I know that this year has not gone the way that Frank and the Hokie faithful would have liked, but we should take a moment to celebrate the man who put this program on the map.
Post your favorite Frank Beamer story.
My favorite is during the recruitment of Macho Harris. As Beamer and Cav approached the house, they noticed that smoke was coming out of the house. They helped put the fire out and then rushed Macho Harris to the hospital (someone else had to drive the car because NCAA rules would not allow Beamer or Cav to drive a recruit anywhere).
Beamer and Harris bonded over their similar experiences with being burned and recovering and Macho ended up committing to Virginia Tech from his hospital bed.
That night in the hospital talking to coach Beamer, it felt like a different type of bond because there was nobody in that room, not even my family, that could feel the pain that I felt, Harris said. But Coach Beamer could because he had been through the fire and stuff like that. I just felt like it was just a great, great player and coach bond, and I just felt like it was home here at Tech.
Comments
Happy birthday, Frank. What a wonderful story about Macho!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEAMER!!
Happy birthday to the winningest active coach in the NCAA.
Happy Birthday Frank! Now let's win out for another shot at the ACC title.
Not trying to be stalkerish, but what is the current status of Frank's daughter, as in where does she live now? Seems like I remember her getting married down around Charlotte somewhere a couple of years ago. Seeing Frank with Shane's kids made me wonder about his sister (whose name escapes me).
Oh yeah - happy birthday Frank!
Casey Beamer...though I don't know her married name. Last I read, she was still in Charlotte working with the Carolina Panthers in their administrative offices.
Thanks! I kept coming up with Cheryl & reminding myself that was Frank's wife, not daughter. I thought she was somewhere around Charlotte, because I remember thinking Frank could drive down through there on his way to Columbia to see Shane, back when.
Pretty interesting to know that she too is involved in football, although I'm sure an entirely different capacity. I hope all is well with her & it was nice to see Frank with all his grandkids around him in the photo above.
Happy Birthday to the Future Hall of Fame Coach Beamer!
Almost a decade ago, my AP Government Class toured the Virginia Capitol Building, and it just so happened Coach Beamer was there visiting for the day. He was extremely cordial to us all, and even my classmates going to UVA were eager to shake his hand.
Happy birthday, Coach! Favorite Beamer story? Everything here about sums it up:
http://theozone.net/Ohio-State/All-Sports/All-Seasons/News/Rare-Insight-...
Honestly, every time I read about his response to April 16, visiting the wounded, and his own emotional response yet absolute resolve, I get choked up. If that's not the measure of a wonderful human being, I don't know what is.
And my favorite:
A close friend of my uncle was terminally ill a few years back, and he was a big Hokie. My dad played golf at Tech and still has connections in the athletic department, and he tried to get him a football autographed by Beamer. The result was not just a signed football. My uncle's friend also received personal phone calls from both Frank Beamer and Bud Foster. They each gave him their cell phone number and told him to call them anytime he wanted to talk. He has since passed away, but I know that meant a lot to him. Its one of many reasons I'm proud to be a Hokie and am really proud to have Frank Beamer as the leader of our program.
For the record, that gesture also converted my uncle from Wahoo fan (through marriage) to a Hokie fan. He even went with us to the Ohio State game.
My personal Coach Frank Beamer story:
In my last couple of years at VT, I got really into VT sports, not just the Football program. I went to the Tennis, Baseball, Softball, Soccer, Lacrosse, Volleyball, and Basketball games quite frequently with a friend of mine, who, to my knowledge was the original VT Superfan (cape and VT diamond on maroon/orange). One evening, I was walking into a Women's Soccer game, and in came CFB. It was during the week of a Thursday night game because I remember asking how his week was going and if the team was looking forward to the game. He said they were, and then asked me how my week was going and then mentioned seeing me at other sporting events and stated how he thought that was great that there were people like me supporting all the sports, not just football. Needless to say, I was quite taken aback that CFB recognized me from other games that I had gone to.
I've been a bigger fan of his since then.
EDIT: Spelling correction
Great stories all, speaks very well of the man.
Couple weeks ago my buddy was having a really hard day.
He's a brewer/owner with one of the new breweries and had a number of personal appearances and beer events he was doing in the counties around Blacksburg (in 1 day) and a number of different things were going wrong over which he had no control. Long story short, it as very frustrating.
So, he decided to stop by Bull and Bones for a beer and a snack before returning to Roanoke.
Sat at the bar and discovered he was sitting next to Frank.
CFB proceeded to chat and get him back into a cheery mood.
All this stuff about Frank not being a good motivator is just false. He's a grade A fantastic guy and great with people.
I love the one where he took the time to leave money for the gas tank he forgot to fill up at the bowl game. You seriously can't write this stuff the man is so humble down to Earth and just... a good guy despite all of the fame that he's earned he still has the decency to be the Beams we all know and love