Monday, February 13, 2012

Today in Sports History: Legendary Birthdays


February 13
Legendary Birthdays

If you want to be a legendary coach in college sports, and your birthday is today, then you have a pretty good shot.  Two coaches at the top of their respective sports share today as their birthday—Eddie Robinson and Mike Krzyzewski. 

In 1941, even before the United States of America was in World War II, Eddie Robinson was working for a feed mill during the day, and at night, he drove an ice truck, until someone told him that the Louisiana Negro Normal and Industrial Institute was looking for a football head coach.  He became the 6th head coach for the football team at what would become Grambling State University.  It wouldn’t be until 57 years later until the school got its 7th.  

In the meantime, Eddie Robinson racked up over 400 victories.  When he retired in 1997, his 408 victories while strolling the Grambling sideline were a record for Division I football coaches.  His resume is solid with over 200 players that went on the play in the National Football League.  One of them, Doug Williams, led the Washington Redskins to a Super Bowl victory over the Denver Broncos in 1988.  It was Williams who would become the school’s 7th head coach, replacing Robinson for the 1998 season. 

Robinson’s first season at the helm was not spectacular by any stretch of the imagination.  The team went just 3-5.  However, he cut several players before the next season, since he felt they were not living up to expectations.  He got through to his team as they went undefeated the next year in 9 games.  What’s more, they did not yield a single point all season long—a feat that only one other team had accomplished, and none has since.

While his list of accomplishments could, and has, fill a book, what many remember most about him is what he stood for—character.  Everson Walls, who would star in the NFL, said, “Coach Rob did a lot more for us than teach us about football. He used to come through the halls early in the morning with a cowbell, waking us up for class and for church.”

Robinson’s eventual successor, Doug Williams, “…he always preached that no man is too big to coach the American youth.”

Robinson’s last game came November 29th, 1997.  Grambling State took on Southern and lost in the Bayou Classic.  April 3rd, 2007, Eddie Robinson passed away, a victim of Alzheimer’s disease.  He was born on this day in 1919.

Meanwhile, the book on Mike Krzyzewski is not complete.  You know that he is the head coach for the University of Duke Blue Demons basketball team.  You know that in 2011, he became the all-time winningest Division I basketball coach. 

Coach K grew up in Chicago and was a 3-year letterman at the United States Military Academy under head coach Bobby Knight.  After being captain for the 1969 season, Krzyzewski served 5 years in the Army until 1974.  He would reunite with Coach Knight, now at Indiana University.  He stayed in Bloomington for only one year as he would return to West Point to begin his own illustrious career. 

The rest is history.  4 NCAA championships, 11 Final Four appearances, 12 regular season ACC titles, 13 ACC tournament banners, and over 900 wins…the most ever by a DI coach.

Yes, if you want to be a legendary college coach, it would benefit you to have February 13th as your birthday, for you would share it with Eddie Robinson (1919) and Mike Krzyzewski (1947).




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