409 Wins? The Coach Who Has Paterno Beat

COLLEGEVILLE, Minnesota - Joe Paterno continues to make history.

On Saturday, Paterno, the 84-year-old Penn State football coach, passed Eddie Robinson for the most victories in the history of Division I college football. Penn State’s victory over Illinois was the 409th of a head-coaching career than spans more than four decades — all of them at one institution. In an emotional presentation after the game, Paterno accepted congratulations and praised the memory of Robinson, the Grambling State coach who died in 2007.

While Paterno stands alone among Division I football coaches, there is one coach whom he stands behind: John Gagliardi at St. John’s University in Minnesota. As Paterno celebrated a high-profile accomplishment at Penn State, Gagliardi was adding to a victory total that Paterno, in all likelihood, will never surpass. With a 47-14 victory over Carleton College on Saturday, Gagliardi has won 482 games in a head-coaching career that covers more than six decades.



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Paterno passes Eddie Robinson on career victories list; acknowledges impact of Jake Gaither (FAMU) and Coach Rob

STATE COLLEGE, Pennsylvania -- If it's Joe Paterno's final season -- one spent mostly away from the field on game day, sitting high up in the press box -- fans might see a coach out of touch with his players. He doesn't stand on the sidelines. He doesn't wear headphones. He doesn't call plays.

But his staff -- particularly his son -- sees it differently.

"This might be one of the best jobs Joe's done of coaching, getting kids to buy into team-first, just win, the whole 9 yards," Penn State assistant Jay Paterno said. "Don't worry about personal accolades, personal statistics. Don't worry about playing time. Just (concentrate on) we're going to continue to win. We've got plain uniforms. This is vintage Joe Paterno. "And you know what, if it keeps working, why mess with it?"

Paterno picked up another honor, passing former Grambling State University coach Eddie Robinson by recording his 409th career victory and becoming the all-time victories leader in NCAA Division I football. Paterno held the distinction of winning more games than any coach in major college football before the season began, but Robinson's teams -- although not considered major -- went 408-165-15 from 1941 through 1997. Paterno's teams improved to 409-136-3 during his 46 seasons as a head coach.




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Former GSU's Gary 'Big Hands' Johnson dead at 57

Gary “Big Hands” Johnson, a Chargers Hall of Famer and one of the most dominant defensive tackles in club history, died yesterday, two weeks after suffering a stroke. Johnson, also a member of the College Football Hall of Fame after an outstanding career at Grambling State University, died at LSU Medical Center in Shreveport, La., the city in which he was born. He was 57.

Johnson was the eighth player chosen in the 1975 draft and played for the Chargers from 1975-84 before finishing his career with San Francisco in 1984 and 1985. Johnson was voted an All-Pro in 1980 (when he had 17 1/2 sacks) and 1981 and was named to the Pro Bowl in four straight seasons (1979-82). The Chargers won the AFC West in three of those seasons and made the playoffs in all four.

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Meet Grambling Legend Melvin Lee

For Grambling's ageless Eddie Robinson, Melvin Lee was a constant.

Over nearly five decades, Lee either played for Robinson or coached beside him. Yet he remains a shadowy figure in his old boss' march to a still-standing Division I record of 408 career football victories.

Lee, unassuming and fiercely steadfast as an offensive assistant, was most comfortable outside of the spotlight. But his fingerprints are all over the Robinson era. He was there for more than 300 of the College Hall of Famer's wins, and every league title Robinson ever claimed -- eventually earning such profound respect from Robinson that the two would collaborate on playcalling.

It's fitting, then, that Lee has claimed a spot in the Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame, a collection that already includes a trio of those whom Lee credits with propelling him into a life around football.

"It started at the top, of course," said Lee, who still lives on Martin Luther King Drive in Grambling. Former school president "R.W.E. Jones set the stage and then (longtime sports information director) Collie J. Nicholson gave us so much attention in news print. That helped Coach Robinson focus on being a consistent fundamentalist. They allowed us to learn and progress as the years went by."

