Macon Says Goodbye to Native Son Al Lucas

In a gymnasium on a hill overlooking the Northeast High football field where Al Lucas became a local star, this city came Saturday afternoon to bid its favorite son a fond farewell.

They came around 1,000 strong for a service of nearly two hours to honor Lucas, who died at 26 in an Arena League football game at Staples Center last Sunday. Playing for the Avengers, Lucas died of an apparent spinal cord injury while making a tackle on a kickoff return against the New York Dragons.

With Lucas’ body in a coffin at the front of the gym, family and friends, former high school teammates and fraternity brothers from Troy State, faculty members, students, some in their football jerseys, and politicians, religious leaders and choir members all took part in the tribute.

“He is a native son called from his labor to his reward,” Macon Mayor C. Jack Ellis told the audience. “Yes, he reached the National Football League [with the Carolina Panthers], but he never reached too high to come back to his alma mater.”

Lucas, a 6-foot-1, 300-pounder, had returned to Northeast High last fall as an accredited substitute teacher and assistant football coach.

Ellis read a proclamation declaring Saturday “Albert ‘Big Luke’ Lucas Day,” and announced that city flags would be flown at half staff until after Lucas’ funeral Monday.

There were biblical readings, musical selections by the Northeast choir, the presentation of Lucas’ framed No. 76 jersey to the family, a video presentation on his life, a ceremony by his Omega Pi Phi fraternity and an announcement by Northeast Principal Ella Carter that an Al Lucas Scholarship Fund had been established by the school.

There also were laughs over the sense of humor of the man Ellis referred to as “a gentle giant.” Steve Edwards, Lucas’ football coach at Northeast, recalled the time an elderly coach, suffering from bad knees, brought out a chair to conduct practice.

Lucas showed up for the next practice with a chair of his own. “If Coach can have one, I can have one,” Edwards said Lucas had declared.

“He was 300 pounds of steel on the outside,” Jowanda Durham, president of Lucas’ graduating class of 1996, told the crowd, “but on the inside, his heart was even bigger.”