Remembering: The debut of 'The Rob'

TIGER PAUSE: Grambling's Robinson Stadium opened 25 seasons ago with fanfare, blowout
September 15, 2007

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
Football had been, more often than not, the last thing on Eddie Robinson's mind.

The longtime former Grambling coach's 1983 opener against Alcorn State, handily won but never forgotten, would be the first game played at a new facility bearing Robinson's name.

Not that Alcorn State hadn't been an entertaining, formidable foe. Still, even while his assistants tried to script a game knotted at 7-0 during halftime, Robinson was elsewhere — fulfilling the obligations of a dignitary more than that of a ball coach.

"It was a struggle for him," said longtime GSU assistant Melvin "Jim" Lee. "He had made so many sacrifices. He knew that the program would profit very much from a new stadium."
So, even while the game teetered in the balance, Robinson could be found speaking before a packed crowd outside the locker room.

"Things are happening today," he said, "that usually never happen while the person is living."

Grambling's suffocating defense, coupled with a canny misdirection on offense, would do the rest. The Tigers scored a trio of late-game touchdowns to secure the dominating 28-0 victory.

“Our team was excited about becoming part of history, the first team to play in the stadium named after the man that was our coach,” said Robert “Big Bird” Smith, then an All-America defender for Robinson.

Alcorn is remembered now as the first opponent to descend into Grambling’s unique, now-legendary sunken structure – but not the first to leave with a loss. Robinson would win a total of 37 games at “The Rob” before retiring 15 seasons later.

“Walking down the hill, it presented quite a challenge for any opposing team,” said Lee, an offensive assistant for 40 seasons at GSU. “One player saw the stadium and said it looked like going down inside Hades.”


A DOMINATING WIN
Grambling’s offensive line had been decimated by graduation, leaving returning senior quarterback Hollis Brent exposed. Calvin Nicholas, a talented safety, was moved to receiver in an effort to replace the departed Rufus Stevens.

Robinson spoke with what appeared to be a shy candor about GSU’s struggles. He said Lee had been forced to tinker with the team’s fabled Wing-T offense – adding some I-formation looks.

Points, Robinson guessed, would have to come from running back James Robinson, the Tigers’ second leading rusher from a season before. He’d be joined in the backfield by Texas A&M transfer Ronny James.

“We’re going to use the ‘I’ as much as we can make it work,” Robinson said, in the days leading up to the game. “It just adds a lot to our attack, if we can open some holes.”

During the transition, Grambling was going to rely on coordinator Fred Collins’ muscular “Trees of Terror” defense, which went on to produce seven of the program’s 12 all-conference players that year – including first-teamers Smith, Reginald Pugh, James Polk and Ed Scott.

Robinson gave a stirring pre-game speech, Smith recalled, and his unit rose to the challenge.

“Coach made the comment that he never made a tackle, he never scored a touchdown, and he never won a game,” Smith said. “He said the wins did not belong to him. They belonged to the players – to (well-known former Grambling standouts) Gary (‘Big Hands’ Johnson), Doug (Williams), Sammy (White) and Trumaine (Johnson).”

GSU would have to take down a resurgent Alcorn State team, led by fellow Southwestern Athletic Conference coaching legend Mario Casem.

Grambling’s battles with Alcorn were already the stuff of lore, with Robinson winning or sharing 13 league titles up to that point, while Casem took six.

ASU, however, had been without a championship since 1979 – and was just 16-14 over the previous three campaigns, falling to Grambling in both 1981-82. Casem was building toward a final championship as a coach in ’85, though, and boasted six returners on offense and eight on defense.

He pushed Grambling to a defensive, scoreless deadlock through the initial quarter.

Alcorn sacked Brent seven times in the first half, totalling more than 40 yards in losses. GSU linebacker Mike Dennis’ interception return for a touchdown had been the lone first-half points.

All that talk of switching to the ‘I,’ though, proved to a clever Robinson ruse. Grambling rarely called the formation – and it was, in fact, the GSU passers who secured this historic first win.

Alcorn was apparently caught off guard.

Grambling's Hollis and Anthony Anderson combined for 247 yards in the air against a defense that would go on to lead the SWAC in 1983, while Alcorn’s two passers could manage only 81.

Grambling’s Marvin Thomas, Wayne Hill and Nicholas hauled in those second-half TD catches. Most impressive was the 91-yard streak by the converted defender Nicholas, who hauled in an Anderson pass on a post pattern with 5:21 remaining, and ran through a defender on the way to the final points of the game.

Meanwhile, the Grambling defense never let Alcorn past the Grambling 33.

GSU only allowed 44 yards rushing over the initial two quarters. Glenn Hall also added another pick late, securing the game with 1:47 left.

The flamboyant Casem, during a raucous post-game press conference, took it all in stride: “Playing Grambling is like making love to a gorilla,” he said. “You can not quit until he gets enough.”

Smith chuckles at the memory. “Opening day, we did get enough,” he said.

THEN, A GREAT HONOR
The Robinson Stadium stands already teemed with 10,000 fans as grand-opening ceremonies began an hour and a half before Alcorn took the field.

Then-Louisiana Gov. Dave Treen spoke, as did Robinson – who was supposed to be the guest of honor. An abiding humility, however, wouldn’t allow Robinson to completely inhabit the spotlight.

With him was wife Doris, their children, and his mother. Robinson talked about them, and about his players.

“When you say Robinson Stadium,” he said that day, “it has to mean every person who has played football here. This honor that has been bestowed on us is a great one.”

Built then at a cost of $7.5 million dollars, the facility was said to seat 22,500 fans and includes a unique tiger-inspired design on the chairbacks below the westside pressbox. Striped in the team’s familiar black and gold colors, “GSU” is spelled out in red – a tip of the hat to former Grambling president R.W.E. “Prez” Jones, who favored this accent color.

Smith, who had been a freshman recruit when construction was first begun in 1980, was among those who witnessed this remarkable transformation.

“To have an opportunity to watch that spot turn from a wooded area with a pond into a deep hole on our campus and finally into a football stadium was amazing,” said Smith, later a line coach at Grambling.

The stadium was originally named for the Robinson family, since state law prohibits the honoring of a living person. That is expected to change in the wake of Robinson’s passing in April of this year at age 88, the result of complications related to Alzheimer’s disease.

Treen acknowledged, during the opening event, that Robinson Stadium would always stand as a tribute to Division I’s winningest coach.

“We all know who the distinguished member of that family is,” Treen said. “Sept. 3 will go down as an historic date because we are here today to dedicate this magnificent facility to this institution, and to a person who is an institution – Coach Eddie Robinson.”

Getting there had been a force of will for Robinson, who battled through budget cuts that radically changed design elements – to the very elements themselves. A late-summer rainshower caused one side of the hollowed-out ground to collapse in a mudslide, threatening the opener.

Robinson, involved in every facet of construction, deeply felt each setback. But he never wavered.

“He put a lot being into developing that stadium,” Lee said. “There was pressure to keep it going forward. It wasn’t an easy thing – though it was well deserved.”

A LEGACY REMEMBERED
Grambling played Casem to a virtual draw while he was at Alcorn, though Robinson eventually opened up a 13-8 lead after Casem returned to coaching at Southern.

