Considered one of the greatest athletes in University of North Carolina sports history, Albert Long earned seven varsity letters at UNC in the mid-1950s, including three in baseball, two in football, one in track and one in basketball. He is the only athlete in Atlantic Coast Conference history to letter in four sports. In 1955, he received the prestigious Patterson Medal, awarded to the University’s top student-athlete.

Long, an FCA Advisory Council member in 1965, asked Jesus to come into his heart at FCA’s National Conference in Estes Park, Colorado, in 1963. Thanks to the persistence of Ted Younglin, a Duke University assistant football coach, Long attended the conference and has continued to help advance the FCA mission ever since. His walk with Christ guided him to form Albert Long Happenings, Inc., in 1973, to travel across the country ministering to people of all ages.