About Inductee

Robert Allen Carpenter, affectionately known as Pig, was born on Christmas Eve, 1910. What a great Christmas present to the people of New Hope. He was graduated from Alabama in 1934 with a Doctor of Law Degree and returned to New Hope to start his career in the legal profession. He worked as a lawyer until some years later when the call came from the coaching and teaching profession. He answered the call and spent the next 20 years Coaching and Teaching at New Hope. Coach Carpenter was for many years the only coach at New Hope School. He coached the Jr. High, Jr. Varsity and Varsity basketball teams as well as the baseball team. He is best known in the coaching circles for his basketball teams, but he was also instrumental in starting the football program at New Hope. During his tenure as the basketball coach his teams never had a losing season and won 13 County championships and played in the finals the other 7 years. Coach Carpenter would receive many awards during his 27 years of teaching and coaching, but the ultimate award he received was the everlasting love and respect of his former players. Many of his players have been heard to say they wouldnt have played for anybody but Coach Carpenter. The Physical Education Building at New Hope High School is named in honor of Coach Carpenter. In addition to coaching and teaching at New Hope, he served nine years as the Mayor of New Hope. During his time as only the second Mayor of New Hope he secured funds that enabled New Hope to have the first rural YMCA facility in the Nation. His support of this facility enabled the Huntsville Metro YMCA to construct a gym and other facilities on a 17-acre complex in New Hope. Coach Carpenter had been married to his wife, Bertie, for 42 years when he passed away in 1975. Mrs. Bertie Carpenter still resides in New Hope.