Arkansas State press., 1955-03-04
A Tribute:
Famed Arkansas
Coach Passes
BY Malvin L. Moore, jr.

W, Foster, famed Arkansas prep
school coach. as thousands wit
messed the ceremony at St, Paul
Baptist church. The eolorful ca
reer of Foster ended after a brief
illness, His death was a shock to
sports lovers over the nation.
His death leaves an endless dis
cussion on the fundamental diff
ferences between athletics in high
schools and colleges, So far as
ne Is concerned, that chapter Is
closed, His name, however will
ring loudly in session halls as
men gather to discuss the pros
and cons of intercollegiate sports.
He was follower of a mod
ified-stoic philosophy that led him
to believe and to conclude that
reason, the ability to think, was
valuable asset to any man:
therefore, he took pride in help
ing his athletes do more than
play and win, He assisted them
in coming to logical conclusions.
lie taught that there was virtue
In exercising the faculties of the
mind-that the mysteries of life
would unravel before inquiSitive
and honest minds-that men who
were not endowed with certain
talents could never compete hon
orably with men who were He
taught his men that a man was
man. Son ne would say,
you've got to outthink him to
beat him, he's a man like you.
but you are his slave, you let
him outthink you" He was
qualified to defend his thesis.
The enviable record he made
at Merrill high school stands as
a monument to him and his great
ness Il was at Merrill high that
he gained national reputation as
an outstanding coach He COM
manded the respect of the faculty.
students and players for about
fifteen years. State honors in
competitive athletics each of these
years were given to countless
numbers of his players. The roll
is immense and interminable. He
was a moulder of men and liv-
ing testimonies to this are Spiv-
ey Watley, John Young. 3rd,
William Mcneil, and later Arthur
Ellis, June Moon Lamar Allen,
Jasper Sampson. Julius Fisher and
Virgil Watson. These men bespeak
the actually of Fosters being.
He escaped the neat formulate
in which the unimaginative would
seek to capture him. Being who
he was, he refused to validate
the graphs invented by other
coaches and sports writer's, and
he moved into one win column
after another. No reason or art
has portrayed, nor widest mag
nation flung itself, to the pos
sible heights within the grasp of
him. He welcomed hard condi-
tons, keen and strong competi-
ton, worthy foe, and he would
not permit these conditions to
crush him. He did not allow fav-
orable conditions to hull him to
rest On and off the field, he was
ever drawing upon the resources
of scholars of the game. and he
patterned his life off of the field
with the same vigorous enthusi-
asm.
AS coach he exploited no
man for his personal gain. He
sought to have students play the
game, the game Of life. according
to a set pattern. with variations,
having the development of the
student In mind, If fame and
honor came, it came as a by-prod-
uct to a deep inner-feeling OF
what he felt and believed to be
worthy.
His life had no appearance of
hopeless contradiction. He did not
in his life deny what he express
ed, nor did he freely give lip
service to what he denied He
was what he was, and he was a
great coach