Robinson would retire in 1997 having amassed 408 wins over a career that spanned six decades to the early 1940s. Through it all, their mutual respect endured – as did Casem’s propensity for the quick, appropriate quip.

Attending Robinson’s funeral earlier this year, Casem attempted to frame Robinson’s towering presence: “He was like Mount Fuji in Japan. He was always there, and he was always majestic.”

Robinson will be remembered again, as Grambling opens the 2007 home slate on Saturday against Alabama A&M. It will be the first game held at Robinson Stadium since its namesake’s passing.

Smith said this place, even as three head coaches have followed at GSU over the last decade, will always echo with cheers for Robinson.

Robinson himself seemed completely aware of that part of his legacy, the one made of concrete and steel, as he left the stadium on opening night more than a quarter century ago.

The suddenly quiet coach, awash in emotion, reached down and grabbed a single blade of grass from the Robinson Stadium turf.

“That we should have been thought worthy of this distinction gives us mixed emotions,” Robinson said, “of humility and profound gratitude.”
g g g
Lee's list: Best ever at 'The Rob'
http://www.thenewsstar.com/news/blogs/blog3/2007/09/lees-list-best-ever-at-rob.html

As Robinson Stadium enters its 25th season, I asked longtime Grambling assistant Melvin "Jim" Lee -- who coached at his alma mater for 40 seasons after helping the Tigers to a 1955 national championship as a player under Eddie Robinson -- to name his Top 5 most memorable games at the facility.

First, there was a good bit of reminescing: "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."

Then, we got down to Lee's list:

5. NORTH CAROLINA A&T, 1997
Grambling gamely battled, but ultimately fell to A&T by two, 37-35, in the legendary coach's final home contest.

After 57 seasons, and a still-standing Divison I record of 408 wins, Robinson's remarkable career was through. Lee had played for him, then coached with him, for nearly 50 of those years.

"It was memorable because it was the last game, and what it meant to Coach," Lee said, "not because of way we played. The kids tried their very best, but we just didn't have the talent."

4. JACKSON STATE, 1992
Grambling's march to a final national black college championship for Robinson included an emotional win over Jackson State, who had bested GSU in each of the previous two seasons.

Grambling won 34-31.

"We were able to have a really good game from Stevie Anderson out of Jonesboro," Lee said. "We beat them, after they'd had our number for years. That was a good team and a great game."

3. TEXAS SOUTHERN, 1991
Lee remembers well TSU's "really big hitters," including future New York Giants standout Michael Strahan, then a junior.

The game, as was often the case back in the day with Texas Southern, was very tight. A homecoming crowd at "The Rob" brought additional intensity to the proceedings.

"We got down to the very last, and Gilad Landau came in," Lee said. "Two seconds on the clock, and he kicked it right down the middle for the win."

Final score, Grambling 30-27.

2. SOUTH CAROLINA STATE, 1987.
Freshman kicker Willian Wrighten, on his fourth attempt, kicked a 21-yard field goal with no time remaining to give South Carolina State a two-point win during a nationally broadcast Thursday night ESPN game from Robinson Stadium.

The first kick was nearly from midfield, a desperation move. But a series of penalties on Grambling, including roughing the kicker and offsides, eventually made this nearly a chip shot.

Grambling fell 15-13.

"We weren't satisfied with the outcome, of course, but it's certainly one I remember," Lee said. "What a game."

1. ALCORN STATE, 1994
There has never, and may well never be, a more famous game at "The Rob" than this titanic struggle against future NFL MVP and Super Bowl quarterback Steve McNair.

Grambling scored and scored and scored, only to be matched stride for stride by McNair -- a senior who had never lost to Robinson and Lee. GSU won in the final tally, but barely: 62-56. And even then, the Tigers had to fight off a late ASU drive.

"It came down, again, to a last play with just seconds on the clock," Lee said. "Thank goodness we were leading by a few. That was a very satisfying."

Remembering: Coach Rob's best

EDDIE ROB: Coach’s best
Six decades of Grambling talent are hard to narrow down
April 9, 2007

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
BATON ROUGE — They’ll gather, some of Eddie Robinson’s most noted pupils, to say goodbye today.

Former Grambling State players have been invited to a private ceremony, to be held at 9:30 a.m. in the State Capitol Memorial Hall, before Robinson’s public viewing.

“This is an opportunity for us to show our appreciation, a last hurrah for Coach,” said ex-GSU player and coach Doug Williams, who helped organize the event. “A viewing at the capitol is major credence to everything Coach accomplished. He deserves it.”

The bells of St. Joseph Cathedral will toll as the fallen coach’s body is carried up the capitol steps this morning at 9. Public viewing will then follow from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and then from 6-7 p.m., after a memorial ceremony in the House Chamber.

Still, most of today’s attention will fall on the athletes who come to pay their respects.

That got us to thinking about the best of the best. So, we compiled our own top five players from each of the six decades of Grambling football under Robinson.

Here are our suggestions, listed by decade and alphabetically:

1940s
1. Fred Hobdy: A guard on Grambling’s renowned “un” team in 1942 — which went unbeaten, untied and unscored upon — Hobdy returned from the war and coached young men for most of the next five decades. He worked first as an ends coach on the football team (he was an assistant on 1955’s undefeated squad), and then as Louisiana’s most successful college hoops coach ever. He was a member of the GSU Hall of Fame’s second class, along with Robinson, in 1981.

2. Willie “Automatic” Joseph: His name says it all: Joseph, over the 1947-49 seasons, established a 48-point school record for career points by a kicker that still stands. Grambling wouldn’t lose more than three games in a season over that span.

3. Legolian “Boots” Moore: Helped Grambling to its seminal 21-6 win over Southern University in 1947, a first-time-ever moment that Robinson always said put the program on the map. Later toured with the Harlem Globetrotters.

4. Dan H. Washington: A member of Robinson’s first squad, as well as its subsequent “un” team in 1942, Washington then touched thousands of lives as team trainer for 45 years before his death in 1996 at age 74.

5. Paul “Tank” Younger: Despite playing from 1945-48, still holds GSU record for career points with 369. His 86-yard blast against Morgan State in 1946 also remains the school’s longest non-scoring run.

In all, Younger scored 60 touchdowns — at the time a collegiate record, and still tops at Grambling — during his storied career under Robinson. Named black college player of the year in 1949, he was the first Grambling player inducted into the SWAC Hall of Fame, in 1973. Induction into the GSU hall followed in 1982.

Significantly, Younger went on to become one of the highest-ranking early black pro executives ever. He entered the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000, but died just days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

1950s
1. Willie Davis: A two-time black college All-America defensive tackle in 1954-55, Davis anchored Grambling’s first national black college championship team — the 10-0 squad from 1955.

“Willie had hitting power,” Robinson once recalled. “He was our captain, an outstanding leader.”

Davis, after a Hall of Fame pro career, became one of black America’s most important business leaders. He was GSU’s second SWAC Hall of Famer in 1977, and was inducted into GSU hall in ’82.

