The roots of his success.

For 50 years as a player and a coach in the National Football League, the branches of Charles Richard "Dick" LeBeau’s tree are far reaching.

Despite the many kudos he has received in the NFL, LeBeau’s feet have always been firmly planted in the soil of his home town. Long before he graced the sidelines in Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Buffalo, Detroit, Green Bay, and Philadelphia — and even before his time in Columbus with the Ohio State Buckeyes — LeBeau put on the shoulder pads for London High School.

"When you meet him, you’ll like him," LeBeau’s brother Bob said. "He’s still the same guy as he’s always been in London."

LeBeau’s London and NFL legacies will now come together next month as the former Red Raider third-string quarterback will be honored at an event to kickoff the LeBeau Field House Project — a facility to be constructed in celebration of London’s Legend of the Fall. The fundraising dinner/auction will take place Saturday, June 27, starting at 6 p.m. in the London High School Gymnasium.

Among those on hand to honor football’s most innovative defensive guru will be three current NFL head coaches — the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Mike Tomlin, the Cincinnati Bengals’ Marvin Lewis, and Dick Jauron of the Buffalo Bills.

This past year, Tomlin and LeBeau teamed together to lead the Steelers’ NFL-best defense to a Super Bowl victory. Lewis followed LeBeau as head coach of the Bengals, and Jauron is a long-time LeBeau friend.

Also scheduled to appear are former teammates of LeBeau’s from his playing days at Ohio State and Detroit. Some more special guests are sure to appear.

It is your opportunity to be a part of history. The cost of the tickets is $100, with a corporate table $1,000. To order tickets, contact London High School head football coach Bill Dennis at (school) (740) 852-5705, extension 1101 or (cell phone) (330) 763-0076.

Checks made payable to "London Sideliners" can be mailed to: London High School Football, P.O. Box 661, London, OH 43140.

Support the London High School LeBeau Field House Project by spending an evening with the coach in the place he deserves to be honored — his hometown.