Charles McClendon‘s Players Celebrate His Magnificent Legacy
Saturday nights in Tiger Stadium … heartbreaks and comebacks … SEC championships and bowl games … his “boys.”
Coach Charles McClendon left his mark on LSU’s campus as the all-time winningest coach in program history. He led his teams to a 137-59-7 record in 18 seasons from 1962-1979.
Although these accomplishments have reserved him a spot in the National Football Foundation’s College Hall of Fame and LSU Athletics Hall of Fame, no one could give him more praise for the person that he was and the life that he lived than the coaches, managers and student-athletes that played under his leadership.
His boys, as Coach McClendon so tenderly referred to his players, are gathering this weekend to reconnect with old teammates, celebrate the memories they shared and recognize the 30th anniversary of his final season as head coach of the LSU Tigers.
All-American quarterback and future first-round draft pick Bert Jones, who played for the Tigers from 1969-72, shared one of his favorite memories of Coach Mac. Jones, an avid outdoorsman, remembered that it had nothing to do with football but with duck hunting. The quarterback and a few of his teammates were ardent duck hunters and took every opportunity to leave the confines of their athletic dorm rooms.
After practice, the players noticed wood ducks on the south side of the practice field and decided to go hunting. They took their prizes to the football locker room to clean, thinking that the coaches had left for the night. When Jones left the locker room, Coach McClendon was close behind and saw the mess the players had made.
“When Coach Mac found us, he was very aggravated with me and probably would have kicked me off the team until he realized that some of the guys who were with me were starters too,” said Jones. “As mad as he was, he ended up laughing about it.
“Coach Mac made an impact on all of his players, myself included. I think the greatest impression he left on me is that you aren’t as ready as you think you are, and your time will come.”
All-American and All-SEC offensive guard Tyler Lafauci learned the importance of loyalty from Coach Mac.
The Tigers had lost the first game of the 1971 season — Lafauci’s sophomore year — to Colorado. The next week the team played Texas A&M. In-between warm-ups and kick-off, Coach Mac brought the team back in the locker room to let the players listen to the screaming crowd that was waiting for them.
All the team could hear was yelling.
“I remember Coach Mac telling us that those people were yelling for us. He asked us if we understood that they were yelling for us,” said Lafauci. “That was the first time I really caught a glimpse of the significance of the fans and what they meant to the LSU football team.
“Coach Mac took that opportunity to get all of our attention and to focus on the fans that were encouraging us even though we had lost the week before. We were playing for them.”
LSU defeated the Aggies that night, 37-0.
Defensive tackle Leonard Marshall was part of McClendon’s final season at LSU and was drawn to play for LSU because of Coach Mac’s down-to-earth nature.
“Coach Mac had this way of wearing his hat and always had a toothpick in his mouth. How the man had a conversation with a toothpick in his mouth blows my mind,” said Marshall.
Marshall had one foot in the door to play football for the University of Oklahoma when McClendon paid a visit to Marshall’s home in Franklin, La.
“When I was still in high school and Coach came to my house, he asked my dad if his son wanted to play four years of big-time football, get a great education and to make the state of Louisiana proud,” explained Marshall.
“My dad, of course, said ?yes,’ and Coach Mac told him that he had big plans for big Leonard to come to LSU.”
That day, Marshall chose to play football for LSU and had no regrets.
“I will always cherish the relationship I had with Charlie Mac, LSU, the state of Louisiana and everyone involved,” said Marshall.
Brad Davis, who caught Jones’s last-second touchdown pass to beat Ole Miss in 1972, credits McClendon as a mentor.
“Coach Mac gave me an opportunity at LSU,” said Davis. “He was my coach, my teacher, disciplinarian, guidance counselor and acted as a father-figure to me.
“He taught me respect and responsibility. He was a good friend to my family and me, and everything I am today I owe to the lessons I learned from Coach Mac.”
Although these men have moved on past football in their lives, they all have a common bond. They are his boys.
They will always be his boys.