bethsaida Baptist Church.