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I've been covering high school football in Illinois, from Champaign to East St. Louis to Chicago, for more than 40 years.
Along the way, I've met and admired many outstanding coaches, including Fred Cameron and Bob Shannon of East St. Louis, Champaign's Tommy Stewart, Richards' Gary Korhonen, East Leyden's Jack Leese, Deerfield's Paul Adams, Glenbard West's Bill Duchon, St. Rita's Pat Cronin, St. Laurence's Tom Kavanagh, Gordon Tech's Tom Winiecki, Brother Rice's Tom Mitchell, Joliet Catholic's Gordie Gillespie, Mount Carmel's Frank Lenti, Providence's Matt Senffner, Glenbrook North's Harold Samorian, Buffalo Grove's Grant Blaney, New Trier's Chick Cichowski, Vocational's Bernie O'Brien, Robeson's Roy Curry, Philllips' Carl Bonner and Julian's J.W. Smith.
But no one impressed me more than Murney Lazier.
His coaching record at Evanston makes you blink twice when you see it. No, this can't be. Let me check it again. One hundred and twenty-five victories, seventeen losses, four ties, in 18 years. That's right. Only 17 losses in 18 years. A winning percentage of .859, the hhighest in state history.
Enough statistics.
What made him stand out above all others, in my view, was his rock-solid and uncompromising brand of discipline, his "every kid is equal" philosophy and his innovative and creative nature. He was tough and gruff and mean and ornery but his players loved him and would run through a brick wall if he asked them to. Because they knew he would do the same for them.
He had great players like Howard Jones, whom he considered the best player he ever coached, Mike Kenn, Doug Redman, Emery Moorehead, Steve Greene, Joe Stewart, Carlos Matthews, Jim Purnell, Mike Wynn and Bob Pickens. But most of his players were hardscrabble kids with small bodies and big hearts.
Many of those kids, now middle-aged and carry a bag of memories, will return to Evanston on Saturday to honor their old coach as the school renames the football stadium in Lazier's honor during ceremonies at the Waukegan/Evanston game.
"The field belongs to the kids," Lazier said. "I hope it will motivate Evanston athletes to do what my kids did. I will feel proud that my name will be on the field because the kids dedicated their lives for the 18 years I was coaching. You can't minimize what they did. It's very memorable to me."
Lazier started a year-round weight training program at Evanston and introduced aerobics and lacrosse in the spring for athletes who didn't participate in other sports. He added other innovations...percentages, tendencies, an offense that was more sophisticated than many colleges, hired Ph.Ds as assistant coaches, gave motivational speeches. No alcohol, no smoking. Some of his ideas were picked up by then Northwestern coach Alex Agase, an Evanston graduate.
"The team belongs to the kids, not Lazier or the parents or the school administrators," said Lazier, explaining his philosophy. "A coach does everything he can to make them good. I did everything to be sure they would win. There was no inquality in our program."
Once, when some black parents tried to accuse Lazier of racism, other black parents and former black players stood behind the coach. "He treated everyone the same, like dirt," one ex-player said. Others called him "Do Right," as in do right or don't play. He was an original, one of a kind.
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I am traveling to Evanston from Rhode Island to honor the man. I for one can tell you that the values he instilled in all of us were the building blocks for success. After playing for Murney I went to Brown and on to become a lawyer. His dedication to us is finally being repayed in a very small way and I wouldn't miss it for the world. Can't wait to see him and so many of the Wildkits from the glory days.
I think every one of us who played for Murney, whether it was the last team we played on or we went on to other teams later, would tell you that the discipline Murney instilled in us, as well as his willingness to put every player's job on the line every week, no matter how big a star you were, taught us lessons for a lifetime. The quote about treating us "like dirt" has to be understood in the sense of how a farmer might treat his sod. There was no abuse, not even close, but no sympathy for excuses, just a constant expectation of excellence. And as important as the football was to us, we all knew life was bigger than that. I was part of that famous '73 game against New Trier, and we were sorely disappointed, but Murney made sure we had our heads up and we came out the next week and finished the season with a win. That was a great lesson.
please dont forget about the let great Al Scott. He's probably was the best coach in the city. Please believe that.
Taylor, those numbers are staggering!
Just to have my name below Murney Lazier in the Illinois Football Coaches Hall of Fame is an honor. I have been on record as saying he is/was the greatest high school football coach in the State of Illinois and I can proudly say he is my friend. He is/was an outstanding teacher in the classroom and was a superior wrestling coach as well as a highly regarded wrestling official who officiated many state, Big 10 and NCAA tournaments.
He was a football clinic speaker who held nothing back and influenced many, including me. His standards of excellence were tough to match and difficult to exceed. Having known Murney for over 50 years, I was among the many who delighted in seeing the field at Evanston named in his honor and I was happy to be at the dedication with so many great players, fans, family, coaches
and friends.
Very sincerely, Jack Leese, former East Leyden football coach.
Murney was the greatest because from the time you were a freshman till your senior year you were taught one system and the fundamentals. If you didn't execute the fundamentals you didn't play. Discipline, discipline, discipline. Few of us, if any, got to know the man, but we all knew football by the time we left. I was astounded when I got to college how poorly most players knew the game, most players did not have the benefit of Murney Lazier.