The 2010 Legends induction ceremonies will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday, July 17, at the Monroe Civic Center. Admission is $60 per person, and $500 for a table of eight, with all proceeds going to the non-profit Legends group for distribution in support athletics at Grambling. Tickets can be purchased at the Monroe Civic Center box office. Call 329-2837.

Lee attended Clark High in New Orleans, where he said he earned a spot on the All-City district football team, and planned to play football at Dillard -- until a friend convinced him to enroll at Grambling. He tried out for the Tiger football team in 1952, meeting a lasting friend and mentor in Robinson. Undersized at 175, Lee nevertheless played both ways for Grambling -- as center and linebacker. In 1955, Lee would be part of a group that earned the program's first black college national championship.

"To the individuals on the team, we remember it like it was yesterday," Lee said. "We're proud the fact that we didn't allow more than 24 points in any game that year. The offense was based around the tailback; there was never a question about passing. We ran to the right most of the time. We more or less came right at you." In going 10-0, Lee and a group of talents that included future Pro Football Hall of Famer Willie Davis would establish just the second undefeated record in Grambling's history, and still its most recent.

"As we played for that championship, Coach talked about giving your best effort and that, looking back, you would see this as your finest hour," Lee said. "I'm sure most of us look back and realize that was a fantastic time. It can only happen to a few individuals, and not very often."

Two years in the Army followed, and Lee ended up back in New Orleans, where he was offered a job as a cement finisher. Then Robinson called.

Photo by Darryl D. Smith

Returning to the piney hills of Lincoln Parish in 1960 was a dream come true. "We gained so much from our time with Coach," Lee said. "We got a chance to see the country and a portion of the world. It was something that being in a smaller school, you never thought would happen."

Thoughtful and precise, Lee will never be confused with the stair-stepping assistants of today. Rather than looking for the next great job, he was looking for the next great play. "Being in charge wasn't the most important thing to me," Lee said. "Seeing things work well was."

The consummate players' coach, Lee was the first one they turned to when things went awry. That created an almost familial bond. "Coach always took up for his linemen, no matter what happened," said former Grambling quarterback Doug Williams, a fellow 2010 Legends inductee. "Coach Rob would say: 'Hell, Melvin, you've got to stop taking up for them.'" "I've heard that a few times," Lee admits, with a chuckle.

The milestones and memories were many: 17 Southwestern Athletic Conference championships, most for any program. Celebrated trips to Japan, to Hawaii, to Yankee Stadium. The formation of the Bayou Classic game against in-state foe Southern at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans.

By the mid-1970s, after fellow Grambling assistant Douglas Porter had launched his own College Hall of Fame head coaching career, offers began arriving for Lee, as well. He stayed. "Back then, we were going everywhere -- Tokyo, Los Angeles, New York -- and I knew I'd have to give that up if I left," he said. "There was always something new and entertaining going on at Grambling."

There would be many more memories, and many, many more milestones: The opening of Robinson Stadium. Advancing past Paul "Bear" Bryant's mythical mark for career victories, then the unfathomable 400-win plateau.

Lee continued, all along, quietly tinkering with Grambling's familiar Wing-T offense, something that endlessly entertained the professorial assistant. Lee somehow found time to return to school, as well, earning a master's degree at nearby Louisiana Tech in 1969.

"We called him 'Silent Lee,'" Davis said. "But he has one of the very best football minds."

At practice, Lee kept a pencil behind one ear, and pieces of paper either in hand or stuffed in his pockets. He was always ready to scribble down what Robinson said, to update their plan. During the game, he'd break down the opponents through a trusty pair of binoculars, looking for the tiniest opening. "It would be impossible to describe how much Melvin Lee meant to me over all these years," Robinson said, late in their career together. "It was his genius that helped make our Wing-T offense so effective for so long."

Bayou Classic 2009 from Darryl D. Smith on Vimeo.

