LeBeau joins Buckeye elite

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

By JEFF GATES
Contributing Writer

COLUMBUS — An exceptional athlete in football, basketball and track (not to mention golf), London’s Dick LeBeau probably would have been a heck of a hockey player as well.

On Friday, Sept. 25, LeBeau completed two-thirds of a hall-of-fame ‘hat trick’ (a three-goal game in hockey) by joining other Buckeye elite for induction into the Ohio State University Athletics Hall of Fame. The ceremony was held at The Columbus, and was sponsored by OSU’s Varsity O Club.

LeBeau was honored for his spectacular career on the OSU gridiron. London’s favorite son is already in the hall of fame of his high school, and was recently named a senior committee nominee for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton next summer.

“Dick LeBeau is a legend,” said OSU football coach Jim Tressel in an exclusive interview with The Madison Press. “I think about everything he has accomplished in his lifetime — and it started right here in Ohio.”

The plethora of LeBeau admirers already know of his lifelong accomplishments — from being a three-sport star for the Red Raiders to earning two Super Bowl championship rings as defensive coordinator with the Pittsburgh Steelers. His induction in the OSU hall of fame with the Buckeyes’ best surprised no one — except maybe the honoree himself.

“This is as great as anything that has happened to me,” LeBeau said. “To have an award of this nature come back this late in life is totally humbling.”

LeBeau was a three-time letter winner for OSU’s football squad, contributing greatly to the 1957 National Championship team. He had a two-touchdown performance in a pivotal come-from-behind victory over the Michigan Wolverines to pave the way to the Buckeyes’ title.

“He was a terrific team player, a heads-up guy — he always seemed to know where the ball was,” said Galen Cisco, former OSU football teammate, fellow OSU hall-of-famer, and two-time World Series champion pitching coach with the Toronto Blue Jays. “He was always one step ahead — I don’t know how he did it.”

But staying ahead of the game has been LeBeau’s recipe for success to perform at a high level for his 50-plus years in the National Football League — first as a record-setting cornerback with the Detroit Lions, and then rewriting the defensive strategy books for all coaches in the NFL.

“Dick is everything we want our student-athletes to embody — great character, great work ethic, all the strong values you want,” said OSU Athletics Director Gene Smith. “For us to have a chance to put him on a pedestal is special.”

Whether he is afraid of heights or whatever it may be, LeBeau always seems uncomfortable being lifted up above his peers for any reason — often crediting anyone else for his success but himself.

“It would have been reward enough to have my three Varsity Os and played at Ohio State and the teammates I got to know and play with in those years,” LeBeau said. “They are people you will not forget all your life.”

LeBeau also credited his family, including his older brother Bob. London High School coaches Jim Bowlus and Ray Chadwell were also on LeBeau’s list of appreciative comments.

A young man at 72, LeBeau acknowledged that he and fellow OSU inductee Pandel Savic were given special permission to give longer-than-usual acceptance speeches on Friday.

“I guess they heard my reputation as an orator,” LeBeau joked, as he and Savic were immortalized with fellow Buckeyes Bob Hopper, Neal Colzie, Robert Gary, Andy Katzenmoyer and Michael Redd. “They said Pandel and I could take up a little longer because we can’t have notes — hell, we couldn’t read them.”

Despite making jokes about his age, it has been LeBeau’s youthful exuberance that has set him apart. For the past 35-plus years, his life has been dedicated to teaching young men the art of football.

“He has carried his Ohio State flag proudly everywhere he went because he loves Ohio State and is so proud to be a Buckeye,” Tressel said. “He came in this spring to a luncheon and spoke to our entire team — our kids were spellbound.”

The event was also an opportunity for LeBeau to catch up with some childhood friends — including one who shares LeBeau’s passion for golf.

“Dick was a good golfer — we played junior golf against each other,” said fellow OSU hall-of famer Jack Nicklaus in an exclusive interview. “We were good friends a long time ago, and I’m delighted for him.”

Through it all, London’s “Legend of the Fall” has always remained true to his roots, and the humility instilled by his family.

“Growing up in the shadow of Ohio State in London, and coming over here to football games when you’re little you dream someday of maybe getting to play here, but you never really think it will probably happen,” LeBeau said. “I’ve been blessed — but I sure never thought I would end up over here in their Athletics Hall of Fame.”

LeBeau’s next stop — Canton.

“He’ll get the clean sweep,” Tressel said of LeBeau being honored on the high school, collegiate and professional levels. “And he deserves it.”