It was with sadness that I learned of the death of Coach Paul Dietzel, the famous LSU coach, at the age of 89. He will forever be remembered as the coach that brought LSU football to prominence in the 1950s, winning a national championship in 1958. Dietzel was named Coach of the Year. In 1959, the great Billy Cannon won the Heisman trophy, although LSU did not repeat as national champions.

As I have written before, I was sports editor of the LSU newspaper, The Daily Reveille, when Dietzel decided to leave LSU in 1961 to become the head coach at West Point, beginning with the 1962 season. His departure, as you can imagine, created a furor among LSU alumni and the Tiger faithful.

In the middle of the storm, I penned a sports editorial in the Daily Reveille defending his decision to take what to him was a dream job of coaching at the U.S. Military Academy where he was, at one time, an assistant coach. My thrust was that universities certainly fired coaches before their contract was up, so why was it not OK for a coach to leave while still under contract.

Needless to say, hate mail rained down upon me – death threats, promises to get me kicked off the Reveille staff, and, yes, even expelled from the university. While LSU President John Hunter stood by me and my journalism professors were thrilled with the attention brought to the Reveille, I had to watch my back whenever I ventured out in Baton Rouge. Obviously, I survived.

My defense of the storied coach did not go unnoticed by him. When he got to West Point, he wrote me a letter revealing his feelings about his decision. His letter, in full, appears at the end of this column.

Years later, when I was press secretary for U.S. Rep. F. Edward Hebert in Washington, Dietzel paid him a visit because he was chairman of the Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Academies. I don’t know who was more surprised – Dietzel or me – to see one another again. What were the odds of that happening? After his meeting with my boss, which I later learned was a very cool one because Hebert was a Tulane man, Dietzel sat in my office, and we chatted about that turbulent time when he left LSU.

When Dietzel and Cannon were guests at Reeves Marine back in August 2011, I took the letter, which I had found in some of my old papers and framed, to show Dietzel. He read it, a smile came upon his face, and he said it certainly brought back memories of that eventful time.

So, for all of you LSU football fanatics – I include myself among that group – here is the letter I received from Coach Dietzel in 1962, which I published in the Reveille at that time:

Dear Lou, Thank you for your letter and excuse me for taking so long to answer it.

It is difficult to express my sentiments.

The past seven years have been the most pleasant and satisfying years of my life. To get to know Louisiana is to love Louisiana. Wherever you travel – whomever you meet; from the Scarl’s on the East to the Barham’s on the West; from the McConnell’s on the North and to the Dore’s and Kaplan nephews on the South; the people are the finest that exist. All of you have made the Dietzel family feel most welcome. The members of THE FIGHTING TIGERS have made a lasting impression on our lives and shall always remain as our dearest friends. My eternal gratitude remains with Jim Corbett, General Middleton, and the University family. The LSU games have been great – exuberant, noisy, and wonderful.

All of you are now starting a new regime. It was my recommendation and hope that LSU would turn the reins over to Charles McClendon. Charlie is like my own brother. He richly deserved the job, as he is one of the finest coaches in America. But, as usual, LSU faces another rugged schedule. He will need your help. You were most generous in your help to me – I hope that you will also open your hearts to Charlie McClendon. He is a great guy!

As for me, I shall have my hands very full. It is difficult for me to explain to anyone as to why I have chosen this path. The good Lord provides each of us with but one life to lead on this earth. My decision to return to West Point came only after many, many hours of prayerful contemplation. It was a correct decision for me to make. Anne, my children and I want all of you to know that we will never forget you. We hope that you will remember us. When you see the cadets take the field next fall against Navy, you will see many familiar things which you have gotten used to – yes, even kicking on 3rd down! So I hope that you will have two sets of teams to pull for next fall – I will ...

Thank you and God Bless you. Sincerely, Paul F. Dietzel Head Football Coach

Lou Gehrig Burnett, an award-winning journalist, has been involved with politics for 44 years and was a congressional aide in Washington, D.C., for 27 years. He also served as executive assistant to former Shreveport Mayor Bo Williams. Burnett is the publisher of the weekly “FaxNet Update” and can be reached at 861-0552 or louburnett@comcast.net.