They walked out of the Superdome, one last time, after the season finale in 1997 -- the legend and the right-hand man. Lee has spent the ensuing years, unsurprisingly, largely unnoticed. Most days, you'll find him working in his yard with wife Pauline. He's also been tending to another relationship that's never wavered, refurbishing a property that was damaged by Hurricane Katrina back in his hometown.

Lee makes only rare public appearances, as when Robinson was honored upon his passing in 2007 with an all-day memorial in Baton Rouge, something typically reserved for heads of state. There, Lee found himself, suddenly, in the middle of this maelstrom of memory. It seemed every Grambling generation wanted to take a photograph on the Louisiana State Capitol's imposing granite steps alongside the former assistant. He carefully moved the conversation, then as now, back to Eddie Robinson -- back to the time they shared together.

The two men remain inseparable, connected in memory as they once were on the field.
Lee, ever the loyalist, doesn't mind. "We all looked up to him, and the country would recognize how special he was in later years," Lee said of Robinson. "As individuals, we were really impressed by his leadership. He always inspired you. There was always something that was different and unique and very stimulating."

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Meet Mackie Freeze, 2010 Grambling Legends Inductee

Mackie Freeze, known today as a sideline icon at Richwood (La.) High, had already established his credentials during a memorable stint as a student athlete at Grambling.Freeze had previously coached at Montgomery (La.) High before his stay on the bench with the Rams. He retired to become an assistant principal at Richwood, and later worked for the city of Monroe.

Freeze was a standout pitcher, helping the Tigers win 120 of 137 baseball games over his final three college seasons. That included Grambling's first-ever national NAIA championship under the late coach R.W.E. "Prez" Jones, who was also the school's second president.

Jones had first spotted Freeze trying out a curve ball in the yard. "Boy, you're a pitcher," Freeze remembers "Prez" saying. Was he ever. Freeze never lost a game on the mound at Grambling, and even subbed — though, at Jones' direction, quite sparingly — as a guard on the football team under Eddie Robinson.

That two-sport effort has helped earn Freeze induction into the Grambling Legends Hall of Fame, in ceremonies to be held at 6 p.m. Saturday, July 17, 2010, at the Monroe Civic Center in Monroe, LA. Admission is $60 per person, and $500 for a table of eight, with all proceeds going to the non-profit Legends group for distribution in support athletics at Grambling. Tickets can be purchased at the Monroe Civic Center box office. Call 329-2837.

The Dodgers baseball organization actually signed Freeze out of college, where he said he participated in training camp with Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese and Roy Campanella. But the son of Sterlington's Jhonnie and Mamie Freeze always wanted to work with young people.

Coaching at Richwood for 13 seasons ending in 1967, he guided scores of youth to Grambling — among them Goldie Sellers, a two-time all-conference honoree; Charles "Tank" Smith, part of Philadelphia's 1980 Super Bowl squad; and Amos Augustine, a member of the team that earned Robinson his historical 200th career win.

"If kids knew that you loved them, they would do anything for you," Freeze said. "If they don't love you, you can't win." And win, they did.

Freeze earned victory in 116 of 139 prep football games at Richwood, including a staggering 66 in a row. His Rams claimed four consecutive state titles from 1961-64, though the last was won by forfeit — so Freeze never counted it. They were also district champions from 1960-62.

"We were pretty good, though we didn't get as much coverage back then," said Sellers, who then helped Grambling to a league title 1965 and became a Super Bowl champion with the Kansas City Chiefs four seasons later. "A lot of those guys didn't have fathers, so guys like Coach Freeze and Coach Robinson were our father figures. The things that they taught us eventually helped us so much."

That started with building out from nothing. Freeze was handed $300 in 1954 and asked to start a football program at Richwood, south of Monroe. Freeze would pull out a paddle he carried with him, this attention-grabber called "Papa." More important than the wins to Freeze now, is this: Some 65 southside youngsters found their way to college on athletic scholarships. In all, 11 of his players who were drafted or signed to pro football contracts.

