Lloyd W. Eaton (March 23, 1918 – March 14, 2007) was an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
player, coach, and executive. He served as the head coach at
Alma College
Alma College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Alma, Michigan. It enrolls approximately 1,400 students and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
Alma College is affiliat ...
(1949–1955),
Northern Michigan University
Northern Michigan University (Northern Michigan, Northern or NMU) is a public university in Marquette, Michigan. It was established in 1899 by the Michigan Legislature as Northern State Normal School. In 1963, the state designated Northern a uni ...
(1956), and the
University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...
(1962–1970), compiling a career
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
record of 104–53–4. Eaton then worked as the director of player personnel for the
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL). Despite winning five conference championships with two teams, he is perhaps most known for his decision to kick 14 black players off of the Wyoming football team for discussing a protest against discrimination in 1969 that is infamously referred to as the "Black 14" incident.
Early years
Growing up in
Belle Fourche, South Dakota
Belle Fourche (; ) is a city in and the county seat of Butte County, South Dakota, United States. Its population was 5,617 at the 2020 census. It is near the geographic center of the United States, which moved some 550 miles northwest from the ...
,
Eaton was an outstanding football, track, and boxing athlete at Belle Fourche High School. He graduated from
Black Hills State Teachers College where he played end and became captain of the team in his junior year.
Coaching career
Eaton remained at Black Hills after graduation, becoming the line coach there for one year. He then coached football at Dupree High School for several years leading up to his service in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
Following the war, he returned to coaching at Bennett County High School in
Martin, South Dakota
Martin (Lakota language, Lakota: ''pažóla otȟúŋwahe''; "Knoll City") is a city and the county seat of Bennett County, South Dakota, Bennett County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 938 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 cen ...
, and then earned a master's degree at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
. There he coached the 150-pound football team.
He began doctoral studies at
Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana University and, with ...
, then moved on to coach football at
Alma College
Alma College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Alma, Michigan. It enrolls approximately 1,400 students and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.
Alma College is affiliat ...
in Michigan. His teams won the 1950 and 1951
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association
The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) is an athletic conference that competes in the NCAA's Division III. There are nine teams in the conference, all located in the states of Michigan and Indiana. The Michigan Intercollegiate A ...
championship titles, and he compiled a record of 40–20–2. His influence there was felt by player
Denny Stolz
Dennis Earl Stolz (born September 12, 1934) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Alma College (1965–1970), Michigan State University (1973–1975), Bowling Green State University (1977–1985), and San ...
, who later became a successful coach.
Eaton was a detail-oriented disciplinarian who made a name for himself by introducing new techniques that helped smaller defensive linemen. "
maller defensive linemenbecame very popular as a result," recalled
Paul Roach, Eaton's assistant at Wyoming. "I think this became somewhat of a springboard for him to be elevated as a head football coach, and he certainly had an outstanding career as a head football coach".
Eaton left Alma in 1956 and coached at
Northern Michigan University
Northern Michigan University (Northern Michigan, Northern or NMU) is a public university in Marquette, Michigan. It was established in 1899 by the Michigan Legislature as Northern State Normal School. In 1963, the state designated Northern a uni ...
for one year.
Wyoming
From 1957 to 1961, Eaton served as defensive line coach at the
University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...
, and in 1962, he succeeded
Bob Devaney
Robert Simon Devaney (April 13, 1915 – May 9, 1997) was a college football coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Wyoming from 1957 to 1961 and at the University of Nebraska from 1962 to 1972, compiling a career record of . ...
as head coach there. In that role, he became one of the university's most successful coaches, compiling a record of 57–33–2. His greatest success came in the 1966, 1967, and 1968 seasons. In those three years, the team posted back-to-back 10–1 seasons, including a 14-game winning streak from November 5, 1966 to January 1, 1968, then followed this by going 7-3 in the 1968 regular season. His teams won the
1966 Sun Bowl and played in the
1968 Sugar Bowl
The 1968 Sugar Bowl was the 34th edition of the college football bowl game, played at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Monday, January 1. The unranked LSU Tigers of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) rallied to top the undefeated a ...
.
