Eddie Robinson (American football coach)
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Biographical details | |
---|---|
Born | Jackson, Louisiana, U.S. | February 13, 1919
Died | April 3, 2007 Ruston, Louisiana, U.S. | (aged 88)
Alma mater | Leland College University of Iowa |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
Football | |
1941–1997 | Grambling State |
Basketball | |
1943–1956 | Grambling State |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 408–165–15 (football) |
Bowls | 9–6 |
Tournaments | 0–3 (NCAA DI–AA playoffs) |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
17 SWAC (1960, 1965–1968, 1971–1974, 1977–1980, 1983, 1985, 1989, 1994) | |
College Football Hall of Fame Inducted in 1997 (profile) |
Eddie Gay Robinson Sr. (February 13, 1919 – April 3, 2007) was an American football coach. For 56 years, from 1941 to 1942 and again from 1945 to 1997, he was the head coach at Grambling State University, a historically black university (HBCU) in Grambling, Louisiana. Robinson is recognized by many college football experts as one of the greatest coaches of all time. During a period in college football history when black players were not allowed to play for southern college programs, Robinson built Grambling State into a "small" college football powerhouse. He retired in 1997 with a record of 408–165–15. Robinson coached every single game from the field and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997. Robinson is arguably the most successful college football coach in FCS history and has the third most victories in college football history.
Biography
Robinson was born in
Career
Robinson began his coaching career at Louisiana Negro Normal and Industrial Institute (now Grambling State University).[2] He applied for the job and was hired by the school's president and baseball coach, Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones. In his first year the team went 3–5–1, but the following season—during which he recruited new players and dismissed those who did not live up to his expectations—the Tigers had a perfect 9–0 season, going unbeaten, untied, and unscored upon.[3]
Robinson returned to the field in 1945, and remained at the school, which became Grambling College in 1946 and Grambling State University in 1973, until his retirement in 1997.[4]
More than 200 of his players went on to play in the
During his coaching career, Robinson compiled 45 winning seasons, including winning or sharing 17 Southwestern Athletic Conference championships and nine black college football national championships.[5] He was winless in his three NCAA playoff appearances.
Enormous publicity attended Robinson's record-breaking win with Grambling State in 1985. Some observers feared that the coach would become the target of white hatred, much as Henry Aaron had when he broke Babe Ruth's home run record. Instead Robinson reported that he did not receive a single hate letter, even from the legion of southern fans who worshipped
Eddie Robinson held several jobs other than football coach, including teaching at
In the days of segregation, Robinson had the pick of most of the good black high school football players in Louisiana, usually dividing them with Southern–a major reason why the game between the two schools was a major in-state rivalry long before it was moved to New Orleans as the Bayou Classic in 1974. He was able to maintain his success for much of the time after integration, recording just one losing season between 1960 and 1990. However, after three consecutive losing seasons in the mid-1990s, pressure mounted for the now 78-year old coach to resign. Fellow college coach Joe Paterno is quoted in the Grambling State press guide as saying, "Nobody has ever done or ever will do what Eddie Robinson has done for the game... Our profession will never, ever be able to repay Eddie Robinson for what he has done for the country and the profession of football."
In 1997 news escaped that Grambling was planning to dismiss him in mid-season. Public outcry—including condemnation from
Robinson developed Alzheimer's disease after his retirement.[7] He died on April 3, 2007, at Lincoln General Hospital in Ruston, Louisiana, after having been admitted earlier in the day.[8]
Robinson and his wife, Doris, who died at the age of ninety-six in September 2015,[9] had two children; Eddie, Jr. and Lillian Rose Robinson.
Awards and honors
In 1979 the Black College All Star Bowl committee named its award for outstanding NFL rookies from HBCUs the "Eddie G. Robinson Trophy;" its inaugural winner was Doug Williams.