He called on north Louisiana coaching legends like Neville High's Bill Ruple, who Freeze said donated football pants to the fledgling team. He got shoulder pads, he said, from West Monroe High. Despite those struggles, Freeze never coached a losing season.

"They were good country boys," Freeze said, "boys who wanted to play. The first boy I had go to college, (eventual Richwood coaching successor) Eugene Hughes, walked 5 or 6 miles to school every day. He used to pick cotton after practice." Football, then, was a respite.

As long as it was well played.

Even as Richwood won, and won and won, Freeze standards couldn't be lowered. His diamond-hard gaze toward future success never wavered. Sometimes, Freeze could sense a lack of focus, prior to kickoff — or even with a sizeable lead. That wouldn't do.
Freeze would pull out a paddle he carried with him, this attention-grabber called "Papa." "His method of coaching included hard times," said former Richwood standout Don Zimmerman, a teammate of "Tank" Smith's on that 1980 NFC champion Eagles team, chuckling.

"But as you get older, you look back and see what Coach was trying to do. He was trying to teach us that life is not a bed of roses. You have to work hard. That was one thing he instilled in everybody who played for him."

More important than the wins to Freeze now, is this: Some 65 southside youngsters found their way to college on athletic scholarships. In all, 11 of his players who were drafted or signed to pro football contracts.

Freeze had previously coached at Montgomery (La.) High before his stay on the bench with the Rams. He retired to become an assistant principal at Richwood, and later worked for the city of Monroe.
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For details on the event and the Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame's 14 other inductees, go to www.gramblinglegends.net.

Grambling Legends' 2010 Sports Hall of Fame Class Announced

Fifteen contributors from Grambling State University lore – including Super Bowl XXII MVP Doug Williams – have earned 2010 induction into the Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame.

This year’s honorees also include two-time American Football League all-star Garland Boyette, 400-game winning women’s college basketball coach Patricia Bibbs, hall of fame trainer Eugene “Doc” Harvey, 1950s-era basketball standout James Hooper, former Grambling school president Joseph B. Johnson, two-time NFL Pro Bowler Roosevelt Taylor, and former NFL rookie of the year Sammy White.

“There is such a legacy at Grambling,” said Pro Football Hall of Famer Willie Brown, part of last year’s inaugural Grambling Legends Hall of Fame class. “We have so many great athletes to come out of Grambling, and this is a way for those athletes to be recognized because of the things they have done.”

The second annual Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday, July 17, 2010, at the Monroe Civic Center in Monroe, LA.



The 2010 class is rounded out by Jerry Barr (former all-conference basketball honoree), Adolph Byrd (ex-football player and valued scout), Mary Currie (women’s basketball standout), Mackie Freeze (two-sport athlete and mentor of future Grambling stars as a high school football coach), Melvin Lee (two-way player on Grambling’s undefeated 1955 football team, then longtime offensive assistant), Jerry Robinson (two-time rushing leader) and Robert Williams (former Grambling baseball player).

Tickets are $60 each, and $500 for a table of eight, with all proceeds going to the non-profit Legends group for distribution in support athletics at Grambling. Tickets can be purchased at the Monroe Civic Center box office. Call 318-329-2837.

“It says a lot,” said Williams, who followed his standout playing career with a six-season stint as Grambling’s head coach that included three Southwestern Athletic Conference championships. “Grambling will always be home.”

A special reception is also scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday, July 16, 2010, at the just-opened Eddie G. Robinson Museum on the Grambling campus. Robinson, the winningest coach in Division I college football history, was inducted into the Legends Hall during last summer’s inaugural event.

The Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame was founded by former NFL Pro Bowl MVP James “Shack” Harris, a four-time championship-winning Grambling quarterback from 1965-68, and a host of GSU greats who say they want to help ensure that their alma mater’s most storied athletic accomplishments are remembered into posterity.

“The Legends Hall of Fame provides the recognition and notoriety that should have come to those individuals who made great contributions to the university a long time ago,” said Pro Football Hall of Famer Willie Davis, also a previous inductee. “There’s nothing in life more gratifying than being recognized and honored for those things they did on the field.”