2. Willie Brown: So deep was Grambling’s roster in the late 1950s, the only NFL player to intercept a least one pass in 16 consecutive seasons never played cornerback. Still he lettered all four years at split end and outside linebacker, and GSU won a title in 1960. A 1983 GSU Hall of Fame inductee, Brown has shepherded countless NFL careers as an assistant with the Oakland Raiders.

3. Ernie “Big Cat” Ladd: At 6-9 and 315 pounds, Ladd arrived in the late 1950s as arguably the biggest GSU star ever. A first-team all-league defensive lineman in his final season at Grambling in 1960, he helped Grambling to its first-ever SWAC championship. Inducted into the GSU hall in 1989, Ladd was an activist for players’ rights as a pro player and, later, an prison evangelist before passing last month after a long bout with cancer.

4. Melvin Lee: As quarterback of the offensive line at center on Grambling’s undefeated 1955 championship squad, Lee had an astonishing impact on generations of men at his alma mater. He would work for the next 40 seasons as a Robinson assistant, tinkering and perfecting Robinson’s fabled Wing-T offense.

5. Edward “Bo” Murray: A critical piece of Grambling’s 1955 undefeated team, the then-redshirt sophomore won the Orange Blossom Classic on scoring runs of 75 and 8 yards. He also kicked the extra point on his winning TD, beating Florida A&M 28-21. A 1995 GSU Hall of Fame inductee.

1960s
1. Junious “Buck” Buchanan: From his sophomore season onward, this tackle earned a trio of All-America and all-conference honors while helping Grambling to a 23-5-2 record.

Robinson would often gush about Buchanan’s dominance, even in practice: “If we went to the right, he would tackle us. If we went to the left, he would tackle us. If we went right at him, he would tackle us. Boy, he was really tough.”

Buchanan, a 1987 GSU Hall of Fame inductee, passed away in 1992 after a long bout with lung cancer. He was posthumously inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996.

2. James “Shack” Harris: Harris passed for 4,128 yards and 43 touchdowns as Grambling went 24-5-1 between 1965-68, winning three straight SWAC titles.

“Coach Robinson had the utmost confidence in me that I could play, and that meant a lot, knowing how he felt,” Harris said. “Eddie Robinson is perhaps the greatest person that I’ve ever been around.”

In his senior season alone, Harris passed for 1,972 yards and 21 touchdowns on only 225 attempts. He was first-team All-SWAC in 1967-68, and also earned SWAC and GSU hall of fame honors.

Just as importantly, he broke barriers as an early starting NFL quarterback, and now serves as one of the league’s top-ranking pro personnel executives.

3. Charlie Joiner: Led all Grambling receivers from 1966-68, gaining 2,066 yards, on the way to a trio of conference titles. An amazing 78 of quarterback Harris’ 289 career completions at Grambling were hauled in by the steady Joiner, who led the team in touchdowns in 1966-67.

“Charlie goes all out,” Robinson once noted. “Beating the man, that’s where he excelled.”

He was named first-team All-SWAC three times, then joined the GSU Hall of Fame in 1986 and the SWAC hall in 1996. He has worked for years as a pro football assistant coach.

4. Frank Lewis: A do-it-all player who led Grambling in receiving in 1969-70 and in rushing in 1969, as well. He scored 28 touchdowns in his junior and senior seasons, averaging 18.65 yards per catch.

“I played with Frank and I don’t know if I have ever seen a better athlete than Frank,” Harris said. “I don’t know of anything that Frank couldn’t do.”

Lewis was named first-team all-conference as a junior and senior, and was second team as a sophomore when Grambling won the SWAC in 1968. He is a community leader in his hometown of Houma, working with the disadvantaged.

5. Jerry “Ghost” Robinson: A two-time first-team All-SWAC halfback from 1960-61, a stint that included Grambling’s first-ever league title in 1960. Led all Grambling rushers over those two seasons, running for 1,300 yards.

1970s
1. James “Hound” Hunter: A first-team All-SWAC honoree in 1974-75, he helped Grambling to the ’74 SWAC title. Hunter was the team leader in picks for two years, pulling down 16 passes in 1973-74. His eight in 1974 ranks fourth all-time at GSU; still shares school mark for most career returns for a touchdown.

2. Gary “Big Hands” Johnson: Holds the school record for most tackles in a career, with 367 between 1971-74 as GSU won four straight SWAC titles.

In his senior season of 1974 alone, Johnson had 134 tackles, 89 unassisted, and was named the team’s Most Valuable Player. That led to coveted invites to both the East-West Shrine Game and the Senior Bowl — and Johnson was named Most Valuable Player in both.

Johnson earned first-team All-SWAC in 1972-74, followed by 1996 induction into the GSU Hall of Fame, and then 1997 honors in both the College Football and SWAC halls of fame.

3. Robert Parham: Grambling’s leading rusher from 1978-80, he amassed 2,700 yards over that span as GSU won three consecutive SWAC titles. He was a first-team all-conference running back in each of those seasons.

4. Sammy White: Inducted into the SWAC Hall of Fame in 2005 in recognition of a collegiate career that included two school-leading years for receptions in 1973 and 1975 — and a co-offensive player of the year award as a senior. White was also first-team All-SWAC in ’73. He has shaped youngsters as an assistant football coach at his alma mater now for nine seasons.

5. Doug Williams: Williams, who established school passing marks that stood for nearly 25 years, started quickly — winning a SWAC title as a redshirt freshman in 1974.

“I was blessed to have some veterans around me and Coach Robinson ran a conservative offense that didn’t put too much pressure on me,” Williams said.

He would win another SWAC championship as a senior in 1977, earning second-team All-SWAC honors in 1975 and then offensive player of the year honors in his final collegiate campaign. He was inducted into the GSU hall in 1985 and the SWAC and College halls in 2001.

A groundbreaker as a Heisman Trophy finalist and a Super Bowl MVP, Williams is now a part of a second revolution as an NFL executive.

1980s
1. Trumaine Johnson: The 1980 and ’82 SWAC offensive player of the year (when he had 1,000 yards and averaged 14 yards a catch), Johnson was also first-team All-SWAC in 1981. Grambling won the conference championship in ’80. His 16 scores that season is still tied for fifth best in school history.

2. Fred Jones: GSU’s best receiver during the 1987-89 seasons, collecting a total of 2,000 yards as well as a SWAC title in his senior campaign. He also led Grambling in scoring in ’88 with 10 touchdowns, and earned first-team All-SWAC honors in ’88-89.

3. Albert “Snow” Lewis: Was first-team All-SWAC at cornerback in 1981-82, after leading the team in interceptions in 1981 with seven. A stellar performance earned him a starting position by popular vote in 2002 on the 50th anniversary all-time Senior Bowl team. Has worked as an assistant coach with the San Diego Chargers, in NFL Europe and at his alma mater.
4. Everson “Cubby” Walls: Still holds the school record for most interceptions in a season, 11 set in 1980. Was All-SWAC that season. Made national headlines recently for an act that said much about his character, donating a kidney to a former NFL teammate.

5. Mike Williams: Williams, brother and successor at quarterback to Doug, won SWAC titles in 1978-80 and was named first-team all-conference as both a junior and senior. He threw for 3,700 yards and 46 touchdowns at Grambling, and remains active in support of Grambling.

