Coaching Legend Eddie Robinson Dies

[chagrin]

Too many bumping of old shit and blueballs garbage on the front page for me, here's some news:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...x.html?cnn=yes

Eddie Robinson dies at 88
Ex-Grambling coach won 408 games in 57-year career
Posted: Wednesday April 4, 2007 7:24AM; Updated: Wednesday April 4, 2007 9:52AM



Eddie Robinson, who started coaching at Grambling State in 1941, had a 408-165-15 career record and won nine national black college championships.
AP



RUSTON, La. (AP) -- Eddie Robinson, who sent more than 200 players to the NFL and won 408 games during a 57-year career, has died.

He was 88.

Super Bowl MVP quarterback Doug Williams, one of Robinson's former players, said the former Grambling State University coach died about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. Robinson had been admitted to Lincoln General Hospital on Tuesday afternoon.

"For the Grambling family this is a very emotional time," Williams said Wednesday. "But I'm thinking about Eddie Robinson the man, not in today-time, but in the day and what he meant to me and to so many people."

Robinson's was a career that spanned 11 presidents, several wars and the civil-rights movement.

His older records were what people remembered: in 57 years, Robinson set the standard for victories, going 408-165-15. John Gagliardi of St. John's, Minn., passed Robinson in 2003 and has 443 wins.

"The real record I have set for over 50 years is the fact that I have had one job and one wife," Robinson said.

He had been suffering from Alzheimer's, which was diagnosed shortly after he was forced to retire following the 1997 season, in which he won only three games. His health had been declining for years and he had been in and out of a nursing home during the last year.

Robinson said he tried to coach each player as if he wanted him to marry his daughter.

He began coaching at Grambling State in 1941, when it was still the Louisiana Negro Normal and Industrial Institute, and single-handedly brought the school from obscurity to international popularity.

Grambling first gained national attention in 1949 when Paul "Tank" Younger signed with the Los Angeles Rams and became the first player from an all-black college to enter the NFL. Suddenly, professional scouts learned how to find the little school 65 miles east of Shreveport near the Arkansas border.

Robinson sent over 200 players to the NFL, including seven first-round draft choices and Williams, who succeeded Robinson as Grambling's head coach in 1998. Others went to the Canadian Football League and the now-defunct USFL.

Robinson's pro stars included Willie Davis, James Harris, Ernie Ladd, Buck Buchanan, Sammy White, Cliff McNeil, Willie Brown, Roosevelt Taylor, Charlie Joiner and Willie Williams.

Robinson said he was inspired to become a football coach when a high school team visited the elementary school Robinson attended.

"The other kids wanted to be players, but I wanted to be like that coach," Robinson said. "I liked the way he talked to the team, the way he could make us laugh. I liked the way they all respected him."

Robinson was forced to retire after the 1997 season, after the once perennial powerhouse fell on tough times. His final three years on the sidelines brought consecutive losing seasons for the first time, an NCAA probe of recruiting violations and four players charged with rape.

As pressure mounted for him to step aside, even the governor campaigned to give him one last season so he could try to go out a winner.

But 1997 produced only three wins for the second straight year.

Robinson's teams had only eight losing seasons and won 17 Southwestern Athletic Conference titles and nine national black college championships. His den is packed with trophies, representing virtually every award a coach can win. He was inducted into every hall of fame for which he was eligible, and he received honorary degrees from such prestigious universities as Yale.

There's a page 2 but that would take too much space

[chagrin]

Dude was a class act, my old College buddy Toomy just shared this story with me:

yeah. i was working for the TV station, we were covering the state hall of fame. everson walls was there... so he was doing the inducting. i saw him sitting there by himself, so i started telling him about being a redskins fan, so he started telling me about doug williams like he & i had known each other for years.
But the amazing part was that a guy was there from sporting news. he was waiting for robinson to finish with me. i wasn't doing an interview or anything, so i told him, "thanks for your time coach,i'll let you get to him". he was like, "no, he can wiat, he's no more important than you are"

[Ultra Peanut]

Well, that sucks.

[DJ_is_the_realdeal]

Thanks for the post. He was a good man and a class act.

One of a kind.

[HemiEd]

I had never heard of Grambling until Buck Buchanan. Wasn't there a movie that covered a lot of the Eddie Robinson story? He made the world a better place, RIP.

[FAX]

You have to have a lot of respect for Eddie Robinson. I'm amazed to recall that he coached Buck. That was a long time ago.

RIP Coach.

FAX

[RJ]

Robinson also coached Ernie Ladd, along with Buck, along with another 200 players who played in the NFL. Four of them are in the NFL HOF.....Buck, Willie Davis, Willie Brown and Charlie Joiner.

RIP, Eddie Robinson, that's quite a legacy you leave behind.

[chagrin]

Originally Posted by RJ

Robinson also coached Ernie Ladd, along with Buck, along with another 200 players who played in the NFL. Four of them are in the NFL HOF.....Buck, Willie Davis, Willie Brown and Charlie Joiner.

RIP, Eddie Robinson, that's quite a legacy you leave behind.

Thanks for adding the info, dude

[chagrin]

I'm bumping this, you all should be ashamed of yourselves, football fans - there are 3 or 4 threads about the cheerleaders and you overlook an actual football story like this. The guy coached Buck Buchanan for pete's sake, and many other NFL players, and some hall of famers. Stand up and notice this dude, geesh!

Sorry the guy didn't coach a top program but this guy TOTALLY deserves respect and some good thoughts for what he accomplished.

[ROYC75]

The man was all class, a statue of class in a sport that takes meaness to win .

Sadly, an icon is missed with his passing....... RIP Eddie Robinson.