Expanded bios on this year’s Grambling Legends Sports Hall of Fame inductees:

JERRY BARR: Part of a 1958-59 squad that won 28 games in a row before falling to Lenoir Rhyne in the NAIA finals at Kansas City, Barr ultimately netted 1,656 career points. He was All-Midwest Conference honors during Grambling’s final season before joining the Southwestern Athletic Conference, then was NAIA All-America in 1958. Inducted into Grambling State University’s Gallery of Distinction in 1988.

GARLAND BOYETTE: Helped Grambling to its first-ever SWAC football championship in 1960, then earned first-team All-SWAC honors in 1961, as well as Little All-America honors as the Tigers won 17 games over his junior and senior seasons. An American Football League All-Star in 1968-69, Boyette played for the Houston Oilers from 1966-72, as well as NFL’s St. Louis Cardinals (1962-63), the Canadian Football League’s Montreal Alouettes (1964-65) and in the World Football League’s Houston Texans and Shreveport Steamer (1974-75). A versatile athlete, Boyette played guard, defensive end, outside linebacker, and middle linebacker. He even tried out for the 1960 Olympic U.S. decathlon team, but barely missed qualifying.

PATRICIA CAGE-BIBBS: Coached the women’s basketball team to six championships over a 13-year tenure at Grambling – including three over a four-year span that included the first-ever undefeated season in SWAC conference play. She has added six more league titles during subsequent stops at Hampton and North Carolina A&T. Bibbs just completed a record-breaking year with A&T, where she led the Lady Aggies to the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference’s regular-season title with a 14-2 mark, then became the first HBCU (historically black college or university) to make it to the Sweet 16 of a Division I postseason event – advancing to the third round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament. A SWAC Hall of Famer, Bibbs was inducted into Grambling State University’s Gallery of Distinction in 2008.



ADOLPH BYRD: Served as a tackle on Grambling’s 1940s teams before becoming one of the football program’s most important talent scouts in south Louisiana. Amongst the players he directed to GSU were Leroy Carter, Henry Davis, Henry Dyer and both Doug and Mike Williams. A football, track and basketball coach between 1950-66 at Baton Rouge’s McKinley High, Byrd was inducted into Grambling State University’s Gallery of Distinction in 1984.

MARY CURRIE: Finished her career at Grambling with 2,256 points and 905 rebounds over the 1983-87 seasons, averaging 20.7 points and 8.3 rebounds. A prolific shooter, Currie once scored 52 points in a single game for Grambling. She would become the first female player to score more than 2,000 points in a career at GSU, averaging 51.9 percent from the field and 74.8 percent from the free-throw line. Named All-America by Black College Sports Information Directors Association in 1986, she died at age 34 in 2000 after a bout with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.

MACKIE FREEZE: A two-sport star who played football and, as a standout pitcher, helped Grambling win 120 of 137 baseball games over his final three college seasons. He signed a 1950 contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers before coaching at Richwood from 1954-67. There, he earned victory in 116 of 139 football games – including a run of 66 in a row – on the way to four consecutive state titles. Freeze sent guided scores of youth to Grambling, and had 11 players who were drafted or signed to pro football contracts.

Honorable Eugene "Doc" Harvey

EUGENE “DOC” HARVEY: A trainer for the Dodgers over four seasons in both Brooklyn and Los Angeles, Harvey subsequently served as Grambling’s trainer and physical therapist for 32 seasons, joining the staff in 1959. He then worked part time as a coordinator of sports medicine until last season, and continues to operate a private clinic. Harvey was inducted into the National Athletic Trainers Association’s Hall of Fame in 1986, and was the first African-American to be named to the Louisiana Trainers Hall of Fame, in 1982. He received NATA’s 50-Year Award in 2005.

