The Passing of a Utah Legend

Last updated on: December 29, 2016 at 1:44 pm by Dan Peterson

The Passing of a Utah Legend 2016-12-29T13:44:49-07:00 Dan Peterson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Dr. LaVell Edwards in 2010 (Wikimedia Commons)

“LaVell Edwards, Hall of Fame football coach, dies at age 86”

This one hurts.

Since my very youthful infatuation with the Dodgers, I’ve never been a particularly passionate sports fan. If a football game is on television and I stumble across it or somebody else turns it on, I might watch a few minutes of it, and I’ve attended a handful of BYU games — when others have invited me. I can easily be drawn in, but I seldom if ever take the first step myself.

But LaVell Edwards was a huge presence here in Utah Valley and in Utah generally. It’s entirely appropriate that BYU’s football stadium is named after him.

I remember, once, going to a small Chinese restaurant down in Springville. He and his wife were eating dinner there, but they scarcely had the opportunity for an uninterrupted bite. Time after time, somebody would come over to chat, to express admiration, to offer advice, to ask about a play call in some memorable game. And those who didn’t talk to him were watching him. I felt sorry for him and his wife, and resolved to leave them absolutely alone. That’s my general policy whenever I see famous people out trying to have a life.

Still, I had a few encounters with BYU’s legendary football coach. I’ll mention two:

While he was back serving a mission with his wife in Manhattan, we had one of our Islamic Translation events there. The New York City church leaders took advantage of our availability by hosting a dinner, on an open night for us, for a multi-ethnic group of local Muslims. LaVell — it seems apt to use his first name — was centrally involved in this. It was the first time I’d actually met him, and I was really impressed by his down-to-earth friendliness, his genuine interest in all the guests, his good humor, and his utter lack of self-importance. He had a great time, and so did those who had been invited.

On another occasion, a very wealthy friend (now a General Authority) bought us some seats at a charitable dinner-auction up in the Heber Valley. It was a relatively small group of, on the whole, rich to very rich people (including one or two prominent football names; even I had heard of them), and the purpose was to raise money to build schools, dig wells, and do other good things in Ethiopia. (Our friend was and is deeply committed to such efforts.)

Steve Young was the emcee and auctioneer. We bought a few small things, but, candidly, felt quite out of our financial league there — notwithstanding the enormous salary and the lavish perks that, I sometimes read, I’ve received for my work as an apologist.

The funniest part of the evening, though, was this: LaVell Edwards was seated with a very wealthy fellow at the table next to ours. Every once in a while, that fellow had to take a telephone call. He was vocally apologetic, explaining that these were urgent business matters. Each time he went out of the room for his phone call, LaVell would grab the sign with the man’s bid number on it and raise it to bid. By the end of the evening, the man was good-naturedly surprised to learn that he had “bought” a school, a small clinic, and a couple of water wells. We all had enormous fun watching LaVell’s joke. He seems to have been a great prankster. It was clear that he was very well-liked.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

December 29, 2016

"The Book of Mormon at year's end"

Next Post

December 29, 2016 "The Vatican's In-House Astronomer"

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 March 2014 August 2013 February 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does 1 Peter say believers are being built into?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Living stones A holy nation A spiritual house God's temple