From world champions and Hall of Famers to legendary musicians, artists and civil rights leaders, these notable Americans have roots in Tuscaloosa, Pickens, Hale, Greene and Sumter counties.
West Alabama has produced more than its share of people who went on to make history.
Across Tuscaloosa, Pickens, Hale, Greene and Sumter counties, people who began their lives in small towns, rural communities and growing cities eventually found themselves performing before millions, competing on the world’s biggest stages, serving in Congress, painting presidential portraits and changing American history.
Some became household names. Others may not be as instantly recognizable today, but their accomplishments left lasting marks on sports, music, science, art, government and the civil rights movement.
Here are 20 famous and notable people from West Alabama whose stories traveled far beyond the region.
Tuscaloosa County
1. Dinah Washington — Tuscaloosa
Before the world knew the “Queen of the Blues,” she was Ruth Lee Jones, a little girl born in Tuscaloosa in 1924.
Dinah Washington became one of the most celebrated vocalists of the 20th century, performing jazz, blues, R&B and pop. Between 1949 and 1955 alone, she scored 27 Top 10 hits. Her recordings of “What a Difference a Day Makes” and “Unforgettable” became classics.
Washington was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, and several of her recordings have entered the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Her hometown hasn’t forgotten her. Tuscaloosa has both Dinah Washington Avenue and the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center downtown.
2. Deontay Wilder — Tuscaloosa
Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder took an unlikely path from Tuscaloosa to the heavyweight championship of the world.
Born in Tuscaloosa in 1985, Wilder attended Central High School and began boxing in Northport. His rise was remarkably fast. He won the National Golden Gloves and U.S. Amateur Championships in 2007 before representing the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where he captured a bronze medal.
Wilder later became WBC heavyweight champion and held the title from 2015 until 2020.
Tuscaloosa honored its hometown champion in 2022 by unveiling a statue of Wilder along Jack Warner Parkway.
3. John Stallworth — Tuscaloosa
Tuscaloosa native John Stallworth became one of the defining players of the Pittsburgh Steelers dynasty.
Born in 1952, Stallworth attended Tuscaloosa’s Central High School before playing at Alabama A&M University.
The Pittsburgh Steelers selected him in the 1974 NFL Draft, beginning a 14-season career in which Stallworth helped Pittsburgh win four Super Bowls.
He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2002.
Stallworth’s accomplishments continued after football through business and philanthropy, making his journey from Tuscaloosa to Canton one of West Alabama’s great sports success stories.
4. Robert Van de Graaff — Tuscaloosa
Millions of students have encountered his name in science classrooms without realizing he was from Tuscaloosa.
Physicist Robert Jemison Van de Graaff was born in Tuscaloosa in 1901 and attended local public schools before studying at the University of Alabama, the Sorbonne and Oxford University.
He developed the Van de Graaff generator, a high-voltage electrostatic machine that became important to nuclear physics research and particle acceleration.
His childhood home, the historic Jemison-Van de Graaff Mansion, still stands in Tuscaloosa today.
5. Lurleen Wallace — Tuscaloosa County
Lurleen Burns Wallace grew up in Tuscaloosa County before making Alabama political history.
She graduated from Tuscaloosa County High School and later married George Wallace.
In 1966, Alabama voters elected Lurleen Wallace governor, making her the state’s first woman elected to the office.
Although her administration was cut short by her battle with cancer, Wallace remains an important figure in Alabama political history.
6. Tim Anderson — Tuscaloosa
Tuscaloosa native Tim Anderson rose from Hillcrest High School to Major League Baseball stardom.
Anderson became one of baseball’s most recognizable shortstops and won the American League batting title in 2019. He later became an MLB All-Star and was selected to play for the United States in the World Baseball Classic.
His story is particularly unusual because basketball was a major focus during his younger years before baseball became his path to professional sports.
7. Sylvester Croom — Tuscaloosa
Tuscaloosa native Sylvester Croom made Southeastern Conference history.
After playing football at the University of Alabama, Croom built a lengthy coaching career in college football and the NFL.
In 2004, he took over Mississippi State’s program and became the first Black head football coach in SEC history.
That breakthrough gave a Tuscaloosa native a permanent place in the history of college football.
8. Willie D. Burton — Tuscaloosa
One of Tuscaloosa’s connections to Hollywood can be found behind the scenes.
Willie D. Burton, born in Tuscaloosa, built a distinguished career as a production sound mixer in the film industry.
Burton became an Academy Award winner, receiving Oscars for his sound work on Bird and Dreamgirls.
His credits span decades of American filmmaking, making him one of West Alabama’s notable entertainment-industry success stories.
9. William Christenberry — Tuscaloosa
The landscapes and buildings of West Alabama helped inspire the career of nationally recognized artist William Christenberry.
Born in Tuscaloosa in 1936, Christenberry became particularly known for documenting the rural South through photography, painting, sculpture and other forms.
Hale County and the surrounding Black Belt became recurring subjects in his work.
Through his art, aging buildings, country roads, churches and landscapes familiar to generations of West Alabamians found their way into major collections and museums.
10. Lillie Leatherwood — Ralph
From rural Tuscaloosa County to the Olympic podium, Lillie Leatherwood became one of the region’s most accomplished track athletes.
Born in Tuscaloosa and raised in Ralph, Leatherwood competed for the University of Alabama and became an NCAA champion in the 400 meters.
At the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, she was part of the United States women’s 4×400-meter relay team that captured the gold medal.
