City to Honor Three Trailblazers with FAMU Lineage

Adjacent streets near campus will recognize College Football Hall of Fame coach and two educators who made their mark in Tallahassee

February 25, 2025

On Tuesday, March 4, the City of Tallahassee will honor three people with lasting tributes to their accomplishments – new street signage that bears their names. The street naming ceremony will be held outside the Alfred Lawson Jr. Multipurpose Center, 1800 Althea Gibson Way, at 10 a.m.

At its January 15 meeting, the Tallahassee City Commission voted unanimously to rename streets for former Florida A&M University football coach Rudy Hubbard and two alumnae, the late Dr. Carolyn Ryals and the late E. Lilyan Spencer, both educators and community servants.

"By honoring these three outstanding individuals, the City celebrates how they each uplifted the community, especially because of their contributions to education, athletics and community outreach," Mayor John Dailey said. "It's my hope that having these names prominently displayed on street signs will continue to inspire everyone who sees them."

East Osceola Street (from South Adams Street to Althea Gibson Way) will become Rudy Hubbard Way in honor of College Football Hall of Fame Coach Rudy Hubbard. Hubbard is an Ohio native and alumnus of The Ohio State University, but Tallahassee has been his home since he moved to the city in 1974 to become the head football coach at FAMU. Hubbard built a winning record at FAMU, 83-49-3 over 12 seasons, and he led the Rattlers to consecutive Black College Football National Championships in 1977 and 1978. He also led the team to win the inaugural NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship in 1978. (FAMU remains the only historically black college to win.) During his tenure, eight of Hubbard's players went on to play in the National Football League, and one went on to a career in Major League Baseball. Prior to leading the Rattlers, Hubbard served six seasons as Ohio State's first Black assistant coach. After a coaching hiatus in Tallahassee, Hubbard reappeared as the head football coach at James S. Rickards High School from 2008-2011. He was recognized for his coaching career as a 1990 FAMU Hall of Fame inductee, a 2021 College Football Hall of Fame inductee and a 2021 recipient of Tallahassee's Key to the City.

Okaloosa Street (from Keith Street to Althea Gibson Way) will be named Dr. Carolyn Ryals Way in honor of the late Dr. Carolyn J. Ryals. Ryals, a Boca Grande native, moved to Tallahassee in 1953 to pursue higher education at FAMU. She went on to attain a bachelor's degree in business, a master's degree in education from Indiana University and a Ph.D. in education from Nova Southeastern University. She embraced Tallahassee as her adoptive home. The three-time Teacher of the Year at FAMU Developmental Research School owned the KopyKat Copy Center, and she was a devoted community servant whose volunteer work included Bethel Missionary Baptist Church and the Coalition for the Homeless. In 2016 Ryals was recognized by the City of Tallahassee's Senior Center as a "Silver Star," a servant leader who is singled out for a positive outlook, active lifestyle and dedication to others since the age of 60. She passed away in 2024.

Campbell Street (from St. Marks Street to Althea Gibson Way) will receive the honorary designation of E. Lilyan Spencer Memorial Way, for the late Eldis Lilyan Spencer, a lifelong Tallahassee resident who was born in 1905. She graduated from Lincoln High School and earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics with certification in administration and supervision from Florida A&M College (FAMC). Spencer played on the segregated national tennis circuit in her 20s, winning 10 state championships and, in 1937, a national championship. From 1941-1951, Spencer taught math and served as principal, athletic director and coach of the boys and girls basketball teams at Bond Junior High School, now Bond Elementary. She served on the Leon County Negro Auxiliary Christmas Seals Committee for year-round tuberculosis control and chaired the Negro Division of the March of Dimes campaign, raising more money for children with polio than any other division. Spencer also played an integral role in establishing the Bond Community Credit Union. She passed away in 1957. Her legacy lives on in her community at the Speed-Spencer-Stephens Park on Saxon Street, named in 1996 for Spencer and two fellow neighborhood activists. Permanent signage will be placed at appropriate locations dedicating the roadway as E. Lilyan Spencer Memorial Way. Since the honorary designation recognizes that the roadway is in memory of E. Lilyan Spencer, no changes to the actual street name nor addresses will be made.