JAMES HOOPER: Averaged 25 points per game in 1957, as Grambling entered the SWAC, and was named NAIA All-American 1958, then led the Tigers to an undefeated season in 1959 while averaging 29 points per game. “James Hooper Day” was proclaimed later that summer by then-Mayor W.P. Seiver, of Tallulah, LA, Hooper’s hometown. Inducted into the Grambling State University’s Gallery of Distinction in 1989, and named a starter on the Tigers’ all-time team in January 2010 by The Bleacher Report.

JOSEPH B. JOHNSON: A former basketball player, Johnson served as president at Grambling from 1978, when he succeeded Ralph W.E. Jones, until 1991. He earned the Thurgood Marshall Educational Achievement Award and Ebony’s American Black Achievement Award during a career that also included stops as an assistant to the president at the University of Colorado (1969-77) and Talladega College (1991-98). Johnson has been inducted into the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame and, in 1986, Grambling State University’s Gallery of Distinction.

MELVIN LEE: A quarterback of the offensive line at center and team captain on Grambling’s undefeated 1955 black college championship squad, Lee ultimately had an astonishing impact on future generations of young men as a 37-year offensive assistant coach to Eddie Robinson. Credited with perfecting the program’s fabled Wing-T offense that would contribute to a record-breaking 408 career wins for Robinson at Grambling.

JERRY ROBINSON: Nicknamed “Ghost,” Robinson was a two-time first-team all-conference halfback beginning in 1960 as Grambling won its first-ever SWAC title. He led all Grambling rushers over through 1962, gaining 1,300 yards. Robinson played in the Senior All-American Bowl, then joined the AFL’s San Diego Chargers where he claimed three championships on a team that included fellow Grambling Legends Hall of Famer Ernie “Big Cat” Ladd. Robinson held the school record for career touchdowns until Frank Lewis set a new mark in the early 1970s.

ROOSEVELT TAYLOR: Part of Grambling’s staggeringly talented SWAC championship defense in 1960 – the group boasted four future All-Pros – Taylor went on to lead the NFL with nine interceptions in 1963, on the way to 32 career picks. In 1968, he scored 6 TDs, including 96-yard interception return. Twice selected to the Pro Bowl, Taylor never missed a game in nearly nine seasons with the Chicago Bears and later appeared in Super Bowl VII with the Washington Redskins. He is a member of the Greater New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame, and was named among The 50 Best Bears earlier this year by the Chicago Sun-Times.

SAMMY WHITE: A former three-time SWAC champion receiver and 11-year assistant football coach at Grambling, White won both football and basketball state titles in high school before twice being named all-conference (1973, ’75) as a wingback at Grambling. After college, White went on to become an integral part of a Minnesota team that reached the Super Bowl after the 1976 season, the 1977 NFC championship and then the divisional playoff round both a year later and in 1982. White was named All-Pro three times. He is also a member of the Louisiana Sports and SWAC halls of fame.



DOUG WILLIAMS: After winning two SWAC titles at Grambling from 1974-77, the Heisman Trophy finalist became a groundbreaker in the NFL as the first African-American quarterback to start in a Super Bowl. He’s still the only one to win the game, as Washington topped Denver after a record-smashing second-quarter performance by Williams, and still the only one to be named Super Bowl MVP. Previously, Williams led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the NFL Championship Game, then later succeeded Eddie Robinson as coach at Grambling – winning a trio of league titles in 2000-02. He has been inducted into the Louisiana Sports and SWAC halls of fame and, in the 1985, to Grambling State University’s Gallery of Distinction.



ROBERT WILLIAMS: A standout pitcher as Grambling completed a run of four straight SWAC titles in 1960-64. Needing three wins for the 1963 crown and facing rival Southern in the final series, Williams started Games 1 and 3, and was the closer in Game 2 – and the junior won them all. The Tigers were also national runners up in the 1963-64 NAIA championship tournaments. Williams shone as a reliever in the ’63 tournament, and was approached about a contract by Gene Autry, then owner of the Los Angeles Angels. He ultimately signed with the Cleveland Indians, but his pro career was cut short by a rotator cuff injury in 1968. Elder brother of 2010 Legends inductee Doug Williams, who has always called Robert Williams his greatest inspiration.

