They began arriving soon after the sun came up over the piney woods: football greats, government figures and everyday people – all of them there to say goodbye to former Grambling football coach Eddie Robinson.
About 5,000 people attended Wednesday’s funeral – just across the street from the stadium where Robinson and his players made history in Grambling, La.
“It’s like coming to your father’s funeral,” said Robert “Big Bird” Smith, who played for Robinson and was an assistant coach during Robinson’s final four years at Grambling. “He was like a father to everyone that ever played for him.”
The funeral wrapped up three days of mourning that stretched across the state from Memorial Hall at the state Capitol in Baton Rouge to Memorial Garden, a cemetery 2 miles from the college.
A plywood sign hung at the Grambling exit off Interstate 20 read “Eddie Robinson, La.” And for the people of this little city and school, it certainly seemed that way.
Robinson died last week at 88. He was widely admired as one of the nation’s winningest college football coaches and as a mentor to the young black men whose lives he influenced for 57 years.
“He was the most influential person in my life,” said Charlie Joiner, now a wide receivers coach with the Kansas City Chiefs. “His first lesson for all of us was to first become a good American, then a good football player.”
The 26 pallbearers included at least 15 former NFL players, some of the more than 200 Robinson sent to that league.
Former players slapped each other on the back, and hugged as they waited for the service to begin. Some brought cow bells and rang them, a reminder of Robinson’s trips through the athletic dorm to wake players for class or church.
“Every guy here hears that bell every morning in his mind,” Smith said. “It’s part of what Coach left with us.”
Southern California: Ralph Heywood, an All-America end in 1943 who later served in three wars as a Marine, died Tuesday of unknown causes in Bandera, Texas. He was 85.
Poinsettia Bowl: Navy will return to the game in San Diego if it wins at least six games this season. If eligible, Navy would play the second selection from the Mountain West Conference.