Leatherwood later returned to Tuscaloosa and worked in law enforcement.
11. Hannah Brown — Tuscaloosa
Hannah Brown took her Alabama roots to national television.
The Tuscaloosa native won Miss Alabama USA 2018 before appearing on ABC’s The Bachelor.
She subsequently became the star of The Bachelorette, bringing her personality — and unmistakable Alabama identity — to millions of viewers.
Brown later competed on and won Dancing with the Stars and expanded her career into writing and media.
12. George Foster — Tuscaloosa
Born in Tuscaloosa, George Foster became one of Major League Baseball’s most feared power hitters during the 1970s.
Foster is best remembered as an important member of the Cincinnati Reds’ legendary “Big Red Machine.”
He was a five-time All-Star and became National League MVP during his career.
His success gives Tuscaloosa County another significant connection to the history of professional baseball.
Pickens County
13. Walter Jones — Aliceville
Aliceville produced one of the greatest offensive tackles ever to play professional football.
Walter Jones was born in Aliceville and attended Aliceville High School before eventually playing college football at Florida State.
Jones spent his entire NFL career with the Seattle Seahawks, earning nine Pro Bowl selections and becoming one of the league’s dominant offensive linemen.
In 2014, Jones received football’s highest individual honor when he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Aliceville proudly counts both Jones and presidential portrait artist Simmie Knox among its notable natives.
14. Simmie Knox — Aliceville
From Aliceville to the White House, Simmie Knox built an extraordinary career with a paintbrush.
Born in Aliceville, Knox became a nationally acclaimed portrait artist.
His most famous commissions included the official White House portraits of President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.
His career represents one of the most remarkable artistic journeys to begin in West Alabama.
15. Charles W. “Gordo” Davis — Gordo
Pickens County’s Charles W. Davis became an American military hero during World War II.
Davis, whose nickname “Gordo” reflected his connection to his hometown, served in the U.S. Army and displayed extraordinary courage during fighting at Guadalcanal.
His actions eventually earned him the Medal of Honor, the United States’ highest military decoration.
His story remains an important part of both Pickens County and American military history.
Hale County
16. Richmond Pearson Hobson — Greensboro
Richmond Pearson Hobson was born at Magnolia Grove in Greensboro in 1870 and became a nationally known naval officer during the Spanish-American War.
Hobson gained fame after leading an effort involving the USS Merrimac in Santiago Harbor, Cuba.
He eventually received the Medal of Honor for his actions.
Hobson later represented Alabama in Congress, where he advocated for causes including education and women’s suffrage. His birthplace, Magnolia Grove, remains one of Greensboro’s notable historic landmarks.
17. Eugene Sawyer — Greensboro
A man with roots in the Alabama Black Belt eventually rose to lead one of America’s largest cities.
Eugene Sawyer, born in Greensboro, moved to Chicago as a young adult and entered public service.
After serving as a Chicago alderman, Sawyer became mayor of Chicago in 1987, serving until 1989.
His journey from Greensboro to the mayor’s office in Chicago represents another remarkable West Alabama story.
Greene County
18. William McKinley Branch — Forkland
The Rev. William McKinley Branch Jr. helped transform political life in Greene County during the civil rights era.
Born in Forkland in 1918 to sharecroppers, Branch became a pastor, lawyer and civil rights activist. He organized Greene County’s NAACP chapter and participated in the historic Selma-to-Montgomery movement.
Branch knew Martin Luther King Jr. and drove King from Eutaw to Greensboro for a voting-rights march in March 1968, just weeks before King’s assassination.
In 1970, Branch was elected Greene County probate judge, becoming the first Black man in the nation to serve in that role since Reconstruction.
That year’s elections brought national attention to Greene County as Black candidates won every county office on the ballot.
Branch served as probate judge until 1988, and Greene County later named its courthouse in his honor.
Sumter County
19. Vera Hall — Near Livingston
One of the great voices preserved from Alabama’s Black Belt belonged to Adele “Vera” Hall Ward.
Born near Livingston, Hall grew up immersed in the spirituals, work songs and folk traditions of rural African American communities.
Her extraordinary voice attracted folklorists who recorded her music, helping preserve it for future generations through collections associated with the Library of Congress.
Her performances, including “Another Man Done Gone,” became important documents of Southern folk music.
Decades later, Hall’s recordings continue to introduce listeners around the world to musical traditions born in West Alabama.
20. Buck Buchanan — Gainesville
The small Sumter County community of Gainesville produced an NFL legend.
Junious “Buck” Buchanan was born in Gainesville and grew into a towering defensive lineman who would become one of professional football’s great players.
Buchanan became a star for the Kansas City Chiefs and helped the team win Super Bowl IV.
His dominance on the defensive line ultimately earned him induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
From a small Black Belt town near the Mississippi state line to football immortality, Buchanan’s journey is one of Sumter County’s greatest sports stories.
From West Alabama to the World
Twenty names barely scratch the surface.
What makes this list remarkable isn’t simply fame. It’s the variety of accomplishments represented.
A singer born in Tuscaloosa became the Queen of the Blues. An Aliceville native painted a president. A young man from Gainesville became one of professional football’s greatest defensive players. An athlete raised in Ralph won Olympic gold. A minister from Forkland helped reshape political power during the civil rights movement. A Tuscaloosa scientist created a machine still demonstrated in classrooms around the world.
Their beginnings were separated by decades, race, opportunity and circumstance. Their careers took them into completely different worlds.
But they shared something at the beginning of their stories.
West Alabama was home.
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