You should know that he was born only three months after the end of World War I, and only five months before race riots swept through Chicago and Washington.
You should know that he was a Louisiana sharecropper’s son, that he was raised to look a man in the eye, to give an honest day’s work, to value the meaning of a handshake.
You should know that he and his schoolyard friends couldn’t afford a football, so they used an inflated pig bladder or a gnarled bicycle tire.
You should know that he first thought about coaching football when he was in 3rd grade.
You should know that his parents were without high school diplomas, but smart enough to insist that their son make education his No. 1 priority.
You should know that he loved football so much, that he would work as part of the LSU or Southern University pregame maintenance crews in exchange for a seat at the game.
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You should know that he wasn’t allergic to work. He delivered blocks of ice from mule-drawn wagons. He shoveled coal for 20 cents an hour. He learned to cut hair.
You should know that he received a diploma from McKinley High School in Baton Rouge, his bachelor’s degree from Leland College in Baker, La., his master’s degree from Iowa, his honorary doctor of letters from Louisiana Tech and his honorary doctor of letters from Yale.
You should know that his first job after college was working in a Baton Rouge feed mill.
You should know that his first and only coaching interview came in 1941, when the 22-year-old job applicant met Dr. Ralph Waldo Emerson Jones, president of the Louisiana Negro Normal and Industrial Institute.
You should know that his first team finished 3-5.
You should know that his second team finished 8-0 and didn’t allow a point the entire season, a feat not since duplicated. You should also know that there were only 67 men enrolled in the entire school, 33 of whom played on that undefeated 1942 team.
You should know that he supported a wife and newborn on $64 a month.
You should know that he also coached the men’s basketball team and the women’s basketball team, that he oversaw the school’s physical education department, that he taped ankles, mowed the football field, repaired uniforms, worked with the band and cheerleaders, and wrote game stories for various state newspapers.
You should know that he once came to Chicago to listen to the legendary Fritz Crisler of Michigan and Lynn “Pappy” Waldorf of California. It was at the coaching clinic that Waldorf told him to devise a system, perfect it, believe in it and stick with it.
You should know that he’s using the same system today.
You should know that he used to stroll through the dormitory at 5 a.m., ringing a bell to wake his players for summer drills, that he’d play Ray Charles’ version of “Hit the Road, Jack” over the stadium loudspeakers during workouts.
You should know that he gets so emotional before games that he often cries in front of his team.
You should know that he believes in God and country, and has never wavered in those beliefs.
You should know that he coached the likes of Charlie Joiner, Tank Younger, Everson Walls, Willie Brown, Buck Buchanan, Willie Davis, James Harris and Doug Williams.
You should know that he happily endorsed the school’s name change, from the Louisiana Negro Normal and Industrial Institute to Grambling State University.
You should know that he won his first game in 1941, his 50th game in 1949, his 100th in 1957, his 200th in 1971, his 300th in 1982, his record-breaking 324th in 1985, his 400th in 1995 and his 408th in 1997.
You should know that Penn State’s Joe Paterno once said of him: “Nobody has ever done or will ever do what (he) has done for this game.”
You should know that at exactly 1:02 p.m. Saturday, the public-address annoucer at Grambling State’s football stadium will say, “Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to today’s game–the last home game for Coach Eddie G. Robinson. Please prepare to enjoy today’s festivities as the legend takes his final bow.”
You should know that the winningest coach in college football history will be remembered for more than victories.
You should know that at game’s end against North Carolina A&T, balloons will be released, followed by a minute-long fireworks display. Later a limousine will pick up Robinson and return him to the fieldhouse.
You should know that he’ll be crying.
You should know that he won’t be the only one.
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