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CB/HB Charles Richard "Dick" LeBeau (National Champion, 2x Super Bowl Champion, NFL HOF)

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People ask me if I ever talk about when I played to my players. You just saw an example of how they have to suffer through that most every day. They ask me about what coach did you borrow the most from. I had too many great ones. When I was at Ohio State, I played for Woody Hayes, the great Woody Hayes. I still learned something almost daily from the current head coach of the Ohio State University, Jim Tressel. Coach Tressel is a textbook on how to conduct yourself at a major college level with integrity.
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Text of Dick LeBeau's Hall of Fame speech | cincinnati.com | Cincinnati.Com

Dick LeBeau: Getting Better with age.
CantonRep.com staff writer
Posted Aug 07, 2010

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CANTON ? Dick LeBeau took the podium and scanned the crowd in Fawcett Stadium, flashing an ageless smile.

?Man, this really is a great day to be alive!? he said.
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Dick LeBeau: Getting Better with age - Canton, OH - CantonRep.com

To consider only his playing days would be major disservice to LeBeau
Sunday, August 8, 2010
The Columbus Dispatch

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Mike Cardew | Akron Beacon Journal
Dick LeBeau, right, acknowledges the crowd after receiving his Pro Football Hall of Fame gold coat from his brother Bob.

| CANTON - If the whole body of work counted in the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection process, if you didn't have to slice and dice a football lifer's career into pieces, Dick LeBeau would have made it years ago.
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Bob Hunter commentary: To consider only his playing days would be major disservice to LeBeau | The Columbus Dispatch

Immortals hardly strangers to LeBeau
Doors to pantheon finally swing open to ex-Buckeye
Sunday, August 8, 2010
By Bill Rabinowitz
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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Scott Heckel | Associated Press
The Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2010, from left: Russ Grimm, Rickey Jackson, Dick LeBeau, Floyd Little, John Randle, Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith.CANTON - Dick LeBeau has visited the Pro Football Hall of Fame more times than he can count.

To him, the busts in the Hall represent more than distant, semi-mythic figures.

"One thing that's pretty neat as I looked around is that 99.9 percent of the people in there I either played against or coached against," LeBeau said Friday. "Not many people on the planet can say that. I feel blessed to have been active in the National Football League that long."

With his enshrinement last night, LeBeau's bust now joins theirs in immortality.

Then again, the London native and former Ohio State Buckeye has seemed to test the bounds of mortality as both player and coach. He started 171 straight games as a Detroit Lions cornerback from 1959 to 1972, the accomplishment he's proudest of as a player.
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NFL Hall of Fame: Immortals hardly strangers to LeBeau | The Columbus Dispatch

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100808/SPORTS01/8080654&template=fullarticle

Dick LeBeau's older brother ushered him into Hall | freep.com | Detroit Free Press

'Life is for living,' Dick LeBeau says in Hall of Fame speech | cincinnati.com | Cincinnati.Com

Dick LeBeau goes in to Hall of Fame like a Lion

Beaver County Times:?For LeBeau, it's a 'great day'

NFL.com news: LeBeau's coaching accomplishments helped get him to Canton

LeBeau lives it up in Canton ? Sports ? The Tribune Democrat, Johnstown, PA

Lebeau video interview

Full Speech (video) below...

NFL Videos: Dick LeBeau HOF speech

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pk1XltoF3QU]YouTube - ‪Dick LeBeau Inducted Into Hall Of Fame‬‎[/ame]
 
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From Dick LeBeau's HOF speech: "When I was at Ohio State, I played for Woody Hayes, the great Woody Hayes. I still learned something almost daily from the current head coach of the Ohio State University, Jim Tressel. Coach Tressel is a textbook on how to conduct yourself at a major college level with integrity."
 
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8/10/2010
London's Dick LeBeau enshrined into Pro Football Hall of Fame
JEFF GATES
Brown News Services

CANTON - When you look up the word 'greatness' in the dictionary, it should be accompanied by a photo of Charles Richard "Dick" LeBeau.

Greatness can be measured in many ways.

It can be measured in positive influences on others.

Check.

It can be measured by handling accomplishments with humility.

Check.

It can be measured by being considered one of the best ever is a chosen occupation.

Now, that one is probably a double check.

After spending 50-plus years and counting as an important fabric is the weaving of the National Football League's storied history as both a player and a coach, LeBeau finally got his due.

