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Very, very sad news.....I know this should probably go in the other schools thread, but with all his MAC coaching experience while at Miami and BG having played Northwestern while he was there, I thought more people would see it here. I always liked this guy. Here's the link:

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2505033

I was absolutely shocked when I read the thread title. Very, very sad news indeed. Thoughts and prayers go out to his family and everyone at Northwestern.

Thread from earlier this morning:

http://www.ay-ziggy-zoomba.com/phpBB2/v ... highlight=

Very sad indeed.

Wow, I cant believe it... I feel very sorry for his family and everyone at Northwestern!

Randy had some issues in the past. 2004, he went to the hospital complaining of chest pain. Found out that it was inflammation of the heart muscle. He was put on medication. Don't know if this sudden heart attack is related. But sad, indeed.

dduncan wrote:Randy had some issues in the past. 2004, he went to the hospital complaining of chest pain. Found out that it was inflammation of the heart muscle. He was put on medication. Don't know if this sudden heart attack is related. But sad, indeed.

According to the article I read, his condition may have been casued by a virus (the 2004 incident). Following that he had said that he really followed his doctors orders so he would be around to see his grandkids someday. Assuming that is true, very likely could be related, viruses can very easily go dormant and reappear. Quite a few doctors out there that think Heart disease and attacks can have a strong bacterial/viral connection.

Very sad indeed. I saw this first thing this morning on ESPN. I always thought Coach Walker was a class act and carried himself very well. I liked him as a coach and he got solid results. Recruiting at NW is much more difficult that most schools cuz ya can't be a dolt and get accepted there. His teams played hard and were successful quite a bit. I'll never forget being at the 2001 BG/NW game...one of my greatest BG memories. And of course the '03 Motor City Bowl...great game as well.

My condolances and prayers go out to the entire Walker family, NW community and the team. He was one of the good ones in college football. We need a few more like Coach Walker.

God bless his family....

Thoughts and prayers go out to the Walker family and the entire Northwestern community. Anyone who can have the success that Coach Walker had at Northwestern, is a great coach and from what I have read and heard already this morning, he was an even better person. I watched the press conference on ESPN this morning and the players were very shaken by this, obviously, and you could tell how much Coach Walker meant to them.

A friend called me this morning to give me the news. I immediately called my father. Randy Walker is from my hometown. I watched him play football in high school on easily one of the greatest Ohio High School teams of all time. My dad would take me to every home game so I could watch Randy and Gordon Bell run over their opponents.

http://www.trojanmania.com/history/lege ... /index.php

My brother was a high school freshman probably when Randy was a senior. I was in 5th grade. Lot of the high school guys would play sandlot football on Saturday and Sunday in the schoolyard across from my house. They would let me join the game. Randy joined those games at times.

Randy Walker and his brother Rob (a school prinicpal) were/are class guys. As the story goes, their father really pressed upon the value of self-respect and dignity. That your actions in life will be a reflection of the person you are. The Walker brothers certainly live by that.

Its a very sad day in Troy. Randy Walker was well-loved by his hometown.

Its very sad. He was a class act, and he will be missed. He is also the only Coach to refer to Brandon Hicks as "a rolling ball of butcher knifes."

I rarely read the MAC board, but ran across this post today and thought it was worth sharing:

From FlashFan:

RIP.

I became a Randy Walker fan last winter. In February, he hosted a "Meet The Recruits" night at Northwestern's Booster Club. Apparently, a number of the "fans" were still upset that the placekicker missed a couple of Sun Bowl F.G's. ( Don't know why, score shows it would not have made a difference.)

Walker announced a placekicker was among the recruits. The room erupted with cheers, hoots and derisive comments about the current placekicker.

Then Walker did something more coaches should have the, ummm, manhood to do. He stopped and glared at the crowd, then said something to the affect of: "(name of placekicker) worked hard for you for four years. He's given up breaks, vacations, and most of his social life to play for your team. Most of you crap your pants over a ten dollar putt, so save the boos when a 22 year old misses a 45 yard field goal in front of 50,000 people in the biggest game of the year."

That was the day I became a Randy Walker fan.

Impressive, to say the least! ...Like all of you, my thoughts are with his family, friends and the Northwestern family. So sad.

Falcon Fanatic wrote:I rarely read the MAC board, but ran across this post today and thought it was worth sharing:

From FlashFan:

RIP.

I became a Randy Walker fan last winter. In February, he hosted a "Meet The Recruits" night at Northwestern's Booster Club. Apparently, a number of the "fans" were still upset that the placekicker missed a couple of Sun Bowl F.G's. ( Don't know why, score shows it would not have made a difference.)

Walker announced a placekicker was among the recruits. The room erupted with cheers, hoots and derisive comments about the current placekicker.

Then Walker did something more coaches should have the, ummm, manhood to do. He stopped and glared at the crowd, then said something to the affect of: "(name of placekicker) worked hard for you for four years. He's given up breaks, vacations, and most of his social life to play for your team. Most of you crap your pants over a ten dollar putt, so save the boos when a 22 year old misses a 45 yard field goal in front of 50,000 people in the biggest game of the year."

That was the day I became a Randy Walker fan.

Impressive, to say the least! ...Like all of you, my thoughts are with his family, friends and the Northwestern family. So sad.

That was awesome, FF> Randy Walker was a class act...and you can tell just how much he cared for his players. Coach Walker will be missed greatly.

This is the best article I have found that really explains the man Randy Walker was and where he came from....

http://www.daytondailynews.com/sports/c ... 6arch.html

"Some of the back yards we passed reminded him of his own when he grew up in Troy. "I've been gone from there almost 30 years but I remember that place —1010 Mulberry — like yesterday. The hedges in back. The alley beyond them. That was a home run when my brother and I played Wiffle ball. Those were good times.

"The way I was brought up — I hate to call it old-fashioned values — but that's what it was. There was a way you were expected to handle yourself in school, on the football field, in town. I can remember when I was going out, my dad would say, 'Remember who you are."

1010 Mulberry Street, Randy's childhood home, is one block south of my Grandmother's house. This was a low to moderate income neighborhood of small 19th century wood frame houses. During those days, this was a blue collar neighborhood of hard-working good people who respected themselves, their neighbors, their community.

To understand the football tradition that Randy grew up under read

http://www.trojanmania.com/history/index.php

To give some perspective. Troy Memorial Stadium (built in 1949) holds 10,000 people. The population of Troy in 1949 was about 7,000. It was about 15,000 when I was growing up. And the stadium is filled to capacity for every home game.

I graduated from Troy in 1963 and my brother in 1967. My mother was a secretary at the high school. I was there in one of the "golden era's " of football. Bob Ferguson had just graduated and Tommy Vaughn and Tommy Myers, the "Tommy Guns" were our heroes. I worked one summer at Hobart's with Tommy Vaughn. Tom Myers had his picture on the cover of Street and Smiths College Football issue when he played for Northwestern. I followed Randy's career at Troy and at Miami of Ohio and Northwestern. He was an outstanding player, coach but more importantly he was just a super person. He always handled himself with class. He will be missed.