A great American is laid to rest
LUT WILLIAMS
BCSP Editor
Former Grambling State University football coach Eddie Robinson was fittingly laid to rest Wednesday close to the place where he made history.
From the same tiny campus in the back woods of North
Louisiana where he authored many of his legendary 408 wins, the place
whose name Robinson helped make famous and synonymous with
excellence, his final service was held.
It's not hard to imagine what was said of the man who spent 57 years as the school's football coach and 67 years with his other great love, his wife Doris.
He was more than a coach. And more coaches should be like Eddie Robinson.
There should be more that care as much about graduation rates as winning percentages. There should be more that care as much about winning at the game of life than winning a game.
There should be more coaches that spend time preparing their players for life after sports.
Simply, there should be more coaches that care. Coach Rob cared, and it showed in everything he did.
He will be remembered for caring more about graduation than adulation.
He'll be remembered for treating each player like he was going to marry him to his daughter.
He'll be remembered for enduring and prospering despite great odds and for being a great American.
It's no coincidence that Robinson's pupil, Paul "Tank" Younger, was the first black college player to make it in the NFL in 1949 and later became a two-way star in the league. Or that Younger went on to became one of the league's first black executives.
It's also no coincidence that almost 40 years after Younger's entrance, another of Robinson's prized pupils, former Grambling QB Doug Williams in 1988 became the first black quarterback to win a Super Bowl after chasing the Heisman Trophy during his Grambling career. Or that Williams and fellow former Grambling QB James Harris are two front office executives in the NFL today.
Don't chalk it up to coincidence that former star Grambling players Willie Brown and Charlie Joiner are NFL assistants. Or that Brown, Joiner, Willie Davis and Junius "Buck" Buchanan are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, or that Robinson was a presenter for two of them at their induction ceremonies. Or that over 200 of his former charges have gone on to play in the NFL or that a greater legion of former players have gone on to pursue careers teaching young people and most not even in the game of football. Business executives, college presidents, mothers and fathers all learned from Robinson's hand.
Coach Robinson made the Grambling name equal with the greatest traditions in American college sports. He, his players and his school are mentioned right up there with the likes of Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Ohio State when it comes to college football. That's quite an accomplishment.
The next time you go to a Black College Football Classic game in a major NFL venue, or see a black college team play on national television, know that it was primarily Coach Robinson, former Grambling publicist, the late Collie J. Nicholson and former Grambling President, the late Dr. Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones, who paved the way by taking the Grambling team with its band in tow, from Yankee Stadium to Hawaii and even to Japan, and laid the groundwork.
Before Wednesday's service, The Coach was already getting a well-deserved hero's sendoff.
His body lay in state at the Louisiana state Capitol in Baton Rouge on Monday, just the sixth person, first sports figure and second African-American to have that honor. Only giants of our world get to lie in repose at a state Capitol. His body was carried up a long stretch of granite steps at the Capitol by a group of former players, including Williams, and passed between a long line of white-gloved former players. Members of Grambling's famed band played the national anthem after the casket was placed at one end of the Memorial Hall. The long line of players passed a football between them before giving it to his wife, who placed it in the coffin while resting her hand on his head.
Close to 6,000 people filed by over the course of the day to pay their final respects. A memorial service for family, former coaches and players was held in the morning and later Monday his body was taken to the House Chamber for another memorial service.
No one will ever be able to take away what Robinson and others like the late John McLendon and the late Clarence "Big House" Gaines did for black people, black colleges and for America. They dared to dream big, break down barriers and create a legacy to build upon.
Let's make sure we follow suit.
© 2007 Azeez Communications, Inc.