On Saturday, London's Legend of the Fall became its 'Legend of the Hall' as LeBeau took his well-earned spot among the best who have ever been a part of professional football. Since the Hall opened in 1963, just 260 of the approximate 21,000 people who have been involved with professional football have been granted such an honor.
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London's Dick LeBeau enshrined into Pro Football Hall of Fame
 
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Despite age, former Buckeye continues to leave mark as NFL defensive coach
By James Oldham
[email protected]
Published: Wednesday, September 22, 2010

At 73 years old, Pittsburgh Steelers defensive mastermind Dick LeBeau is the oldest coordinator currently roaming the sidelines of the NFL.

But it's best to keep from mentioning that to LeBeau.

When his brother, Bob, called on Sept. 9 to wish him a happy birthday, Dick LeBeau reminded him of a fairly recent family tradition.

"He's 73, but he said, ?we don't count them anymore,' and I told him no we don't," Bob said.

Despite his age, LeBeau continues adding to his growing list of outstanding achievements. At perhaps the top of that list sits an enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Growing up in London, Ohio, his biggest dream was to one day be an Ohio State Buckeye.

"Ohio State was like Valhalla for football players in Ohio, and it was always a dream of mine to play in Ohio Stadium," LeBeau said. "So when that dream came true, it was about as neat a thing as anything that has happened to me in my playing career."

LeBeau was a starter on the 1957 National Championship team, playing two-way ball for OSU coaching legend Woody Hayes.

"Woody was one of the more successful coaches of his era, as everyone knows, so it was very rewarding for all of us that played for him," LeBeau said. "He would always figure out a way to win, and that's why we play the game."
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http://www.thelantern.com/sports/de...o-leave-mark-as-nfl-defensive-coach-1.1642008
 
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Posted: Oct. 7, 2010
Lions will honor Dick LeBeau on Sunday
By CARLOS MONARREZ
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

The Detroit Lions will honor Hall of Fame cornerback Dick LeBeau with a ceremony during the team?s annual alumni day at halftime Sunday against the St. Louis Rams at Ford Field.

LeBeau, a cornerback with the Lions in 1959-72 and now Pittsburgh?s defensive coordinator, will be inducted into the team?s Pride of the Lions, which honors the team?s greatest players.

The Steelers have a bye this week, and LeBeau is scheduled to attend the ceremony. Stephen A. Perry, president and executive director of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, also will present LeBeau with his Hall of Fame ring at halftime.
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Read more: Lions will honor Dick LeBeau on Sunday | freep.com | Detroit Free Press http://www.freep.com/article/201010...ill-honor-Dick-LeBeau-on-Sunday#ixzz11lknQOKX
 
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Posted: Oct. 11, 2010
Dick LeBeau: Always a proud Lion
He recalls glory days during team's tribute
BY CARLOS MONARREZ
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

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Former Lions cornerback Dick LeBeau was inducted as the 13th member of the Pride of the Lions in a halftime ceremony Sunday. (KIRTHMON F. DOZIER/Detroit Free Press)

Dick LeBeau took the microphone at midfield Sunday and said he wanted to tell everyone at Ford Field something about his past.

"Some of you who know me know me as a coach of another football team," LeBeau told the crowd during a halftime ceremony. "But I'm proud to say I was a player here in Detroit for 14 years."

LeBeau, 73, certainly is better known these days for being Pittsburgh's defensive coordinator. He is the architect of the famous zone blitz that helped the Steelers win two Super Bowls over the past six seasons.

But in 1959-72, in those grainy black-and-white images that still flicker on television once in a while, LeBeau played cornerback for the Lions. He lived downtown. He ate cheeseburgers and hung out with the somebodies and the nobodies alike at the old Lindell AC sports bar.

"They had the best cheeseburgers in Detroit at that time," LeBeau told reporters before his induction as the 13th member of the Pride of the Lions. LeBeau also received his ring honoring his enshrinement into the Hall of Fame in August.
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Read more: Dick LeBeau: Always a proud Lion | freep.com | Detroit Free Press http://www.freep.com/article/201010...Dick-LeBeau-Always-a-proud-Lion#ixzz1238ErUPR
 
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Hall of Famer Dick LeBeau returns to Paul Brown Stadium
By Joe Reedy ? [email protected] ? November 6, 2010

For the first time, Dick LeBeau gets to walk into Paul Brown Stadium on Monday as a Hall of Famer.

The Steelers defensive coordinator, who spent 18 years in two stints with the Bengals including head coach, makes his first appearance since being inducted in Canton in August. As usual, it will be a case of the Bengals trying to find an extra advantage.

When asked what puts LeBeau a cut above most defensive coordinators, Bengals offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski said: ?His play calling is very solid, but I think its the scheme and the way the players know the scheme. He?ll always have a new one for you, but you?re going to see the things you?re used to seeing. You don?t know when, but you?re going to see them.?

