Documentary Celebrates Unique Lifelong Bonds Between Coach and Student-Athletes
Oct. 12, 2004
NEW YORK - The unique lifelong bonds between legendary Grambling State football coach Eddie Robinson and the student-athletes he coached and mentored over 50 years will be celebrated when CSTV: College Sports Television, (
www.collegesports.com) premieres a special documentary on Robinson Saturday, October 16 (4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT) as part of its critically acclaimed Coach original series.
Robinson, who retired in 1997 as the winningest coach in college football history, built Grambling State into the premier historically black college as head coach from 1941 to 1997. He produced more than 200 future NFL players, more than any other college coach, and led the Tigers to eight national black college titles and 18 Southwestern Athletic Conference championships.
Perhaps more importantly, he produced hundreds of young eager, productive, ambitious citizens. While creating one of the greatest dynasties in all of sports, Robinson took as much pride in molding responsible, mature young adults who achieved great success in business and in life.
Among those interviewed for the documentary: Doris Robinson, Eddie Robinson's wife; Horace Judson, president of Grambling State University; Doug Williams, former Grambling State quarterback who later was a Super Bowl MVP; James Harris, former Grambling State quarterback who also played in the NFL; Ernie Ladd and Sammy White, former Grambling State and NFL greats; Eddie Robinson, Jr., the coach's son; and others.
CSTV's Coach original series explores the unique bonds between college sports' greatest coaches and their prized pupils, and the lessons taught on the playing field which remain relevant long after student-athletes' playing days are over.
The Eddie Robinson File:
· Coached Grambling State from 1941-97, compiling a 408-165-15 record and winning 8 national black college titles
· Became college football's winningest coach when Grambling State defeated Prairie View A&M in 1985 for his 324th victory, thus surpassing the iconic Paul "Bear" Bryant
· Among Robinson's former players who starred in the NFL: Buck Buchanan, Willie Davis, James Harris, Charlie Joiner, Ernie Ladd, Everson Walls, Doug Williams, Sammy White and Paul (Tank) Young
· Arrived at Grambling State in 1941 to become head football and basketball coach and physical education teacher
· Coached the first black player (Younger) to make it to the NFL
Soundbites from CSTV's Eddie Robinson documentary:
"America was the only country that would allow me to...play in the Super Bowl and win the Super Bowl. After that game, Coach Robinson was in the San Diego and I never shall forget, the one thing he told me that day was...he said, `You don't even understand the impact that you have on America...being the only African-American quarterback to do that'" (win the Super Bowl). - Doug Williams, former Grambling quarterback who later was the MVP of the Washington Redskins' 1988 Super Bowl victor
"We were all involved in segregation...and all of us rode the back of the bus, and all of us drunk from the colored and white water fountain, and it was easy for all of us to say that life is not fair. But I think, once we played for Coach, we realized that we could overcome." - James Harris, former Grambling quarterback who later played for the Los Angeles Rams in the NFL
"I remember, sometimes he would take a whole practice and just talk to you about life, never pertaining to football. Just about what you had to do and how life would really treat you if you didn't do those things that you really needed to do." - Andre Robinson (no relation), a 1981 Grambling graduate who played under Eddie Robinson
Encore Presentations of CSTV's Eddie Robinson documentary:
Sunday, October 17, 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT
Sunday, October 31, 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT
Wednesday, November 10, 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT
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