1990s
1. Curtis Caesar: Led all Grambling receivers in 1993-94, averaging 868 yards per season. A second-team 1994 All-SWAC honoree, his numbers for his final two years are still in Grambling’s all-time Top 20. Grambling shared its last co-championship in the SWAC under Robinson in 1994.

2. Walter Dean: The first SWAC player to win the Walter Payton Award, Dean was also the conference’s offensive player of the year in 1990. No senior has ever run for more than his 1,401 yards. Dean was also first-team all-conference in 1989, when GSU won the SWAC.

3. Eric Gant: A two-time All-SWAC first-teamer beginning in 1991, Gant is one of only 17 Grambling players ever invited to the Senior Bowl. Still holds school records for yards in season (1,417 in 1992) and yards in a career (3,795), as well those for rushing yards by sophomore and junior.

4. Gilad Landau: His 188 career total in PATs was a state record. An All-SWAC first-team kicker in 1992-93, Landau earned All-America honors in 1993 from The Sports Network — becoming a significant figure in the history of Jewish sports in America.

5. Kendrick Nord: Passed for 6,600 yards in 1993-95, beating Alcorn in an epic Robinson Stadium battle and also winning a SWAC title as a senior. Those career yards, not to mention his marks for completions and touchdowns, have only been bested twice ever at Grambling.

Remembering: Grambling's 1980 team

Looking for a little love
Unjustly overlooked, Grambling's Class of 1980 was one for the ages
June 11, 2006

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
GRAMBLING — Don't mind Grambling State's Class of 1980 if they feel a bit overlooked.

Forgive them, even in the long shadow of this 2005 football squad's stunning success, if they are defensive.

That includes the guys who played offense.

"This year's team was good," said former quarterback Mike Williams, "but you couldn't mess with the 1980 team."

Their accomplishments, even today, rank amongst the best ever at GSU. Two roster members — linebacker Andre Robinson and lineman Charlie Lewis — also continue that legacy as assistant coaches with the program.

And that season, well, it was one for the ages.

Yet, coming as it did at the end of a decade of dominance for former coach Eddie Robinson, the 1980 campaign tends to be ignored.

The players from that year — quirky, quietly successful and fiercely loyal to one another — say they still don't know why.

EVEN THEN, DISMISSED

The Tigers were coming off a fourth straight Southwestern Athletic Conference championship from the previous fall, yet the 1981 NFL Draft only saw two players taken from Grambling. Running back Robert Parham and defensive tackle Mike Barker were both selected, but as disappointing 10th rounders.

"Look at our team — with Mike Williams, Parham, (flamboyant SWAC offensive player of the year) Trumaine Johnson. Those were great players," said defensive back Everson Walls (pictured above), an eventual free agent signing for Dallas who would become the only player to lead the NFL in picks three times.

"I was successful because of those guys," Walls said. "I heard them in my head whenever I got down."

That NFL snub was, sadly, a sign of things to come. GSU football under Robinson was never quite the same again.

Grambling had 47 players drafted (and five in the first round) between 1970-80, but only 28 over the rest of Robinson's career through 1997 — and none in the first round.

That end-of-an-era draft, held 25 springs back, still stings. Both Walls and Andre Robinson mention it often.

"That was something that got all of us, that more didn't get drafted," said Robinson, the '80 Bayou Classic MVP.

This season was historic in other ways.

The Tigers were finishing a nearly perfect run: Over the 10 years beginning in '71 Grambling had claimed or shared eight league titles.

GSU had actually been on probation in 1976, meaning there was only a single campaign over that span where the Tigers competed for a championship and didn't win it. Even then, they finished second in 1975.

Beginning in 1981, this striking period of success ended.

Grambling didn't win consecutive titles again until 2000-02, and that was after Doug Williams — quarterback from 1974-77, and Mike Williams' older brother — returned to coach the Tigers.

In fact, Grambling would claim just four more conference championships in the final 17 seasons with Robinson on the sidelines — and one was in 1983, with a smattering of youngsters (like Robert "Big Bird" Smith) from the 1980 roster.

"When Doug Williams left in 1977, NFL scouts for some reason didn't think we had any talent left," Walls said. "There was no media concentrated on Grambling after Doug left. Nobody knew about us. But we didn't need anybody to; we challenged ourselves."

MAKING THEIR CASE

Grambling's exclamation point season of 1980 was shot through with highlights.

GSU players occupied four of the top five spots for scorers in the Southwestern Athletic Conference that year. The leader was that startling talent Trumaine Johnson with 96 points — 30 more than the Grambling teammate that followed at No. 2, Jerry Gordon.

"The 1980s began with one of our best wingbacks ever leading Grambling's offense," Coach Robinson has said. "Trumaine Johnson was beautiful to watch. He caught 16 touchdown passes in 1980 alone."

That he played with such abandon only added to Johnson's lore.

Cornerbacks Walls, Robert Salter and Mike Haynes combined for 24 picks that season, more than the rest of the SWAC's Top 10 combined in 1980.

There were tough-guy attributes about this team that remained from the old days. But they had a different attitude.

The team pulled together, even shedding some of the traditional hazing rituals for younger players — called, even today, "crabs."

"We wanted to lift them up," Walls said. "We would stay after Coach Rob to work with them, even without asking."

Haynes pushed Walls, and they both got better.

"He believed in himself," Walls said of Haynes, a former walk-on. "But he also believed in me, more than I did. He wanted me to be better, because if we were better, everybody would improve."

Mike Williams was the SWAC's top passer in '80 with 2,716 yards, while Parham was its No. 2 rusher with 1,004. Johnson led all punt returners, while Andre Robinson's 106 tackles was tied for seventh in the league.

The 1980 squad was also the first to participate in the NCAA's fledgling Division I-AA playoffs, though the Tigers were sent to Boise State, despite the fact that the opposing team had a worse overall record. GSU fell 14-9.

STILL A MENTOR, HERO

Even in the first hints of twilight, Grambling's young players still recognized what their coach meant — and just what he had created at this country school.

This being a special group, though, these guys weren't afraid to challenge him.

"How great a man Eddie Robinson was, and with what he had to work with?" Haynes said. "When you take the measure of him, you have to think about his faith in what this place could be, in what we could be. To make all of this out of nothing? You know when you come upon greatness."

If Robinson — entering his fifth decade of coaching — had softened some, he hadn't completely abandoned those familiar, fiery ways.

"Coach Rob challenged us within the system," Walls said. "He knew who his starters were, but challenged the backups, too. He didn't want us to be satisfied. That had a lot to do with our success."

Still, they could do nothing to stop the beginning of the end for his reign.

Grambling scored 415 points in 1980, a figured only topped three more times in the Robinson era. The '80 defense also limited opponents to 166 points, a mark that would be bested just twice in Robinson's final 17 campaigns (in 1983 and '95).

GSU won 11 games twice in the 1970s, but never again under Robinson. The Tigers had a 10-win season in 1980, but only managed that once more under Robinson (in 1992). Seven of GSU's 13 total invites to the Senior Bowl came during the period of 1970-80, with only three more following.

Somehow, the final contributors to that mythical run aren't always part of the conversation. Yet, they'll tell you that they challenged the league, and even their mentor.