Robinson received the Amos Alonzo Stagg Award from the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) in 1982 and the Amos Alonzo Stagg Coaching Award from the United States Sports Academy in 1985. Robinson was the 1992 winner of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award, which was established to honor the NCAA Division I football coach whose team excels on the field, in the classroom, and in the community; the award is named for Bobby Dodd, longtime head football coach of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and was established in 1976 to honor the values that Dodd exemplified.[17] Robinson was awarded the General Robert R. Neyland trophy by the Knoxville Quarterback club in 1999.[18]
Museum
In 2010, the Eddie G. Robinson Museum opened on GSU's campus.[19] The museum chronicles and celebrates the major accomplishments of the G-Men football program and former head coach Eddie Robinson.[20] The museum is 18,000 square feet and cost approximately $3.3 million to complete.[21]
In media
In the 1981 TV movie Grambling's White Tiger set in the 1960s, about the true story of Jim Gregory, the first white quarterback at Grambling, Robinson is played by Harry Belafonte.
Head coaching record
Football
Today's Grambling State University was Grambling College from 1946 through 1973.
It was Louisiana Negro Normal and Industrial Institute (commonly Louisiana Normal) from 1928 through 1945.
Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | NCAA# | TSN° | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Louisiana Normal Tigers (Independent) (1941–1945) | |||||||||
1941* | Louisiana Normal | 1–5–1 | |||||||
1942* | Louisiana Normal | 9–0 | |||||||
1943* | No team—World War II | ||||||||
1944* | No team—World War II | ||||||||
1945* | Louisiana Normal | 10–2 | W Flower[22] | ||||||
Grambling Tigers (Independent) (1946–1951) | |||||||||
1946* | Grambling | 6–6 | |||||||
1947* | Grambling | 10–2 | L Vulcan | ||||||
1948* | Grambling | 8–2 | |||||||
1949 | Grambling | 7–3–2 | |||||||
1950 | Grambling | 6–4–1 | |||||||
1951 | Grambling | 3–5–1 | |||||||
Grambling Tigers (Midwest Athletic Association) (1952–1957) | |||||||||
1952 | Grambling | 7–3–1 | 1–1–1 | 4th | |||||
1953 | Grambling | 8–2 | 2–1 | T–3rd | |||||
1955 | Grambling | 4–3–2 | 1–0–1 | 2nd | |||||
1955 | Grambling | 10–0 | 2–0 | W Orange Blossom Classic | |||||
1956 | Grambling | 8–1 | 1–1 | T–2nd | |||||
1957 | Grambling | 4–4 | 0–1 | 5th | |||||
Grambling Tigers (Southwestern Athletic Conference) (1958–1973) | |||||||||
1958 | Grambling | 6–3 | 1–3 | 6th | |||||
1959 | Grambling | 4–6 | 2–5 | T–5th | |||||
1960 | Grambling | 9–1 | 6–1 | T–1st | |||||
1961 | Grambling | 8–2 | 5–2 | T–2nd | |||||
1962 | Grambling | 6–2–2 | 3–2–2 | T–3rd | |||||
1963 | Grambling | 5–3–1 | 3–3–1 | T–4th | |||||
1964 | Grambling | 9–2 | 6–1 | 2nd | L Orange Blossom Classic | ||||
1965 | Grambling | 8–3 | 6–1 | 1st | L Pecan | ||||
1966 | Grambling | 6–2–1 | 4–2–1 | T–1st | |||||
1967 | Grambling | 9–1 | 6–1 | 1st | W Orange Blossom Classic | ||||
1968 | Grambling | 9–2 | 6–1 | 1st | W Pasadena | ||||
1969 | Grambling | 6–4 | 5–2 | 3rd | L Orange Blossom Classic | ||||
1970 | Grambling | 9–2 | 5–1 | 2nd | |||||
1971 | Grambling | 9–2 | 5–1 | 1st | |||||
1972 | Grambling | 11–2 | 5–1 | T–1st | W Pelican | ||||
1973 | Grambling | 10–3 | 5–1 | T–1st | W Boardwalk (Division II first round) L Grantland Rice (Division II semifinal) |
||||
Grambling State Tigers (Southwestern Athletic Conference) (1974–1997) | |||||||||
1974 | Grambling State | 11–1 | 5–1 | T–1st | W Pelican | ||||
1975 | Grambling State | 10–2 | 4–2 | T–1st | |||||
1976 | Grambling State | 8–4 | 4–2 | T–2nd | |||||
1977 | Grambling State | 10–1 | 6–0 | 1st | W Mirage |
||||
1978 | Grambling State | 9–1–1 | 5–0–1 | 1st | L Orange Blossom Classic | ||||
1979 | Grambling State | 8–3 | 5–1 | T–1st | 1 | ||||
