Started By
Message
re: Former LSU and S Carolina Coach Paul Dietzel has passed
Posted on 9/24/13 at 12:20 pm to danfraz
Posted on 9/24/13 at 12:20 pm to danfraz
I actually knew coach well ... just spoke with him by phone earlier this year and we reminisced some things.
A couple of good stories he used to tell all the time. He got to the point where he would tell the same stories over and over, and I knew he was getting close to going home this last time we spoke, but still, he loved telling them.
One was about his stint at Army. (It was a prestigious job at the time.) To make a long story short, when anyone asked him why he left Army to take the SC job he would say, "Because I couldn't beat Navy." And that was true and usually everyone understood so there was no further comment ... and after a bit of silence he would add, "... they just happened to have this guy by the name of Staubach ..." and he would tell great stories about Staubach and having to coach against him and later becoming friends with him.
He was a true class gentleman.
Another was the story about how he and Strom Thurmond got the Williams-Brice money to be used for the stadium upgrades ... and few people knew that Clemson got just as much money from the Williams-Brice endowment as SCAR did.
Anyways ... oh, another time he had called several times and I was out of town but as soon as I got back I returned his call. He answers the phone and we start talking about this reunion he had with his old LSU team from that '59 Championship year and how they honored him ... and then he says, "Oh heck, I gotta go. I forgot to tell you we're having to get out of here until this storm blows over."
The Katrina evacuation had totally slipped his mind. Yet two weeks later he was calling me and we were picking-up right where he left off about the reunion story.
I've got lots more to tell. I called and left a message for Mrs. Anne a little while ago - a stranger answered their home phone and it sounded like a lot of people were there.
He was a great great man. A true gentleman, I cannot say it enough.
Two of my favorites are now gone ... Jim Carlen and Paul Dietzel. I'll miss both of them. Both really good men.
The things about Coach Dietzel, he never had a bad word to say about anyone. Not ever, under any circumstance.
A couple of good stories he used to tell all the time. He got to the point where he would tell the same stories over and over, and I knew he was getting close to going home this last time we spoke, but still, he loved telling them.
One was about his stint at Army. (It was a prestigious job at the time.) To make a long story short, when anyone asked him why he left Army to take the SC job he would say, "Because I couldn't beat Navy." And that was true and usually everyone understood so there was no further comment ... and after a bit of silence he would add, "... they just happened to have this guy by the name of Staubach ..." and he would tell great stories about Staubach and having to coach against him and later becoming friends with him.
He was a true class gentleman.
Another was the story about how he and Strom Thurmond got the Williams-Brice money to be used for the stadium upgrades ... and few people knew that Clemson got just as much money from the Williams-Brice endowment as SCAR did.
Anyways ... oh, another time he had called several times and I was out of town but as soon as I got back I returned his call. He answers the phone and we start talking about this reunion he had with his old LSU team from that '59 Championship year and how they honored him ... and then he says, "Oh heck, I gotta go. I forgot to tell you we're having to get out of here until this storm blows over."
The Katrina evacuation had totally slipped his mind. Yet two weeks later he was calling me and we were picking-up right where he left off about the reunion story.
I've got lots more to tell. I called and left a message for Mrs. Anne a little while ago - a stranger answered their home phone and it sounded like a lot of people were there.
He was a great great man. A true gentleman, I cannot say it enough.
Two of my favorites are now gone ... Jim Carlen and Paul Dietzel. I'll miss both of them. Both really good men.
The things about Coach Dietzel, he never had a bad word to say about anyone. Not ever, under any circumstance.
2
Posted on 9/24/13 at 12:26 pm to scrooster
There's one other interesting story Coach used to tell ... about Lou Holtz.
Lou was always fond of saying that Coach Dietzel had fired him when he was an assistant at Carolina (when Lou was an assistant here under Marvin Bass who Coach replaced), but Coach vehemently denied that. There was a good story to go with it but too long to tell here where it would never be appreciated.
I'll look forward to reading Lou's comments about Coach's passing in the next few days. Or perhaps he'll comment about it Thursday night.
Lou was always fond of saying that Coach Dietzel had fired him when he was an assistant at Carolina (when Lou was an assistant here under Marvin Bass who Coach replaced), but Coach vehemently denied that. There was a good story to go with it but too long to tell here where it would never be appreciated.
I'll look forward to reading Lou's comments about Coach's passing in the next few days. Or perhaps he'll comment about it Thursday night.
Posted on 9/24/13 at 12:31 pm to scrooster
RIP Coach
Page 1 of 1
Popular
Back to top
Follow SECRant for SEC Football News