Monday night?s game marks the 14th time that LeBeau and Bratkowski have faced each other since LeBeau returned to Pittsburgh in 2004. Since then the Steelers have won 9 of 13 meetings. The Steelers enter the game with the league?s fifth-ranked defense while the Bengals are 11th.

?I think we understand their scheme, our players do, and we?re able to coach it. It?s just a matter of handling the one-on-one matchups,? Bratkowski said. ?We have a plan for it and it has been, at times, successful. Other times they?ve gotten the upper hand. The thing you have to be careful with these guys is the turnovers. They create a lot of turnovers through the sacks and through the various coverages they do.?

One area where the Bengals might have an advantage is in the passing game. The Bengals are sixth in the league, averaging 254.4 yards per game, while the Steelers are 25th, giving up 243.1.

It was LeBeau who hired Bratkowski as offensive coordinator in 2001 and the two remain friends. The last the two saw each other was in Canton before the Hall of Fame game when the Bengals played the Cowboys.

It almost was like old times with LeBeau on the sidelines on the headphones and Bratkowski in the booth.

Said Bratkowski, joking: ?He (LeBeau) said he was going down to the end and sit by our bench the whole game and try to pick up our signals.?
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http://news.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20101106/SPT02/311060044/Hall-of-Famer-LeBeau-returns-
 
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Dick LeBeau says ?safety is paramount because life is precious?
Posted by Mike Florio on December 5, 2010

Not every member of the Steelers organization is focused on resisting the league?s new focus on player safety, even though it seems that way.

Defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau, in an interview with Bob Costas of NBC?s Football Night in America, said that he isn?t troubled by the league?s approach. ?I do not,? LeBeau told Costas. ?The safer you can make any enterprise that any of our people are engaged in. Safety is paramount, because life is precious.?

It would be nice if one or more of LeBeau?s players would actually heed LeBeau?s words. If they respect and adore him as much as they claim to, they will.
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http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...safety-is-paramount-because-life-is-precious/
 
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LeBeau-Polamalu duo makes Steel Curtain a dominant force
By Elliot Harrison Special to NFL.com
Published: Dec. 16, 2010

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He's at it again. Dick LeBeau's defense is back at the top of the charts, and the 73-year-old Steelers defensive coordinator is proving what he said at his Hall of Fame induction speech in August: "Age is just a number."

Forty-three is just a number, too, but without Pittsburgh's No. 43 roaming around his defense, LeBeau would have trouble doing some of the things he does scheme-wise. We saw that last season when the Steel Curtain was a lead balloon without Troy Polamalu.

LeBeau and Polamalu are a perfect fit. Both are extremely smart. Both wear their hair a bit long, although LeBeau's is more "Eight is Enough" than Head and Shoulders. One is a Hall of Fame defensive back; the other will be soon enough.

LeBeau was one of the first defensive coordinators to truly mask his intentions, and Polamalu is just the right fit for a design that capitalizes on a player who can do pretty much everything well.

If LeBeau needs Polamalu to blitz full-tilt in a key situation, he'll dial it up, irrespective of whether it's depleting the back half of the defense. If LeBeau wants his All-Pro safety to play in the box, Polamalu can make plays in the run game just as effectively. And if the game situation calls for Polamalu to roam 15 yards deep and play air traffic control, he's heady enough to take risks without giving up many big plays.

Cont...
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http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000...malu-duo-makes-steel-curtain-a-dominant-force
 
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Is this Dick Lebeau's last stand?
Associated Press ? January 14, 2011

PITTSBURGH -- The question gets asked every season: Will this be Dick LeBeau?s last as Steelers defensive coordinator?

LeBeau, long considered one of football?s most innovative defensive coaches, would be 74 at the start of next season. That?s hardly in Joe Paterno?s range but, for a job as stressful and time-consuming as LeBeau?s, it would be an advanced age.

LeBeau was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame last summer, perhaps the last personal achievement he wanted to accomplish. He?s already won multiple Super Bowls as a coach and got into the hall as a player.

If LeBeau considered retiring after the Steelers won the Super Bowl during the 2005 and 2008 seasons, he never dropped any hints. His players plead with him annually to return.

?I don?t give it a thought. I didn?t give it a thought in ?05, and I didn?t give it a thought in ?08,? LeBeau said of his status. ?Here we are in the playoffs again. Every game is different, every year is different. So I think in this business, if you look beyond what?s immediately in front of you, you?re wasting time.?
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http://news.cincinnati.com/article/...87/1062/SPT/Is-this-Dick-Lebeau-s-last-stand-
 
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