Buddy Benson

Buddy Benson, 77, of Arkadelphia died on Good Friday, April 22, 2011, at Baptist Health Medical Center in Little Rock.

Coach Benson was an Arkansas sports legend - a 1993 inductee into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame, an inductee into the NAIA Hall of Fame, the head football coach at Ouachita Baptist University for 31 seasons and the man who in 1954 threw a 66-yard touchdown pass to Preston Carpenter at Little Rock's War Memorial Stadium to lead the University of Arkansas Razorbacks to a 6-0 victory over the nationally ranked Ole Miss Rebels. The late Orville Henry, the longtime sports editor of the Arkansas Gazette, later would describe what was known as the "Powder River Play" as the school's most famous play to that point because it put the Arkansas program on the map and gave the Razorbacks a statewide following.

During his lengthy coaching career, Coach Benson was known for turning boys into men. His hundreds of former players had a strong loyalty to the man who had been such a tough taskmaster when they were in college. Coach Benson was an intense coach, a man who accepted nothing less than a player's best. He consistently led Ouachita teams to winning records in the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference, an amazing accomplishment considering the ever-present lack of quality facilities and funds at Ouachita. Coach Benson produced 16 All-America and 208 all-conference players during his 31 years as Ouachita's head coach.

Coach Benson compiled a 162-140-8 record at Ouachita and won four AIC championships, but he often said his greatest accomplishment was the fact that almost all of his players graduated. Former Tigers moved on to success in business, medicine, law, education and other professions. His recruiting strategy was based on quality rather than quantity, not only physical quality but also mental and moral excellence. Once those recruits reached the Ouachita campus, Coach Benson saw to it that football and social life did not outweigh academic concerns.

Though he had chances to move to larger schools, Coach Benson decided to spend his career at Ouachita. He once explained: "There's just something special about this school. You can see it in the students and feel it when you walk around the campus. We have a high class of individuals who go to school here, and I think that if a kid can stick it out with us for four years, he'll end up being a pretty high-class person himself."

Coach Benson's most famous player was Cliff Harris, who went on to play in five Super Bowls for the Dallas Cowboys and was inducted into the Cowboys Ring of Honor. Harris said that Coach Benson "taught us to achieve at levels we didn't believe were possible. At critical moments in my life, I've thought of Coach Benson and the things he taught me. It was his influence that allowed me to step it up a notch at those important times."

Coach Benson was born Nov. 9, 1933, and was one of the nation's most highly recruited players coming out of high school at De Queen. He signed with legendary University of Oklahoma Coach Bud Wilkinson, whose Sooners had won the national championship in 1950. Between 1953 and 1957, Wilkinson's Oklahoma squads won 47 consecutive games. But Coach Benson, missing his home state, transferred to the University of Arkansas, where he met the love of his life, Janet Ball of Nashville.

In 1954, the man known in college as "Buddy Bob" helped lead Coach Bowden Wyatt's team to an 8-3 record, a share of the 1954 Southwest Conference championship and a berth in the Cotton Bowl against Georgia Tech. Following college graduation in 1956, Coach Benson was offered a professional contract to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL. He turned down the offer to try his hand at coaching high school football. It didn't take him long to achieve success as a coach. His first team at Lewisville went 10-1, and his second team had a 7-1-2 record. In the spring of 1958, however, he decided he could make more money selling automobiles.

Three years later, Coach Benson realized he belonged in the world of sports molding young men's lives rather than making money in the world of business. He showed up at the annual Arkansas coaching clinic in Little Rock in August 1961 looking for a job. He was told that Ouachita head coach Rab Rodgers was searching for an assistant. Coach Rodgers decided to give the automobile salesman a chance.

When Coach Rodgers decided to devote all of his time to serving as Ouachita's athletic director in 1965, Coach Benson was promoted to head coach. It was, at best, a risky proposition for him. Few people believed Ouachita could win consistently in football. He took over a program that had experienced just two winning seasons in the previous 16 years. Ouachita would not have a losing season in Coach Benson's first 12 years. The turnaround he engineered was a far cry from the late 1950s when Ouachita President Ralph Phelps had declared in a speech to the student body: "We should not expect overnight miracles of our teams or coaching staffs. Ouachita, after having been at the pinnacle of athletic glory, has sunk about as low as a school can go without dropping competition altogether."

Coach Benson worked his magic quickly. By his second year as head coach, the Tigers had captured a share of the AIC championship. His players reflected their head coach - they wore suits on road trips; they maintained a clean-cut appearance; they played the game cleanly.

After Ouachita won a share of the AIC championship in 1975, Arkansas Democrat sports editor Fred Morrow wrote of Coach Benson: "His athletes are going to go to class. They're not going to abuse (or even get caught using) tobacco or alcohol, and they're going to keep their hair nice and neat, and they're going to say yes sir and no sir. Oh, they're also going to receive diplomas."

Coach Benson, known by many of his players simply as "The Man," often would say: "I'm not running a popularity contest." Yet few figures in Arkansas sports history were more popular. After retiring from coaching following the 1995 season, Coach Benson served as Ouachita's athletic director until 1998. In retirement, he was a constant presence on the golf course at DeGray Lake Resort State Park, where he was known for rounds of speed golf that regularly tired those golfing with him. Coach Benson also enjoyed spending time with his family and many friends in the Arkadelphia area.

"I always wanted my kids to grow up in one town, go to one school," Coach Benson once said of his decision to spend decades at the same institution. "I felt like after the kids were grown, there would always be time to move on. I didn't really count on coming to love this place so much, though. We were very happy at Ouachita. Arkadelphia is a good town to live in."

Coach Benson was preceded in death by a sister, Peggy Lyons. He is survived by his wife Janet Benson, one son Gary Benson (Chris) of Hot Springs, one daughter, Laurie Jordan (Tiger) of Hot Springs, six grandchildren, Blair and Benson Jordan, Abby, Steven, Joey, and Garret Benson.

A committal service will be 1 PM Tuesday, April 26 at Rest Haven Memorial Gardens followed by a memorial service a 2 PM in the First Baptist Church of Arkadelphia. The casket will be open at Ruggles-Wilcox Funeral Home in Arkadelphia between the hours of 10 AM Monday, April 25 till 7 PM in the evening. There will be no formal visitation. Honorary pallbearers will be teammates form DeQueen High School, Oklahoma University, University of Arkansas, former players, coaches, and managers of Lewisville High School and Ouachita Baptist University, Bill Dixon's Sunday School Class, and Andy's Coffee Shop Group.

In lieu of flowers, Memorials may be made to the Ouachita Gridiron Club c/o David Sharp, OBU box 3788, Arkadelphia, AR 71998. Sign on line guest book at www.ruggleswilcox.com .