Former YSU coach Dike Beede should be enshrined in HOF

Former YSU coach Dike Beede should be enshrined in HOF

Fanfare:

As I sat through another year of high school football games, many college bowls, and professional games, I could not help but think back, as the flag was tossed into the air by the game officials — indicating that a penalty had been committed.

It is my privilege to have played (from 1951 through 1955) for the person who invented the penalty flag, former Youngstown State coach Dwight “Dike” Beede. He did something that will stand the test of time, not like a record of sorts that can be bettered by someone in the future.

The question that came to mind is why — to the best of my knowledge — hasn’t Coach Beede been elected as a member of the College Football Hall of Fame? It is not the penalty flag in itself that makes him deserving, but what follows also:

Coach Beede’s resume, in terms of years of coaching and his win-loss record is self-explanatory and well known; therefore, I will restrict my comments to my personal thoughts about Coach Beede — to make a point.

It’s a credit to him that when we talk about Coach Beede, we do so in terms of his personality — his ways and means of coaching — and not so much about football as such.

I remember him as a person who always demonstrated excellent people skills in his efforts to direct other coaches (three assistants — which is unheard of these days!) and players. He had a pleasing, laid-back personality and winning ways — both of which are essential in working with people and to accomplish the goals of an organization!

He was a leader with character and integrity. He was a coach who devoted long hours to his duties as a coach and was willing to do whatever it took to accomplish the task at hand. He led a team that had its pre-season training camp at Camp Fitch with its sleeping tents that leaked water on you as you slept when it rained. It also included a three-mile scenic trail that we enjoyed running each day after a two-a-day practice. He led a team that did not have its own practice field, a team that did not have its own stadium, a team that had no training room, a team interrupted for several years by war and a team that never had a playbook. Everything was done off a set of cards that he showed you once, which developed good memory skills. It was a team that had no technology except for a small stop-and-go camera that individual players could use to view the last game played. It was a team that nonetheless established a strong football tradition!

Coach Beede was ultra-conservative in his views. He also believed that if you got close enough to the goal line to kick a field goal, you were close enough to score a touchdown — why settle for three points when you could get seven! He was a team player who treated colleagues and players with respect and dignity. Coach Beede inspired confidence with his “can-do” attitude. He never shied away from including military teams on his schedule and teams that included well-known graduates from Big Ten Schools and the NFL. His teams that he not only played but held their own in terms of wins and losses. Coach Beede believed in hard-nosed football. He was a visionary and a catalyst for change — hence the invention of the penalty flag!

He was enthusiastic, persuasive and a dedicated coach. Coach Beede had a strong work ethic and boundless energy. During his years in coaching, he demonstrated a strong commitment to education and stressed the academic side of playing football! He was compassionate and empathetic for those of us in most need and was a capable and articulate voice for us!

History has shown that “the tallest building can only stand the test of time if it has a strong foundation.” The examples Coach Beede set says a lot about why and where YSU is today in terms of its football program. His intensity, focus, drive, and dedication have had a maximum influence on the modern YSU football program. As YSU’s “first” and for many years its only football coach, he established and developed a strong foundation for those who followed. He overcame many obstacles during his 34-year coaching career — 1938-72 — ending up with a winning percentage of 53.2!

There comes a time in one’s life when others look back to see if, in fact, his or her life’s work has left its mark — the question being, “Did he or she make a difference.” My own words can never adequately explain what his life’s work as a football coach has meant to YSU. IT IS DUE!

It’s with admiration and deep respect for the many ways Coach Beede was a success, the example he set, the real difference he made, and the many lives he touched that we say, “THANK YOU FOR A JOB WELL DONE!”

The question still remains — why isn’t Coach Beede a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, and is it a deserving cause for someone on The Vindicator staff to pursue?

Angelo Pezzuolo

New Castle, Pa.