"Black 14" controversy
In 1969, during the "Black 14" incident, Eaton dismissed 14 black Wyoming players from the team for planning to wear black armbands during a game against the
BYU Cougars
The BYU Cougars are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Brigham Young University (BYU), located in Provo, Utah. BYU fields 21 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) varsity athletic teams. They are a member of the West ...
. At a victory against BYU the previous year, players from the Cougars had subjected them to racial epithets.
[ A week before the upcoming game, the team's black members were reminded of the incident and also informed about the racial policies of ]the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
(which owns and operates BYU, and which up until 1978 excluded black people from the church's priesthood as well as any temple ceremonies - also had been proscribed from proxy baptisms on behalf of the dead by David O McKay unlike his predecessors that permitted them for blacks) by Willie Black, leader of Wyoming's Black Student Alliance, and challenged them to do something about it.[ The day before the game, the players approached coach Eaton to tell him that they were planning to wear black armbands during the game in protest; Eaton forbade it.][ The players then arranged to meet with Eaton, intending to discuss with him the terms of their protest.] According to Joe Williams, a team co-captain before he was suspended from the team, "We wanted to see if we could wear black armbands in the game, or black socks, or black X's on our helmets. And if he had said no we had already agreed that we would be willing to protest with nothing but our black skins."[
Eaton took them to the bleachers in the old fieldhouse.][ Eaton says he listened to their suggestions for ten minutes before deciding to dismiss them from the team.][ Williams gives a very different account: "He ]aton
Aton, ATON or variants thereof may refer to:
People
* Aton Ben-Horin (born 1979), American music executive and record producer
* Aton Edwards (born c. 1962), American expert in the fields of emergency preparedness, self-reliance and sustainable li ...
came in, sneered at us and yelled that we were off the squad. He said our very presence defied him. He said he has had some good Negro
In the English language, ''negro'' is a term historically used to denote persons considered to be of Black African heritage. The word ''negro'' means the color black in both Spanish and in Portuguese, where English took it from. The term can be ...
boys. Just like that."[ ]Defensive end
Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football.
This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...
Tony McGee said that Eaton "said we could go to Grambling State or Morgan State ... We could go back to colored relief. If anyone said anything, he told us to shut up. We were really protesting policies we thought were racist. Maybe we should've been protesting there."[ John Griffin, a wide receiver, corroborates McGee's memory.][
At ]San Jose State University
San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sys ...
, the team voted to wear multicolored armbands against Wyoming in support of the 14, and groups at other Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...
schools demanded that Wyoming be dropped from their schedules. At the time of the incident, the team was undefeated (4–0) and ranked No. 12 in the nation. Even though Wyoming beat BYU and then San Jose State in the next game without the players, the Cowboys lost the last four games of 1969 season and went 1–9 the next year, which prompted the school to fire Eaton.
The "Black 14" incident spurred the court case ''Williams v. Eaton'', with the issue of free speech against the principle of separation of church and state. Litigation was lengthy for this case and ended on October 31, 1972.
NFL executive and scout
In 1972, Eaton became the director of player personnel for the Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
of the National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
(NFL). He was demoted to a scouting position four years later. He later served as the western regional director for the BLESTO player rating service of the NFL, before retiring in the mid-1980s.
Honors
Eaton was elected to the Alma Athletic Hall of Fame in 1973 and the Wyoming Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1984.
Personal life and death
Eaton was once married and divorced, living purposefully without a phone. He died at the age of 88, on March 14, 2007. in Nampa, Idaho
Nampa () is the largest city in Canyon County, Idaho. Its population was 100,200 at the time of the 2020 Census. It is Idaho's third-most populous city. Nampa is about west of Boise along Interstate 84, and six miles (10 km) west of Meridian. ...
.[
]
Head coaching record
College
References
Further reading
*
* (video)
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eaton, Lloyd
1918 births
2007 deaths
American football ends
Alma Scots football coaches
Black Hills State Yellow Jackets football coaches
Black Hills State Yellow Jackets football players
Green Bay Packers executives
Northern Michigan Wildcats football coaches
Wyoming Cowboys football coaches
High school football coaches in South Dakota
Indiana University Bloomington alumni
University of Michigan alumni
American military personnel of World War II
People from Belle Fourche, South Dakota
People from Nampa, Idaho
Players of American football from South Dakota