Lonnie Noojin

Balpha Lonnie Noojin, Sr (born August 10, 1885 in Attalla - died September 7, 1950 in Gadsden) was a baseball player, educator, coach and athletics director, and owner of the Noojin Supply Company.

Noojin earned his bachelor of science from the University of Alabama in 1908, having edited the Crimson White and played on the Alabama Crimson Tide baseball team. He went on to play professional baseball with the Cincinnati Reds before beginning a career as a teacher in agricultural schools in Blountsville and Albertville. He was later appointed football coach and director of athletics for Howard College in Birmingham. From 1912 to 1914 his Bulldogs compiled a 10-13-2 record. The 1913 season was his best as the team went 5-3-1.

Noojin married the former Willie Lucille McNaron in 1916 and returned to the University of Alabama as a baseball and football coach and athletics director, while also teaching English, French, Spanish, Physics and Chemistry. Over the next six years he lead the Crimson Tide to five Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, amassing an overall record of 70-20. In 1918 he coached the men's basketball team to a 2-5 record. He resigned in 1919 to join his brother's hardware business in Gadsden. In 1922 he ran unsuccessfully to represent the 7th Congressional District of Alabama.

The Noojin brothers closed their retail hardware store in 1923 to focus on wholesale supply. Noojin bought his brother's interest in 1926. Noojin served on the board of directors for the American National Bank of Gadsden, Alabama Power Company, and the Gadsden Chamber of Commerce and on the board of trustees for the University of Alabama. He was active in Republican Party politics, serving on the state committee and national convention.

Noojin died in 1959. He is buried at Forrest Cemetery in Gadsden. He was inducted into the Alabama Business Hall of Fame in 1979.