This talented but precocious group had been so bold as to go on strike in 1979 — skipping a pair of practices after the school president decided to cut the travel budget by mandating bus rides to away games.

A LASTING MARK

Perhaps, and Eddie Robinson has said this, the pressure of those coaching milestones that loomed in the early 1980s was too much for the youngsters charged with winning the games.

After all, this was the beginning of a period in which Robinson — who ended up with a then-record 408 wins — was stalking Pop Warner's 313 career victories, then Paul "Bear" Bryant's signature 323 mark.

And, maybe, 10 years after the desegregation of Southern football powers like Alabama and LSU, the talent pool was finally beginning to visibly ebb.

Robinson himself was also growing older, becoming perhaps more tolerant.

A player strike? At Grambling? And who could imagine him encouraging the new-wave flash of a Trumaine Johnson in those by-gone eras?

Whatever lay ahead, though, there would be one bright, final blast: The 1980 squad remains in GSU's all-time Top 10 across nearly every statistical standard — even a quarter century later.

The players credit Robinson, of course, but also their buddies.

"I wasn't known for being fast," said Walls, "but I used to run just a little bit faster when I lined up against my teammates in the calisthenics line."

Mike Williams is still No. 6 in the GSU annals for career passing TDs, and is also ranked for single-season passing touchdowns (No. 7); career completion percentage (tied at No. 8, with older brother Doug); and single season completion percentage (tied at No. 6, again with Doug).

"Mike Williams threw a pretty ball," Walls said. "When he was on, even more so than Doug."

Trumaine Johnson is at No. 9 all-time at Grambling in single-season receptions, No. 7 for single-season receiving yards and tied at No. 4 for single-season touchdowns. Parham sits at No. 8 for single-season rushing yards.

The players from back then say facing each other is what spurred them to those numbers.

"We were always challenged," Walls said, "not just by the coaches but by the other players."

Mike Williams remembers practices being tougher sometimes than the games that loomed each weekend.

"We used to beat the heck out of those guys," Williams said, "when we went down the hill to the old stadium. Practice was just like on a Saturday afternoon."

In the end, Walls' 11 interceptions in 1980 remain a school record, as does "Big Bird" Smith's 48½ career sacks — a streak that began in 1980 and continued through '83. Walls is also at No. 4 for single-season interception return yardage.

"With all due respect to Sammy White, we went up against some of the greatest receivers who ever played here — and we played them physically," Walls said. "Coach Rob would never let you leave the practice field until they scored a touchdown. We didn't care. We'd keep them out there all night."

For all the recognition they didn't get, the 1980 team held its own back then.

It does even today.

Mike Williams was still selling their legacy this week, speaking passionately during a reception preceding his older brother's benefit golf tournament with fellow former Grambling quarterback James "Shack" Harris.

"We were a different bunch," he said.

Williams paused then, before adding: "We were different, but we were family. And we believed in each other. We were pigs who could fly."

g g g

GSU greats visiting Spears' camp

Defensive backs Everson Walls and Albert Lewis — members of those overlooked 1980-81 Grambling teams — are scheduled to return to assist with this week's Melvin Spears Football Camp.

"Both of them will bring highlight tapes and a great knowledge of the game to show the kids," said former teammate Andre Robinson, now GSU's linebackers coach. "Those were lock-down corners."

The camp begins today, with registration from 2-6 p.m. at the Robinson Support Facility next to the stadium on campus. Call 274-7416.

Walls, selected to the Kodak Division I-AA All-America team in 1980, went on to a 14-season NFL career that included four Pro Bowls and a Super Bowl title with the New York Giants.

Lewis, a four-time Pro Bowler, played cornerback and safety for 16 seasons with Kansas City and Oakland after being named first-team All-SWAC in 1981-82.

— Nick Deriso

THE 1980 SEASON
Overall: 10-2; SWAC: 5-1
Morgan State W 34-13
Alcorn State L 29-27*
Florida A&M W 27-10
Prairie View W 68-0*
Tennessee State W 52-27
Mississippi Valley W 34-24*
Jackson State W 24-14*
Texas Southern W 43-14*
Alabama State W 28-12
South Carolina State W 26-3
Southern W 43-6
Boise State L 14-9%

* - SWAC game
% - I-AA playoffs

Grambling's 80 years of football

G-RIFFIC TALENT
Web poll allows GSU fans to select best of the best
April 17, 2006

By Nick Deriso
nderiso@thenewsstar.com
GRAMBLING — Grambling resident Ray Higgins' grandfather, Milton "Twenty" Douglas, was on the local college's first football team, organized 80 years ago.

Originally known as the Colored Industrial and Agricultural School, Grambling fielded this initial squad under the leadership of R.W.E. Jones, the school's second president.

No, Eddie Robinson wasn't Grambling's first head football coach — a common mistake, Higgins notes, chuckling. It might seem that way since Robinson coached nearly 60 of those years.

Higgins is celebrating that long history of football at Grambling — both by highlighting its storied accomplishments and adjusting a few misconceptions — on a fan-operated Web site called www.GramblingStateUniversity.com. There, he's informally polling fans across the nation to assemble a list of the program's Top 80 all-time players.

"The great thing has been talking with people from different eras about Grambling's history," said Higgins, a booster who graduated from Grambling Lab and then GSU. "If you weren't around, you might have heard the legends, but you may not have seen these particular players. It's been fun."

Jones would coach the football team until 1932, a period that saw the creation of the school marching band, a signature element in the Grambling myth. (Higgins himself became a part of that tradition during his years at GSU.)

There followed a trio of two-year tenures for Ira Smith, Joe Williams and Osiah Johnson. Emory Hines then took over as coach for a six-year period before the long and celebrated "Eddie Rob" era began.

Jones hired the 21-year-old Robinson in 1940 after a standout playing career at the now-defunct Leland College. The rest, as they say, is history.

Robinson coached countless student athletes over what would eventually become a 57-year career, with more than 300 going on to play in the NFL. In the 1971 preseason alone, 43 former GSU players were in pro camps.

Robinson, in fact, began re-writing the record books in his second season.

Fred Hobdy and Dan Washington, who both later worked for Robinson, were members of the 1942 squad now known as the "un" team — having established an undefeated, untied and even unscored upon record that year.

Hobdy then coached the ends on Robinson's historic 1955 crew, which went 10-0 on its way to Grambling's first national black college championship. The team also produced the first of Robinson's four Pro Football Hall of Famers, Willie "Thumper" Davis.

Grambling, then a member of the Midwestern Conference, would join the Southwestern Athletic Conference in 1959 where Robinson won 17 titles (to go with eight more national black college championships) before retiring in 1997. His final tally was 408 wins, best in college football.

Robinson would be inducted into the College Hall of Fame, along with former players Paul "Tank" Younger, Gary "Big Hands" Johnson and Doug Williams — who succeeded him as coach at Grambling.

Williams, a quarterback on SWAC title teams in 1974 and '77, then established a 52-18 mark — winning three more conference championships — during his subsequent six-year stint. Current GSU coach Melvin Spears has added another 17 wins, including the most recent SWAC football title, and six losses.

