If you’re a regular listener of “The Paul Finebaum Show,” then you’ve heard the calls from “Phyllis from Mulga” (real name: Phyllis Chapple-Perkins). You’d be hard-pressed to find a bigger Alabama fan than Perkins, who would fight tooth and nail to defend the Crimson Tide.
After a battle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), Phyllis passed away on Wednesday morning, according to her son, Christopher.
“My Mother was an inspiration to anyone fighting for their lives,” Christopher wrote on his mother’s Facebook page. “She beat lung cancer, years later she beat breast cancer. And for the last few years battled COPD until her fight finally ended this morning.”
As her son alluded to, Phyllis endured plenty of hardships, battling lung cancer and breast cancer herself, while also losing her daughter and husband to the terrible disease. Phyllis’ son, Christopher, wrote that she passed away peacefully while holding his hand.
“We are all heartbroken to learn the news,” Finebaum told AL.com.
“In the history of our show, she is easily a Mount Rushmore caller — one of the greatest of all time. Underneath the bravado, she was a lovely and dear friend who meant so much to so many.”
Finebaum later took to Twitter to offer a tribute to one of his show’s best callers and personalities.
With a heavy heart, wishing a final farewell to Phyllis Chapple-Perkins. Known to so many as The Bama Avenger…The First Lady of the Finebaum Show…or, simply, Phyllis from Mulga.
An unforgettable force of a woman, she helped define this show as a place where college football… pic.twitter.com/1pgnT2aK8I
— Paul Finebaum (@finebaum) May 11, 2023
Christopher wanted to make sure he set the record straight on his mother, who many knew as a radio caller with a fiery persona.
“Those of you who knew her radio personality Phyllis Of Mulga may be under the wrong impression of her character, allow me to correct that,” her son wrote.
“The fire in her calls was always to pull for an underdog or to defend someone being unjustly attacked. She was the kind of woman instead of being buried in her breast cancer wig she adored, she asked me to donate it to a cancer patient in need. Her faith in God was stalwart and absolutely unshakable even in the face of disease and losing both of her daughters and her husband, my Father. She would rather give you something than keep it herself. She never greeted anyone with anything but a smile and a hug. The world lost a good woman today, but Heaven now has a warrior angel the devil himself doesn’t want to cross.”
Surely, more tributes will start to pour in for one of the greatest callers that ESPN and “The Paul Finebaum Show” have ever seen.
