Remembering a hall-of-fame mom

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

By Jeff Gates
Contributing Writer

Too bad there isn’t a hall of fame for moms.

If there were, Beulah LeBeau would undoubtedly be in it.

On any given Saturday and Sunday afternoon in the Fall as television cameras scour the sidelines of collegiate and professional football contests, a myriad of players can be seen/heard paying homage to the maternal members of their families.

For 51 years, London’s Charles Richard “Dick” LeBeau has been prowling a National Football League sideline as a player or a coach. During those many decades, his mother has served as an inspiration to him — either by being present at the game venue or in more recent years, by telephone.

This past November I had the pleasure of being at Pittsburgh’s Heinz Field the evening LeBeau was honored for his half-century of service to the NFL. While speaking with a number of LeBeau’s current and former players — as well as admirers — the tidbit of information that appeared to get the most attention was the fact that the defensive coaching genius called his then 95-year-old mother Beulah each night.

“It’s an absolute blessing to be able to do that,” LeBeau said at the time, of calling his mother.

One person who appeared to be particularly enamored with that situation was Peter King, the senior writer for Sports Illustrated. Since I passed that nugget on to him that night in Pittsburgh, King has taken advantage of several opportunities to write about LeBeau’s devotion to his mother.

And if you had the opportunity to ever meet Beulah, you couldn’t help but be captivated. When I had the pleasure of meeting her a year ago, it was quickly evident to see from where Dick and his older brother Bob inherited their humility.

Beulah had great reason to smile — her older son is a former school administrator and a world-class musician, while the exploits of her youngest son have been frequently documented.

“I’m proud of both of my boys,” Beulah said in an interview last Fall. “They are good boys.”

While Beulah has gained some notoriety due to who her sons have become, I have come to realize that her sons became successful in large part because of the ideals instilled by Beulah.

So, whenever Dick calls a play that throws a quarterback for a loss, or when Bob plays those soothing notes on his saxophone, they know the teaching of their mother laid the groundwork for those things to happen.

When Beulah passed away last Wednesday at age 96, I was sad for her sons as well as other LeBeau family members with whom I have had the pleasure to become friends.

But mostly, I was sad for those people not fortunate enough to have met her. During the past year, I have had a number of occasions to visit with her at her home. One time I took my oldest son Aaron with me, and since that point, any time I visited she would scoot into the kitchen and return with a regular mailing envelop filled with two chocolate bars and two suckers — gifts for Aaron and his younger brother Reid.

Beulah treated me like family, and it will be something I won’t forget.

Rose and Clint Morse have known the LeBeau family for decades. Clint told me the night Beulah passed away that the biggest compliment he thinks he has ever received is when Beulah called him her ‘third son.’

Beulah was not one to fawn over her younger son’s gridiron exploits. She seemed to be happiest when talking about when he would come by and play his guitar and sing for her.

“He won’t ever change — he’ll always be a London boy,” Beulah told me of her legendary coaching son. “He’s just my son — he’s my baby boy.”

While Beulah was proud of both her sons, the person who would really set her heart aflutter was Steelers defensive wizard Troy Polamalu — her favorite player. At the conclusion of this most recent Super Bowl run, Polamalu presented his coach with an autographed jersey as a thank you gift. That jersey lived in Beulah’s home for several weeks for her to enjoy.

Next August, London’s ‘Legend of the Fall’ should be taking his rightful place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton. It was an event Beulah told me she hoped she would be able to see happen in her lifetime.

Beulah will be there in spirit — smiling down on her son as he takes his place among football’s immortals.

Coach LeBeau already has the most prestigious title that can be bestowed upon him.

After all, he’s Beulah’s baby boy.

Jeff Gates, the winner of 10 Associated Press Awards, has been a free-lance writer for The Madison Press for 13 years.