Besides Robinson's undefeated 1942 and '55 squads, GSU has posted a staggering eight one-loss seasons — in 1956, 1960, 1967, 1974, 1977 and 1992 under Robinson, before Williams' Tigers did it in 2001 and Spears followed last season.

GSU's .699 all-time winning percentage is behind only Yale's .709 historically in all of Division I-AA.

So how to decide who among these towering giants to include in a Top 80 from Grambling's eight decades of football?

Is the starting quarterback Williams or James "Shack" Harris — who was a conference champion in every year he started in the late 1960s? What about the recently departed Bruce Eugene, who now holds every significant Grambling passing record?

"I tried to set it up based initially on names I knew," Higgins said. "There are presented 10 names at a time, starting with the most obvious. People have now begun talking about names that were omitted and giving reasons why others should be on. So, the lists have been growing."
There are embarrassments of riches everywhere.

Over the years, Grambling defensive lines have boasted Davis, Johnson, Junious "Buck" Buchanan and Ernie "The Big Cat" Ladd. Former defensive backs Willie Brown, Albert "Snow" Lewis and Everson "Cubby" Walls join them as members of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.

Wingbacks Frank Lewis and Sammy White played in three Super Bowls, while Charlie Joiner's bust can be found in Canton.

"There is such a rich history in this 80 years of Grambling football that it's a subject where you can continually go back and look at different names," said Higgins, whose site is not officially affiliated with GSU.

Higgins typically asks that visitors register to view GramblingStateUniversity.com's message boards, but has made the Top 80 poll open to anyone.

"Alumni, friends and family can gather and discuss this player or that one and the things they did," he said. "Hopefully, in the end, we'll have given people a chance to remember some of these accomplishments. They make me proud to be a Gramblinite."

**
GRAMBLING80: Top 80 Players
As Grambling gears up for a celebration of its first 80 years of football, I’ve compiled my own Top 80 all-time GSU players - with help from Ray Higgins, whose fan-operated http://www.gramblingstateuniversity.com/ Web site is polling fans on the subject.

Considered with a careful focus on a player’s collegiate career, these are my suggestions for the best of the best over Grambling’s first eight decades on the gridiron.

* *- My Elite 8 are given fuller biographical sketches; this list is presented in alphabetical order.

1. Aldrich Allen: Two-time All-SWAC first-team linebacker in 1978-79, as Grambling won consecutive conference titles. Was also named to the American Football Coaches Association I-AA Coaches’ All-America Team in 1979.

2. Scotty Anderson: Holds school record for receptions and touchdowns in a career and catches by a senior. The last GSU player of 17 total to receive a Senior Bowl invite, Anderson led all scorers in 1999-2000 and helped the Tigers to two titles in 2000-01.

3. Herman Arvie: A first-team All-SWAC offensive tackle in 1992, Arvie was part of an offensive line that eventually helped Eric Gant to a trio of 1,000-yard rushing seasons. He was also named second-team All-America by the Sports Network in 1992.

4. Willie Armstrong: A three-time All-Southwestern Athletic Conference running back, from 1968-70, a period that saw Grambling win the third of three SWAC titles with quarterback James “Shack” Harris in 1968.

5. Garland Boyette: He earned first-team All-SWAC and Little All-America honors in 1961. Named to the All-time HBCU team at middle linebacker by Pop Culture, he’s the uncle of Ernie Ladd, another of the Top 80.

6. Willie Brown: So deep was Grambling’s roster in 1959-62, the only NFL player to intercept a least one pass in 16 consecutive seasons never played cornerback. Still he lettered all four years at split end and outside linebacker, and GSU won a title.

7. JUNIOUS ‘BUCK’ BUCHANAN: From his sophomore season onward, this tackle was given a trio of both All-America and all-conference honors while helping Grambling to a 23-5-2 record and its first SWAC title in 1960. Former coach Eddie Robinson would recall Buchanan’s dominance, even in practice.

“If we went to the right,” Robinson once recalled, “he would tackle us. If we went to the left, he would tackle us. If we went right at him, he would tackle us. Boy, he was really tough.”

Buchanan passing away in 1992 after a long bout with lung cancer, and was posthumously inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996.

8. Frank Cornish: An All-America and first-team All-SWAC tackle in 1965, as Grambling won the first of four consecutive conference crowns.

9. WILLIE DAVIS: A two-time black college All-America defensive tackle in 1954-55, Davis anchored Grambling’s first national black college championship team — the 10-0 squad from 1955.

“Willie had hitting power,” former coach Eddie Robinson once recalled. “He was our captain, an outstanding leader.”

Davis, who worked his way to legendary status for Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers and then in the business world, would become GSU’s second SWAC Hall of Famer in 1977.

10. Walter Dean: The first SWAC player to win the Walter Payton Award, Dean was also the conference’s offensive player of the year in 1990. No senior has ever run for more than his 1,401 yards. He was also first-team all-conference in 1989, when GSU won the SWAC.

11. Steve Dennis: Still holds the school record for picks in a career, with 27 between 1969-72. A first-team All-SWAC DB in 1971-72, as GSU won the first and second of four consecutive conference titles, Dennis earned All-America honors in 1972.

12. Alphonse Dotson: Said to be Grambling’s first All-America first-teamer, Dotson received the honor from the Consensus All American-Newspaper Enterprise Association. He was a first team All-SWAC tackle in 1964, and honorable mention in ’63.

13. Tramon Douglas: Broke Scotty Anderson’s once-thought unassailable receiving numbers over two all-conference seasons beginning with 2002’s SWAC championship campaign. Still holds records for receptions and receiving yards in a season.

14. Henry Dyer, pictured at right: Grambling’s leading runner in both 1963 and the SWAC title season of ’65, Dyer was the school’s first documented 1,000-yard rusher. He was named first-team All-SWAC at fullback from ’63-65, and scored 30 times in his final two years.

15. Bruce Eugene: Eugene left Grambling with school records for career and season yards, scores and completions, two conference championships and the Division I-AA mark for touchdowns in a year - a record that had stood for since 1984.

16. Lee Fobbs: Playing from 1968-72, Fobbs rose to All-SWAC status at fullback during his junior and senior seasons, adding All-America honors in 1972, as Grambling won the second and third of four consecutive SWAC championships between 1971-74.

17. Solomon Freelon: Freelon was a first-team All-SWAC guard in 1971, a year after being named second-team as a junior. He would become one of just 12 Grambling players invited to the Blue-Gray All-Star Classic after GSU’s 1971 SWAC title.

18. Eric Gant: A two-time All-SWAC first teamer beginning in 1991, Gant is one of only 17 Grambling players ever invited to the Senior Bowl. Still holds school records for yards in season (1,417 in 1992) and yards in a career (3,795).

19. John “J.D.” Garrett: Led Grambling in rushing in 1962, and in scoring for the 1962 and ’63 seasons as both a runner and a kicker - scoring 130 total points over those two campaigns. Was first-team all-conference every season from 1961-63.

20. Clemente Gordon: SWAC offensive player of the year in 1989, as Grambling won the SWAC, Gordon was also first team in 1988. He passed for more than 5,000 yards during those two seasons, for 50 touchdowns and just 17 picks.