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‘Rob’ Museum Nearing Reality

GRAMBLING, LA — When a museum is dedicated in memory of Eddie Robinson in February (2010), the stars will definitely be out to pay a lasting tribute to the late and legendary leader of Grambling State University’s football program. Mike Tomlin, the youngest head coach ever to win a Super Bowl championship, will be the keynote speaker for a gala banquet scheduled for the GSU Assembly Center on Feb. 12 starting at 7 p.m. Many of the former National Football League players guided by Robinson during his record-setting 57-year career at GSU are scheduled to be in attendance, both for the banquet and the museum’s ribbon-cutting ceremonies beginning at 10 a.m. Feb. 13.

Among the expected celebrities to be present for either or both events are former NFL quarterbacks Doug Williams and James “Shack” Harris; Pro Football Hall of Famers Willie Davis, Willie Brown and Charlie Joiner and former Pro Bowl defensive back Everson Walls, among many others. Also expected to appear will be Grant Teaff, former head coach at Baylor University and current executive director of the American Football Coaches Association. Invitations have been sent to the 200-plus players who starred at GSU under Robinson and later played in the NFL.

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Time (finally) to mark calendars on long-delayed Robinson Museum project

GRAMBLING — Key dates for the long-delayed Eddie Robinson Museum are being talked about in terms of months, instead of years. For a project now nearly a decade in the making, that's a remarkable achievement in itself. "We're hoping to have a groundbreaking some time in the fall, and we'll get the ball rolling," said Louisiana Secretary of State Jay Dardenne, whose office would oversee the project. "We're making great progress."

At Grambling State from 1941-97, Robinson retired as the winningest football coach in college history with 408 wins — leading the Tigers to 17 Southwestern Athletic Conference titles over the years. He passed away in April 2007 at age 88, as the state moved to approve a plan to house a museum in his honor in the former women's gym on the Grambling campus.

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Greatest Sports Accomplishment: Doug Williams' Super Bowl Win

The position of quarterback has been a microcosm of the black man's struggle in America—a door supposedly “open to all”—except for us of a darker hue who continuously knock, kick, and scream until an answer comes.

For 80 years, the black man has fought tooth and nail to lead a professional football franchise to glory. Many came before Doug Williams, and some of them may have even been better skilled. But looking back on the life of Douglas Lee Williams—none were better prepared.

My mother says, “The Lord chooses whom he will.” If you ask Williams about being the Chosen One, he places it at the feet of hard work, opportunity, and determination more than anything.

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Out of the shadows: Legendary Grambling assistant built Hall of Fame resume as a head coach too

GRAMBLING — Until this week, Douglas Porter was most often referred to as a former assistant under Grambling State’s mythical Eddie Robinson.

Porter stood, without complaint, inside the dark outline of that coaching legend’s shadow — despite having assembled a terrific, if seldom decorated, career of his own.

“That couldn’t have been easy with a person of his skill,” said James “Shack” Harris, Porter’s first quarterbacking protégé at GSU. “He was able to do it without ego, and to do it well.”

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Super Bowl to salute Doug Williams' feat

Photo: #17 Doug Williams, first African-American to start and win a Super Bowl at Quarterback. The former Grambling State University quarterback is currently employed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as a personnel executive.

GLENDALE, Ariz. - We think little of it today, what with Warren Moon in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, with Donovan McNabb and Steve McNair having started in Super Bowls. But there was a time when the words "black" and "quarterback" didn't go so well together.

Doug Williams was the pioneer, at least in regards to the Super Bowl if not in all regards. He wasn't the first black quarterback to start a game in NFL history, but he was the first to become a regular and the first to star on the game's greatest stage.

The NFL will note the 20th anniversary of his MVP performance on Sunday when Williams takes part in the Vince Lombardi Trophy presentation after Super Bowl XLII here between New England and the New York Giants.

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