Allan Fulton Worthington

Allan Fulton Worthington, age 97, of Birmingham, Alabama, passed away peacefully on June 18, 2026. Born February 5, 1929 in Birmingham, he was the son of Walter and Lake Worthington. He was married to Shirley Worthington for 74 years until her death in 2024.

A standout athlete, "Al" attended Phillips High School before playing football and baseball at the University of Alabama. A football injury led him to the baseball diamond full-time, where he became a standout pitcher. He arrived in Major League Baseball in 1953 and enjoyed a 14-year career in the Major Leagues. During his career he played with the San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox, Chicago

White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, and Minnesota Twins. He had the honor of playing in two World Series.

After his baseball career, Al started the baseball program at Liberty University. That baseball program has remained strong long after he left. He wanted to impact young men for Jesus Christ, even sending some of his players up to the Major Leagues where he ministered faithfully for many years.

While baseball was Al's career, it was not his greatest passion. In 1958, while playing for the San Francisco Giants, he came to a saving faith in Jesus Christ while attending a Billy Graham crusade. The message of forgiveness of sin and a promised eternal life in Heaven through faith in Jesus Christ became his driving force and greatest passion. He shared his faith with everyone he came in contact with. He viewed his baseball platform as his ministry. God gave him his ministry of signing baseball cards all the way up to a few days before his death.

Al was preceded in death by his parents, Walter and Lake Worthington, and his wife, Shirley Worthington. He is survived by his children, Linda Malcolm, Alan Worthington, Michelle Adkins, Marshal Worthington, and Daniel Worthington; grandchildren and great-grandchildren; brother, Charles Worthington; and sisters, Mary Alice Booker and Edna Earl Warren.

A memorial service will be held at Shades Mountain Community Church in Birmingham on July 11, 2026 at 1:30 p.m. CST.