21. Jerry Gordon: After averaging 15 yards per catch on a 711 yard season, Gordon earned first-team SWAC honors in 1981. That followed second-team recognition in 1980 - as Grambling won a conference title.

22. Joe Gordon: The SWAC’s defensive player of the year in 1979, Gordon was also named to the AFCA I-AA Coaches’ All-America Team that year.

23. Leonard Griffin: Earned a valuable invite to the Blue-Gray All-Star Classic in 1985 after GSU won the conference title. An honorable-mention All-SWAC end, Griffin later served as a strength and conditioning assistant in the program.

24. JAMES ‘SHACK’ HARRIS: Harris passed for 4,128 yards and 43 touchdowns as Grambling went 24-5-1 between 1965-68, winning three straight SWAC titles.

Former “Coach (Eddie) Robinson had the utmost confidence in me that I could play, and that meant a lot, knowing how he felt,” Harris said. “Eddie Robinson is perhaps the greatest person that I’ve ever been around.”

In his senior season alone, Harris passed for 1,972 yards and 21 touchdowns on only 225 attempts. He was first-team All-SWAC in 1967-68, and also earned SWAC Hall of Fame honors.

25. Mike Harris: Led team in interceptions both in 1975 and ’76; his 10 picks in ’75 are second all time for one season. One of three members of the 1977 squad to be invited to the East-West Shrine Game – including Carlos Pennywell and Doug Williams.

26. Wayne Hill: Led Grambling in rushing for three seasons beginning in 1984, winning one SWAC title and gaining more than 2,000 yards. He was named second-team All-SWAC in 1985 and honorable mention in 1986.

27. Fred Hobdy: A guard on Grambling’s renowned “un” team in 1942, which went unbeaten, untied and unscored upon, Hobdy returned from the war to coach the ends - he was an assistant on 1955’s undefeated squad - before becoming Louisiana’s most successful college hoops coach ever.

28. Autry Lane Howell: A two-way lineman for Robinson, was the first of three brothers to star for Eddie Robinson, beginning in 1960. Grambling won its first Southwestern Athletic Conference title with Lane up front, establishing a 23-5-2 mark between 1960-62.

29: Michael Howell: A cornerback nicknamed “Trackdown,” Michael followed brother Lane two seasons later. His 1964 squad went 9-3, winning the Sugar Cup over Bishop before falling in the Orange Blossom Classic.

30. James “Hound” Hunter: A first-team All-SWAC honoree in 1974-75, he helped Grambling to the ’74 SWAC title. Hunter was the team leader in picks for two years, pulling down 16 passes in 1973-74. His 8 in 1974 still ranks fourth all time at GSU.

31. Randy Hymes: Led Grambling to its first two Southwestern Athletic Conference titles in six seasons, beginning in 2000. He would pass for more than 4,400 yards and 33 touchdowns, seventh all time at Grambling.

32. GARY ‘BIG HANDS’ JOHNSON: He still holds the school record for most tackles in a career, with 367 between 1971-74 as GSU won four straight SWAC titles.

In his senior season of 1974 alone, Johnson had 134 tackles, 89 unassisted, and was named the team’s Most Valuable Player. That led to coveted invites to both the East-West Shrine Game and the Senior Bowl — and Johnson was named Most Valuable Player in both.

Johnson earned first-team All-SWAC in 1972-74 and then 1997 induction into the College Football and SWAC halls of fame.

33. Stone Johnson: So fast he won the 1960 NAIA national 200-meter title, Johnson was a wingback and punter (averaging 36 yards per kick) on Grambling’s first SWAC title team. He also competed as a sprinter in the Olympics, before suffering a neck fracture during an NFL preseason game. He died 10 days later.

34. Trumaine Johnson: The 1980 and '82 SWAC offensive player of the year (when he had 1,000 yards and averaged 14 yards a catch), Johnson was also first-team All-SWAC in 1981. Grambling won the conference championship in '80. His 16 scores that season is still tied for fifth-best in school history.

35. CHARLIE JOINER: Led all Grambling receivers from 1966-68, gaining 2,066 yards, on the way to a trio of conference titles. An amazing 78 of quarterback James “Shack” Harris 289 career completions at Grambling were made by the steady Joiner, who led the team in touchdowns in 1966-67.

“Charlie goes all out,” former coach Eddie Robinson once noted. “Beating the man, that’s where he excelled.”He was named first-team All-SWAC three times and given Outstanding Offensive Player awards in the 1968 Little Rose Bowl.

Induction to the SWAC Hall of Fame followed in 1996.

36. Fred Jones: GSU’s best receiver during the 1987-89 seasons, collecting a total of 2,000 yards as well as a SWAC title in his senior campaign. He also led Grambling in scoring in ’88 with 10 touchdowns, and earned first-team All-SWAC honors in ’88-89.

37. Ernie “Big Cat” Ladd: At 6'9" and 315 pounds, arguably the biggest GSU star ever. A first-team all-league defensive lineman in 1960, as Grambling won its first-ever Southwestern Athletic Conference championship.

38. Gilad Landau: His 188 career-total in PATs was a state record. An All-SWAC first-team kicker in 1992-93, Landau earned All-America honors in 1993 from the Sports Network.

39. Melvin Lee: As quarterback of the offensive line at center on Grambling’s undefeated 1955 championship squad, Lee must have impressed former coach Eddie Robinson. He then worked for the next 40 seasons as an assistant, tinkering and perfecting Robinson’s fabled Wing-T offense.

40. Albert “Snow” Lewis: Was first-team All-SWAC at cornerback in 1981-82, after leading the team in interceptions in 1981 with seven. A stellar performance earned him a starting position by popular vote in 2002 on the 50th anniversary All-Time Senior Bowl team.

41. FRANK LEWIS: A do-anything player who led Grambling in receiving in 1969-70 and in rushing in 1969, as well. He scored 28 touchdowns in his junior and senior seasons, averaging 18.65 yards per catch.

“I played with Frank and I don’t know if I have ever seen a better athlete than Frank,” former GSU quarterback James “Shack” Harris said. “I don’t know of anything that Frank couldn’t do.”

Lewis was named first-team all-conference as a junior and senior, and was second-team as a sophomore when Grambling won the SWAC in 1968.

42. Clifton McNeil: Led all Grambling receivers in 1961 and again in 1963, averaging 16 yards per catch.

43. John Mendenhall: A first-team All-Southwestern Athletic Conference defensive end in 1971, he helped GSU to a SWAC title that year. He was then one of just 17 Grambling players ever invited to the Senior Bowl.

44. Larry Metevia Sr.: A first-team All-Southwestern Athletic Conference center in 1966, as Grambling won the second of four consecutive SWAC titles, and the first with quarterback James “Shack” Harris.

45: Michael Moore: Led all Grambling receivers in 1976-77, winning a SWAC title as a senior. His 60 receptions in 1977 still ranks in GSU’s top 10 all time and his 1,112 that year is in the top 5.

46. Brian Morgan: Holds most of GSU’s significant kicking records, including field goals in a career and most points scored by kicking at Grambling. Named first-team All-SWAC in 2001 and ’03, winning three conference titles.

