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There was a time when collegiate coaches really did put the man before the student before the football field. Teaching young 18 yr olds the importance of teamwork and discipline took precedence over silent snap counts and rushing yards. This week, I’ll highlight the pantheons of HBCU football. Men who did more than just accumulate incredible winning percentages, but more importantly, whose patience, demands and love churned out exceptional college graduates.
Earl C. Banks, affectionately called “Papa Bear”, more than any other man, put Morgan State University on the map and single-handedly shaped the lives and destinies of hundreds of young black men. He was a legend in his time and one of the greatest college football coaches in the United States posting a fantastic .839 win-loss percentage. There were numerous lofty accomplishments in his 14 years at the helm of the Morgan State football program, including a 31 game winning streak, three unbeated regular seasons, five Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championships (CIAA) and four bowl games. Twice under Banks’ tutelage, the Bears led the nation in total defense.
If you want to gauge the true measure of Earl Banks’ contributions during his 69 years on Earth, you have to look beyond his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame last December, beyond the 40 players he coached who went on to play in the National Football League, beyond his three consecutive undefeated seasons at Morgan State and his 95-30-2 record, beyond his own All-American status while a student-athlete at the University of Iowa.
You have to look at Earl Banks’ work in molding college-age men at Morgan State into mature and responsible adults.
For Coach Banks, what happened on the football field was important, but not nearly as significant as preparing these young men for the rest of their lives. Time after time, he took on the role of second father to these ball players. He was always there when they needed him. He fed them in his home, found room for them to sleep if necessary, lectured them on the true values in life and advised them on how to handle their problems.
No wonder Earl Banks was revered on the Morgan State campus. Not only did the school’s glory years in football coincide with his 14-year tenure (1960-1973) but he continued to dominate the school’s athletic scene for another 14 years as the school’s athletic director — instructing both impressionable youths and their young coaches, who looked to him as the master teacher and as a friend.
Earl Banks taught his teams to play tough, hard, basic football — solid defense based on sound fundamentals and unspectacular but equally solid offense. He coached football not only to win games but to teach his players the value of hard work, teamwork, discipline and clear thinking under stress.
He also became a Baltimore institution, active in a variety of charitable and civic undertakings. To young blacks in Baltimore’s inner city neighborhoods, Coach Banks was a hero and a role model; for those who ended up at Morgan State because of Coach Banks’ reputation or persuasion, he became a lifelong mentor.
It was Banks who sent Willie Lanier to the Kansas City Chiefs, Leroy Kelly to the Cleveland Browns, Mark Washington to the Dallas Cowboys, John Fuqua to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Raymond Chester to the Los Angeles Raiders.
Turning out top notch professional players was a minor part of Papa Bear’s job as he saw it. “I want to develop a good citizen, a man who can contribute something – give something back to society,” he stressed. I try to treat my players like they’re my sons. I want them to tell me their troubles.”
Coach Banks amassed enough citations, plaques and other awards to literally fill a room. To list a few: he received the “Man of the Year” Award from the Baltimore Sports Writers Association, the Maryland Football Hall of Fame; the Pigskin Club of Washington; and the Washington Touchdown Club; he was the CIAA Coach of the Year – 1962, 1965, 1966; Pittsburgh Courier National Coach of the Year; Sportsman of the Year – Baltimore Sports Reports Association; and Coach of the Year, Pigskin Club of Washington DC.
He was inducted into five Sports halls of Fame, which are as follows: 1982 – MSU Varsity “M” Club, Inc; 1987 – Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association; 1992 – National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA); 1993 – Mid-Eastern Athletics Conference. The crowning star was his induction into the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame, which he considered his “Closing Chapter.”
From his experiences, Coach Banks coined a motto that he often repeated to his players: “I shall rise from that whence I came.” Only a few men can give the gift of giving, and Coach Banks gave himself. With that, he gave a lot of young men hope for the future.