ABJ
Tressels provide funds for turf Brothers giving back to Baldwin-Wallace, where their dad coached
By George M. Thomas
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Sunday, May 18, 2008
BEREA: When football fans hear the name Tressel, it's usually associated with one college institution: Ohio State University. But to many in Northeast Ohio and the city of Berea, that surname is synonymous with Baldwin-Wallace football.
Three Tressel brothers ? Dick, Dave and, yes, Jim, the coach of the Buckeyes ? returned home Saturday morning to honor their late parents, legendary college football coach Lee and his wife, Eloise. The three brothers donated the funds to replace the turf at Baldwin-Wallace's George Finnie Stadium. Once finished, it will be dubbed Tressel Field at George Finnie Stadium. The donation is part of a larger $2 million renovation that will also upgrade the locker rooms, track and press box.
For the Tressels, making the donation to the school, which has buildings that dot Tressel Street, was a way to help the community remember their parents.
''You just hope that people will stop and think about what they did,'' Dick Tressel told the audience at Ursprung Gymnasium at the Lou Higgins Center.
In 23 seasons at Baldwin-Wallace, Lee Tressel amassed a 155-52-6 record and won a Division III national championship in 1978.
Football was an integral part of life in the Tressel home, but it was also a means to teach the Tressel boys greater lessons.
Cont....