47. Edward “Bo” Murray: A critical piece of Grambling’s 1955 undefeated team, the then-redshirt sophomore won the Orange Blossom Classic on scoring runs of 75 and 8 yards. He also kicked the extra point on his winning TD, beating Florida A&M 28-21.

48. Kendrick Nord: Nord passed for 6,600 yards in 1993-95, beating Alcorn in an epic Robinson Stadium battle and also winning a SWAC title as a senior. His .523 completion percentage has only been bested twice in 25 seasons.

49. Robert Parham: Grambling’s leading rusher from 1978-80, he amassed 2,700 yards over that span as GSU won three consecutive SWAC titles. He was a first-team all-conference running back in each of those seasons.

50. Elfrid Payton: Perhaps Grambling’s hardest hitter ever, this linebacker led the school as a senior in 1989 with 20 tackles for a loss, 13 quarterback sacks and two fumble returns. He was named the team's Most Outstanding Player in both 1988-89.

51. Carlos Pennywell: A first-team All-Southwestern Athletic Conference receiver during Doug Williams’ final season at the helm, Pennywell helped Grambling to the 1977 SWAC title. He was named first-team all-conference that year as a senior and led Grambling in scoring in 1976.

52. Robert Pennywell: This Pennywell was a first-team All-SWAC linebacker in 1974-75, as Grambling won its ninth Southwestern Athletic Conference title in ’74.

53. Woody Peoples: A first-team All-Southwestern Athletic Conference offensive guard in 1964, as the tandem of Henry Dyer and Leroy Carter led the rushing attack.

54. Jake Reed: A first-team All-SWAC honoree in 1990, and second-team in 1989, Reed led all Grambling receivers as a senior with 954 yards and a 20-yard average per catch. He was invited to the Senior Bowl in 1990, one of just 17 from Grambling to receive that honor.

55. Andre Robinson: Helped GSU to three straight SWAC championships from 1977-80; was named the Bayou Classic’s MVP in 1980. As a senior, was a consensus All-America selection by AP, Kodak, The Sporting News and Sheridan; was also the SWAC’s Defensive Player of the Year.
56. Jerry “Gray Ghost” Robinson: A two-time first-team All-Southwestern Athletic Conference halfback from 1960-61, a stint that included Grambling’s first-ever SWAC title in 1960. Led all Grambling rushers over those two seasons, running for 1,300 yards.57. Virgil Robinson: A first-team All-Southwestern Athletic Conference running back in 1970, Robinson led all Grambling rushers that season with 884 yards.

58. Robert Salters: Named to American Football Coaches Association Division I-AA Coaches’ All-America Team in 1979. His eight interceptions that season still ranks fourth all time at Grambling.

59. Mike Saint Clair: Named All-SWAC in 1975 and honorable mention in 1974, as Grambling won a conference title.

60. Goldie “Spider” Sellers: Earned All-Southwestern Athletic Conference honors in 1965 as Grambling won its second SWAC title ever.

61. Dwight Scales: Grambling’s top receiver in 1973-74, with more than 800 yards and a 22-yard average per catch. Grambling won SWAC titles both seasons.

62. Charles “Tank” Smith: Grambling’s leading receiver in 1972, as the Tigers won the second of four consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference championships.

63: Raymond “World” Smith: A two-time first-team All-SWAC offensive tackle in 1989-90 as running back Walter Dean builds his resume for an eventual Walter Payton Award, recognizing Division I-AA’s best offensive threat.

64. Robert “Big Bird” Smith: A three-time first-team all-conference defensive end, beginning in his sophomore season of 1981. Grambling would win the 1983 SWAC title.

65. Keith Smyre: Still holds school records for longest punt (89 yards in 1974), as well as most punts in a game, most punts in a season and most yards punted in a career.

66: Richard Stebbins: A running back speedster who excelled in track events, he competed with “Bullet” Bob Hayes in U.S. Olympic events in the 1960s.

67. Ernest “Monster” Sterling: A lineman on multiple SWAC title teams, Sterling would then put in more than two decades as an assistant at Grambling. He is also one of just two coaches who stayed on when Doug Williams succeeded Robinson.

68. Robert Taylor: A two-time All-Southwestern Athletic Conference first-team linebacker in 2000-01, Taylor was also given first team I-AA All-American honors by the American Football Coaches Association in 2001.

69. Roosevelt Taylor: One of 13 Grambling players taken in the 1963 NFL draft, and one of four future All-Pros. He played safety at Grambling during the period before integration when most GSU second-teamers were potential starters.

70. Bennie Thompson: A first-team All-Southwestern Athletic Conference defensive back in 1984, and second team in 1983 as GSU won the SWAC title.

71. Rodney Tureaud: Led all Grambling rushers in 1972 with 1,137 yards, the first GSU 1,000 rusher in seven seasons. He was named SWAC offensive player of the year.

72. Everson “Cubby” Walls: Still holds the school record for most interceptions in a season, 11 set in 1980. Was All-SWAC that season.

73. Dan H. Washington: A member of Eddie Robinson’s first squad, as well as its subsequent “un” team in 1941 – which went unbeaten, untied and unscored upon. Washington then served as team trainer for 45 years before his death in 1996 at age 74.

74. Sammy White: Inducted into the SWAC Hall of Fame in 2005 in recognition of a collegiate career that included two school-leading years for receptions in 1973 and 1975 - and a co-offensive player of the year award as a senior. White was also first-team All-SWAC in ’73.

75. DOUG WILLIAMS: Williams, who established school passing marks that stood for nearly 25 years, started quickly — winning a SWAC title as a redshirt freshman in 1974.

“I was blessed to have some veterans around me and Coach Robinson ran a conservative offense that didn’t put too much pressure on me,” Williams said.

He would win another SWAC championship as a senior in 1977, earning second-team All-SWAC honors in 1975 and then offensive player of the year honors in his final collegiate campaign. A Heisman Trophy finalist, Williams would be inducted into the SWAC and College halls in 2001.

76. Mike Williams: Williams, brother and successor at quarterback to Doug, won SWAC titles in 1978-80 and was named first-team all-conference as both a junior and senior. He threw for 3,700 yards and 46 touchdowns at Grambling.

77. Willie Williams: Punted for 4,200 yards over three seasons beginning in 1962, averaging 36 yards per attempt. He also played defensive back, where he was named first-team All-Southwestern Athletic Conference in 1964.

78. Robert Woods: A first-team All-SWAC receiver in 1977, he led all Grambling scorers with 14 touchdowns as GSU won its final conference title with Doug Williams at quarterback.

79. PAUL ‘TANK’ YOUNGER: Despite playing from 1945-48, still holds GSU record for career points with 369. His 86-yard blast against Morgan State in 1946 also remains the school’s longest non-scoring run.

In all, Younger scored 60 touchdowns — at the time a collegiate record, and still tops at Grambling — during his storied career under Eddie Robinson. Named black college player of the year in 1949, he was the first Grambling player inducted into the SWAC Hall of Fame, in 1973.

Younger — who died just days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks — had entered the College Football Hall of Fame in 2000.

80. Willie Young: A two-time All-Southwestern Athletic Conference first-team offensive guard in 1964-65, as Grambling won its second SWAC title.