Russell Eugene "Gene" Taylor, a native of Conyers, Rockdale County, GA, was born 26 January 1950 to William D. and Susan C. Taylor. He graduated from Rockdale County High School in 1968, where he was Captain of his high school football team during his senior year. Gene earned his BS (1974) and MS (1981) degrees from Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, AL. He returned to Rockdale High in 1974 to begin his high school coaching career. He coached in several schools in Georgia before moving to Alabama. Coach Taylor's Alabama coaching career started with Walter Wellborn High School, Wellborn, AL and ended with Lincoln High School, Lincoln, AL. He is best known for the success of his high school wrestling teams. His Weaver High School wrestling teams won nine Class 1A-4A State Championships (1993, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004) and had a dual meet win streak record of 221, which still stands as the 2nd longest win streak in the nation. Although he rose to prominence with wrestling, Coach Taylor also had a successful career as a football and baseball coach. He had a win-loss record of 201-130 in baseball. He was honored nine times as Alabama's wrestling coach of the year, twice as USA wrestling coach of the year for the southeastern U.S., and once as Calhoun County's baseball coach of the year. His highest honors came in 2010 and 2011 when he was elected into the AHSAA Hall of Fame (2010) and the Calhoun County Sports Hall of Fame (2011). Coach Taylor is survived by his mother Susan C. Taylor (Villa Rica, GA), his son Jake Taylor (Hoover, AL), daughter Misty Taylor (Eastaboga, AL), sisters Linda Taylor Smith (Conyers, GA) and Lisa Taylor (Villa Rica, GA), brother and sister-in-law Teal and Kathy Simpson Taylor (Villa Rica, GA), two nieces, four nephews, five great-nieces, and one great-nephew. He was preceded in death by his father William D. Taylor.