Mark Farmer

Mark J. Farmer was born on January 26, 1963, to Walon and Chris Farmer of Arab, Alabama. He and his younger brother, Darryl, lived in Opelika for a while before returning to Brindlee Mountain to attend Arab High School. Due to his athletic ability and his 6- foot-11-inch frame, Mark became a star basketball and baseball player for the Arabian Knights, lettering three years in both sports.

As a freshman, Mark led the Junior Varsity team, coached by former Hall of Fame Board Member Paul McAbee, to an undefeated season, averaging 23.5 points and 15 rebounds per game. As a sophomore playing for Hall of Fame Coach Bill Wharton, Mark averaged 11.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game as his team won 18 games against 11 losses. For his efforts, Mark was selected on the All-Marshall County Basketball Team. In 1979-80, during his junior year, both Farmer and the Knights had outstanding seasons. Mark averaged 18.5 points per game, scoring a career high 39 versus county rival Guntersville. He hit 54% of his field goal shots and 72% of his free throws and averaged 13 rebounds and 3 blocked shots per game as the Knights won the Marshall County Basketball Tournament. That year, the big center was selected as All-Marshall and Marshall County Most Valuable Defensive Player; Honorable Mention All-State; St. Petersburg Times (Florida) All-American; Street and Smith’s All-American and Top 100 Players in the Nation; and Top 20 All-Stars in BC Camp.

Mark was also an excellent baseball player, playing first base and having a .300 plus batting average in each of his three years under Hall of Fame Coach Bill Morgan. However, in the fall of 1980, bad luck hit Farmer as he broke his left ankle prior to the beginning of his senior season. He was unable to fully recover and only played in one game that year. Nevertheless, the college scouts still believed that Farmer could play. On April 8, 1981, Mark Farmer became the first scholarship player signed by The University of Alabama’s new head basketball coach, Wimp Sanderson. Coach Wharton described Mark as, “…very coachable…great hands, an excellent shooting touch, excellent size and strength…one of the top 10 true centers in the country.” This signing class, which also included Bobby Lee Hurt and future roommate Ennis Whatley, was touted as one of the greatest in Alabama history.

According to Huntsville Times sportswriter, Al Burleson, the pinnacle of Mark’s college career came on January 28, 1983, when the 6-11, 245-pound sophomore made his first collegiate basketball start against the number one-ranked team in the country, UCLA, at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles. Mark had an outstanding game and helped the Crimson Tide to upset the Bruins on national television. Along with Whatley and Hurt, some of Farmer’s teammates at BAMA included current UAB head coach Mike Davis, former UA head coach Mark Gottfried, Jim Farmer, Alfonso “Buck” Johnson, Derrick McKey, and Terry Conner. Mark and his teammates would go on to win the 1985 SEC Championship and play in four straight NCAA tournaments. Mark was a part-time starter, but Coach Sanderson preferred to use Mark primarily off the bench when the team used a zone defense. Sanderson stated, “I wish that I had the chance to play Mark more than I do. In certain situations, Mark is very valuable to the team. For example, I think we have a pretty good zone defense with Mark in the middle. But you can’t stay back in a zone against everyone you play. I thought he did an excellent job against Mississippi State.”

Following graduation, Mark played basketball in the European International League before starting a career with Federal-Mogul in South Carolina. He has one son, Bailey.