Edwin “Ed” Allen, who guided the Cullman City School system as superintendent for 13 years, died Wednesday at his home in Vernon, Alabama. He was 83.

Allen was born in Vernon in 1933. Before entering education in 1957, he was a professional athlete, traveling the U.S. with his wife, Betty, as a baseball player with the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Over the course of his long career in education, he taught and coached in Pickens County, served as principal at Hackleburg High School in Marion County, as superintendent in Lamar County, and finally as superintendent of Cullman City Schools. He retired in 1990.

Allen led the Cullman City School system at a time when it was earning a reputation for excellence and academic achievement statewide. Former colleagues were quick to praise the quality of his stewardship Thursday — but it’s Allen’s genial nature and fair mindedness they remember with greatest affection. Allen was a tall, athletic, and personable figure who left a strong impression on those who encountered him.

“Ed Allen took Cullman City Schools to the forefront of education in Alabama, and he was an exemplary superintendent of an exemplary school system,” said Joyce Brown of Cullman. “And throughout the thirteen years he served as superintendent, he always made sure it stayed that way.”

Brown, whose lengthy career in education culminated in her own service as the city school system’s superintendent, got her start when Allen hired her into a staff position.

“I will be forever grateful for the opportunities that Ed Allen gave not only to me, but to so many other people, in education,” she said. “He hired me to the central office early in my career. On so many occasions, I saw him recognize others for their best qualities and give them the chance to realize their greatest potential. I consider him and his lovely wife, Betty, among my dear friends, and I’ll always be grateful for the opportunities he gave me.”

Former East Elementary Principal Doyle Bullard remembered Allen as a “courageous gentleman.”

“Ed was a dedicated administrator who knew how to manage school finances well during lean times,” Bullard said Thursday. “He made it very clear to us, during some very tough financial years of proration, that we were not going to incur debt — that we would live within our means. Through it all, he expected everyone to give extra effort so that our schools would exemplify high academic standards. He let us know that tight funding was not going to be an excuse for having poor programs, and I greatly admired that attitude.

“He was also very fair. He treated people equally, and expected all of the school system’s employees to play by the rules. And he set that example in his own conduct. He was a strong, courageous gentleman.”

A celebration of Allen’s life will take place at 2 p.m. Saturday at First Baptist Church in Vernon, preceded by a visitation from noon to 2 p.m. Chandler Funeral Home in Vernon is handling arrangements.