Page 86 - Life's Outtakes 13

and was old and retired. He wasn’t paid

but volunteered his time.

“I’ll tell you why the kicker has

always been the last defender,” Coach

Jackson said. “It’s because he’s usually

the only one who can do his job; he’s

usually small and thin, and no one wants

him to get hurt.” The coaches all looked

at me, and then Coach Jackson said,

“For you to hold Howard back because

you don’t want him to get hurt, and then

to put him in on both the offensive and

defensive lines, seems kind of stupid.”

“What’s stupid,” Coach Dale said,

“is that we’ve been doing something that

has always been done without even

knowing why.”