1980 | Grambling State | 10–2 | 5–1 | T–1st | L NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal | 2 | |||
1981 | Grambling State | 6–4–1 | 4–1–1 | 2nd | |||||
1982 | Grambling State | 8–3 | 5–1 | 2nd | 10 | ||||
1983 | Grambling State | 8–1–2 | 6–0–1 | 1st | 10 | ||||
1984 | Grambling State | 7–4 | 5–2 | 3rd | |||||
1985 | Grambling State | 9–3 | 6–1 | 1st | L NCAA Division I-AA First Round | 8 | |||
1986 | Grambling State | 7–4 | 4–3 | T–3rd | |||||
1987 | Grambling State | 5–6 | 3–4 | T–5th | |||||
1988 | Grambling State | 8–3 | 5–2 | 2nd | 18 | ||||
1989 | Grambling State | 9–3 | 7–0 | 1st | L NCAA Division I-AA First Round | 19 | |||
1990 | Grambling State | 8–3 | 3–3 | T–3rd | |||||
1991 | Grambling State | 5–6 | 3–4 | T–6th | |||||
1992 | Grambling State | 10–2 | 6–1 | 2nd | W Heritage | ||||
1993 | Grambling State | 7–4 | 4–3 | 3rd | |||||
1994 | Grambling State | 9–3 | 6–1 | T–1st | L Heritage | 7 | |||
1995 | Grambling State | 5–6 | 4–3 | 4th | |||||
1996 | Grambling State | 3–8 | 2–5 | T–6th | |||||
1997 | Grambling State | 3–8 | 2–6 | T–7th | |||||
La. Normal / Grambling / Grambling St.: | 408–165–15[23] | 189–79–9 | |||||||
Total: | 408–165–15 | ||||||||
National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
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- Grambling was not an accredited college until 1949.
See also
- List of college football coaches with 200 wins
- List of presidents of the American Football Coaches Association
References
- ^ Joe Planas (October 7, 1985). "Robinson moves out front to bask in splendid glory". Baton Rouge Morning Advocate (sec. D, p. 1).
- ^ "Eddie Robinson 1919--2007".
- ^ "Eddie G. Robinson Museum".
- ^ "Eddie Robinson: African American football legend".
- The Advocate. April 5, 2007
- ^ "Farewell loss can't tarnish Robinson's winning legacy". southcoasttoday.com. November 30, 1997. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
- ^ Foster, Mary (August 2, 2004). "Ex-Grambling Coach Endures Alzheimer's". Associated Press. Archived from the original on August 3, 2004. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
- ^ Foster, Mary (April 4, 2007). "Legendary Grambling coach Robinson dies". Associated Press. Archived from the original on April 4, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2015.
- ^ "College Football News, Videos, Scores, Teams, Standings, Stats".
- ^ "Black College Bowl Honors NFL Rookie Doug Williams". Jet (vol. 55, no. 16, p. 52). Johnson Publishing Company. January 4, 1979.
- ^ "Eddie G. Robinson". encyclopedia.com. 2007. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
- ^ a b "Accomplishments". robinsonmuseum.com. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
- ^ "Central State Marauders, 'Tank' Younger Feted In L.A." Jet. May 22, 1989. p. 49.
- ^ "Eddie Robinson Trophy to be awarded". Deseret News (sec. D, p. 2). September 21, 1994.
- ^ "Fobbs Named the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year". gsutigers.com. January 22, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
- ^ "Introducing the Inaugural Eddie G. Robinson Classic". egrobinsonclassic.com. 2015. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
- ^ "Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation—Past Winners". Bobby Dodd Foundation. Archived from the original on December 1, 2008. Retrieved December 17, 2012.
- ^ "General Robert R Neyland Trophy". knoxqbclub.com. Retrieved January 31, 2018.
- ^ Samuel G. Freedman (February 12, 2010). "Louisiana Museum Confronts Segregation". The New York Times. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
- ^ "The scenic route: Simsboro to the Mississippi River".
- ^ Freedman, Samuel G. (February 12, 2010). "Louisiana Museum Confronts Segregation". The New York Times.
- ^ AP (January 2, 1946). "Louisiana Normal Is Flower Bowl Victor". Lubbock Morning Avalanche. Lubbock, Texas. Retrieved February 18, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Eddie G. Robinson Museum".