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Man Among Boys: Coaching ULM Helped Robinson Find His Purpose

Man Among Boys: Coaching ULM Helped Robinson Find His Purpose

Football Sep 28
By Paul Letlow, ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist

A short press release out of Monroe, Louisiana, appeared in newspapers on June 9, 1979.

The former Northeast Louisiana University, now ULM, announced that tennis coach Johnny Robinson was resigning. His plans at that time weren't clear but athletics director John David Crow, who hired Robinson as his defensive backfield coach and the tennis coach in December of 1975, said he "will probably stay in the ministry full time."

What came next for Robinson, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Aug. 3, 2019, became the most impactful chapter of his celebrated life. In 1980, Johnny Robinson's Boys Home in Monroe opened its doors, giving thousands of young men a second chance at life.

Maybe it seemed like just another stop back in 1975. But by taking the coaching jobs and settling in Monroe, Robinson embarked on his destiny. 

"I was humbled to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame," Robinson said. "That honor was the pinnacle of my professional career. But the Johnny Robinson's Boys Home is the pinnacle of my life."

ULM will recognize Robinson on Sept. 28 during its home football game against South Alabama. In addition to Robinson and his family, staff and 30 residents of the Boys Home also have been invited to the game.

"I always considered the time that I was with Northeast Louisiana University such a wonderful experience," Robinson said. "It came at a pivotal time in my life as I transitioned from professional football to college athletics and away from the big city life.

"I felt like the Monroe community was the ideal place to live being a small college town. I met new friends, who are still very special to me. I had the opportunity to coach football with such an outstanding man as John David Crow, and I was able to mentor many fine young men on both the football team and as head coach of the tennis team."

Even today at age 81, Robinson remains a steady presence in the residential home he founded 39 years ago. Long retired from football glory, he's worked tirelessly in the second half of his life to make a difference.       

"I believe that God had a path for me to take and He used the circumstances of my life to get me to the place where he wanted me to be," Robinson said. "Now, looking back over the years, it's easy to see that God had a plan for my life far away from the glamour of professional football. He used my career as a player to help troubled youth and through founding Johnny Robinson's Boys Home, He has enabled thousands of young men to get a second chance in life."

Younger fans might not recall Robinson's football career, but it was extraordinary. Along with the late Billy Cannon and others, Robinson was one of the key figures on the 1958 National Championship team at LSU.

The long overdue Hall of Fame induction highlighted Robinson's stellar professional football career in both the American and National Football Leagues. Robinson played 12 years, starting with Lamar Hunt's Dallas Texans, who became the Kansas City Chiefs. Robinson made seven Pro Bowls and recorded 57 interceptions in 164 career games. 

Winning was also part of Robinson's legacy. He contributed on three AFL championship teams, and started in the first Super Bowl when the Chiefs fell to the Green Bay Packers.
  
Playing with three broken ribs in Super Bowl IV, the star safety intercepted a pass as the Chiefs upset the Vikings, 23-7, in 1969.

Circle back and consider the circumstances that brought the football star to Monroe in the first place. Robinson was set to become a scout for Hank Stram when the Chiefs fired their Hall of Fame coach. Robinson could have gone with Stram to New Orleans, but instead accepted a coaching job with Crow, the former Heisman Trophy winner, who had just become head coach at NLU. As part of the deal, Robinson also would coach tennis, a position he held for four years.

"I know how appreciative he is of the University," said his step-son and manager Bob Thompson, who presented Robinson for his Hall of Fame enshrinement in Canton, Ohio. "He has a love for the University. He's stayed here and started the Boys Home. It's a nice college town, a good place to raise a family and to be a part of the community. That's what it's been for him. The University has been good for him and he's looking forward to being there for the first conference game."

In an interview with The (Monroe, La.) News-Star in 2005, Robinson talked about the origin of the Boys Home after he left coaching. 

A volunteer chaplain with the Monroe Police Department at the time, he had just visited with a troubled 10-year-old boy at the Louisiana Training Institute when he was driving along South Grand Ave. Along his route, he saw a huge home for sale.

Robinson, who was hatching plans to open a home, wanted the place but couldn't secure financing. A retired Naval officer bought it and began to fix it up.

"But I kept coming back here," Robinson said. "I watched him work at it and what he was doing on the house. He knew I was interested, but I had allowed him to take over my option."  

About three months later, the new owner offered Robinson a deal. Robinson could buy the property.

"He called me one day and his wife was a spiritual lady," Robinson said. "You're supposed to give that house to Johnny Robinson."

His brother helped him secure financing, but money was still tight. Robinson needed $50,000 by a certain date.

"I called the banker out to see if he could give me more time," Robinson said. "I got a call from a friend that morning to see if I had looked at the mail that morning. I said, 'No. He told me to see what it was.'"

There was a check for $50,000 from Robinson's friend George O'Neal. Call it a "Hail Mary" that went for a touchdown.

"That's how I got into it," Robinson said. "It was kind of like a miracle after a miracle. The place was a better buy after he did the work on it."

Within that former plantation house situated on four acres, Robinson built a home. Over the years, he'd talk to judges about kids and gain custody. He'd hear about others without parents and bring them in.

The staff works with the boys, who range in age from 11-17. They attend local public schools but have supervision 24 hours a day. There is a licensed clinical social worker who conducts group and individual therapy. They learn life skills that can help them turn their lives around.

"It's been his home for this long," Thompson said. "Everything that happened, I like to look at it as what God used to get him here. Every piece of the puzzle was getting him to the point where he is now."

 
Johnny Robinson - Kansas City Chiefs
 
 
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