HAYNESVILLE – Visitation is Friday and a funeral service is Saturday afternoon at the Haynesville First Baptist Church for 2004 Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame inductee Alton “Red” Franklin, one of the state’s most accomplished and impactful high school football coaches.

Franklin, 89, passed away Sunday. Visitation is Friday from 5-8 p.m. at the First Baptist Church Family Life Center. The service is at 2 p.m. Saturday in the church with Rev. Rob Burns officiating.

He is survived by his wife Beth, a Haynesville native and his college sweetheart, and their three sons, Jeff, David and Tommy, along with seven grandchildren, one great grandchild, along with nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggested contributions to the church’s Playground Fund or the Haynesville Golden Tornado Quarterback Club, supporting football and athletics at the high school where Franklin built one of Louisiana’s greatest powerhouse programs in a very unlikely setting. Haynesville is a rural community located in north Louisiana’s Claiborne Paish not far from the Arkansas border, but has become known statewide and beyond because of the incredible success Franklin shaped in his 35-year career as head coach and since, watched proudly as his son David has continued the legacy.

Franklin led 11 Golden Tornado teams to small school state championships, four more to runner-up finishes, and won 365 games (365-76-8). He coached eight undefeated teams who were part of 33 consecutive winning seasons. Franklin’s teams captured 27 district titles and owned a streak of 15 consecutive district crowns at the end of his tenure following the 2001 season. Haynesville reached the state playoffs 31 times in an era when only the district champion and runner-up qualified.

He was state coach of the year six times in Haynesville’s classifications, 2A and later 1A. Twice (1985, 1993) Franklin was chosen Region 5 coach of the year by the National High School Athletic Association, making him a finalist for the national award.

In his last full decade as coach, the 1990s, with the Golden Tors competing in the state’s smallest football division (Class A), Franklin coached teams to a pair of mind-blowing upsets on the road at much larger programs with multiple state championships – Class 5A powers Evangel Christian in Shreveport, and West Monroe.

During the ‘90s, Haynesville won six state titles and in a stretch from 1990-96 went 96-4.

Franklin was also enshrined in the National High School Hall of Fame and the Louisiana High School Hall of Fame, along with the Louisiana College Hall of Fame, and served a two-year term as president of the Louisiana High School Coaches Association along with serving on the LHSCA’s executive committee and helping to create the Louisiana High School Sports Hall of Fame.

He retired as head coach in January 2002 but a year later returned to help David as line coach for several seasons, and ultimately coached football for more than 50 years. Haynesville named its football stadium in his honor.

Franklin was an annual participant in LSHOF induction weekends until his final few years, and rarely missed a Haynesville home game or a service at his church, where he served as a deacon.

Born in Centreville, Ala., he began his college football career playing one season for Paul “Bear” Bryant at the University of Alabama, then transferred to Louisiana College in Pineville where he met his future wife and graduated in 1961. Franklin was an assistant coach at Marksville and Springhill before getting the Haynesville position in 1966. After a 1-9 debut and another losing season, his Golden Tors began a span of success that continues almost 60 years later.