1926-2015
Harry Blackwell Brock Jr. was an innovative leader in banking in Alabama whose hard work and business acumen changed the structure of the banking industry in the state. His efforts in leading a small group of investors in 1964 to open Birmingham's first new bank in 18 years laid the foundation for the city to become a major regional banking center.
Brock was instrumental in the passage in 1980 of the Statewide Bank Merger bill that allowed bank branching across county lines. Later, he led his bank, Central Bancshares, to purchase a Texas bank, the first in Alabama to own a bank in another state.
Brock gave generously of his time, expertise and financial resources to help make Birmingham and Alabama a better place in which to live. Among the institutions that benefitted from his efforts were the University of Alabama, Southern Research Institute, the Gorgas Scholarship Foundation and Samford University. He served Samford as a trustee from 1962 until his death in 2015.
Harry Blackwell Brock Jr. was inducted into the Alabama Men's Hall of Fame in 2019.