Plain Speaking

True story: Several years ago while attending a University of Georgia football game, I turned around and noticed Erk Russell towering just a few feet away.
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I had long been an admirer of Coach Russell, known to thousands simply as “Erk,” and it was somewhat of a thrill to see him in arm’s reach.
I quickly told my better half that Erk Russell was sitting right behind us. She turned, looked and then looked at me with a somewhat puzzled expression on her face.

“Where?” she asked. “I don’t see him.”

“Right there,” I responded.

She looked again and then repeated, “Where is he?”
Somewhat confused at this point, I said again, “Right there. It’s Erk Russell!”

“You mean the bald-headed man?” she asked still somewhat puzzled.

“Yes,” I said. “Erk Russell, legendary football coach.”

“Oh,” my significant other responded. “I thought you said Kurt Russell.”

We both started laughing at that point. Through the years, we have continued to joke about this incident. I will say “Erk Russell” and she will respond by saying “Kurt Russell.”

I thought of this conversation we had while driving to the office on a recent Friday morning and hearing on the radio the news of Erk’s death.

While he was 80 years old, to college football fans, especially in this state, Russell will always be young and a part of a successful team, whether at the University of Georgia as defensive coordinator or as the head coach and father of modern-day football at Georgia Southern.

Russell was one of the first coaches I remember as a young, impressionable fan. He was what I term “a character” in the coaching business. As a youngster, I vividly remember seeing him on the Bulldog sideline with a black jumper with the sleeves torn off while performing his famous trademark of headbutting his players—while they were wearing their helmets—and busting his forehead open.

Many a vintage picture shows Erk with blood stains all over his arms and chest with a pool of blood still running down his face.

Credit must go to Vince Dooley, for allowing Erk to develop his own identity, something that was very unusual for assistant coaches during that time. (It has become more common now, but not so much back in the 1960s and 1970s).

What Erk did at Georgia Southern is also nothing short of remarkable. Within a handful of years, he had the Eagles winning Division I-AA national championships and cementing his legacy even more.

I have never heard anyone say a bad thing about Erk, something also unheard in a professional where it’s natural to make enemies. His football coaching ability and his motivational tactics were outstanding, but from all indications he was also quite a person as well. Football won’t be the same without him.

Monticello native Chris Bridges is a reporter and columnist for Mainstreet Newspapers based in Jefferson. You can e-mail comments about this column to chris@main streetnews.com.