State Fair Classic to honor Eddie Robinson

By KATE HAIROPOULOS, The Dallas Morning News

State Fair Classic
Prairie View vs. Grambling St.
6 p.m. Sat., Cotton Bowl

Ex-Grambling coach to be remembered before State Fair Classic

The legendary, late Eddie Robinson coached his final game at the Cotton Bowl a decade ago, on Oct. 4, 1997.

"Long live Dallas and the football fans," Robinson said then. "I am aware of the fact Eddie Robinson has had a good life in football, and I am a lucky man."

Saturday, Dallas will honor Robinson's memory at the annual Southwest Airlines State Fair Classic between Prairie View A&M and Robinson's Grambling State.

Robinson died in April at the age of 88 after a long battle with Alzheimer's.

His Tigers' 33-6 victory over Prairie View in 1997 was the 407th win of his career. He finished with 408, a national record when he retired at the end of the 1997 season after 57 seasons.

Dallas mayor Tom Leppert will present Robinson's widow, Doris, with a ceremonial award during Saturday's pregame show. She will be escorted by former Grambling player and coach Doug Williams, the former NFL Super Bowl MVP.

The Grambling and Prairie View bands, best known for their halftime battles, will perform together before the game to honor "Coach Rob."

"Coach Robinson, what he was able to do at Grambling is remarkable, and I don't think you'll ever see that again," said Rod Broadway, the first-year Grambling coach. "He's probably 40 or 50 years ahead of his time of how he was able to build that program, take a little, small town in northern Louisiana and put it on the national map."

As usual, Prairie View will be the underdog Saturday, having lost 19 straight to Grambling.

Grambling won 53-7 last year and has scored 50 or more points each of the last four meetings.

Grambling is 2-1 with wins over Alcorn State and Alabama A&M and a 34-10 loss at Pittsburgh. Prairie View is 2-1 with wins over Texas Southern and North Carolina A&T and a 12-2 loss last week to Southern.

Broadway, who came from North Carolina Centraland and is experiencing his first State Fair Classic, said the Tigers' dominance in the series doesn't affect Saturday's game.

That's something fourth-year Prairie View coach Henry Frazier III, who touted the program's rebuilding efforts, stressed Monday.

"We promise you," he said, "this year, you're not going to leave after halftime."

Southwest Airlines State Fair Classic: Prairie View A&M (2-1) vs. Grambling State (2-1), 6 p.m. Saturday, Cotton Bowl (pregame festivities start at 5:15)