R.C. Hatch High School legendary coach Eugene Mason, who holds the Alabama High School Association state record for career coaching wins, passed away Tuesday.

Mason was at Keith High School Tuesday, assisting Bears head coach Cecil Williams in getting his team ready for Friday’s 1A state championship game against Spring Garden, when he collapsed. He was rushed to Vaughan Regional Medical Center, where he died.

The cause of death is not yet known.

The AHSAA put out a press release with the following statement: “Our prayers go out to Coach Mason’s family and his extended R.C. Hatch High School family.”

There isn’t a basketball coach in state history that can match Mason’s incredible resume. He finished with 919 wins and 303 losses during his 40-year career with the Bobcats. Mason’s seven championships are also tied for the most in state history and his wins are the most all-time.

Mason was inducted into the AHSAA hall of fame in 2006. During his storied career, he also coached in the Alabama-Mississippi and North-South all-star games.

He officially retired from coaching at the end of the 2004-2005 season, but Williams said he never actually stopped. Since Williams started coaching at Keith seven years ago, Mason was in Orrville nearly every day for Bears’ practices.

“He was here every day,” Williams said. “He might have missed a week [altogether this year], because when we would practice and didn’t have a game, he would always go to all the R.C. Hatch games. Other than that, he was here at practice every day.”

Williams said he played only one year of basketball at R.C. Hatch before graduating in 1999, but he was close to Mason from a young age. Like Mason, Williams’ mother was a P.E. teacher at R.C. Hatch, which gave him a chance to get close with the basketball legend.

“Ever since I can remember, since I was about 5… I would stay with the guys and watch them practice just about every day,” Williams said. “He took me under his wing and showed me different things about the game, and I appreciate that.”

When Williams took over as the boys B-team basketball coach and eventually became the head girls coach at Keith, Mason started to help at practice. Williams said on many of those days he’d end up sitting back to watch Mason do what he loved — helping kids become their best.

“A lot of days we couldn’t practice, because he would come over and take over practice,” Williams said with a smile. “I’d just have to sit to the side and take notes.”

Williams said everything he knows about coaching basketball came from Mason and when the Bears take the court for their 1A championship game Friday at 8:45 a.m., the team will be playing for Mason.

Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.