Forby Leonard Skinner (January 11, 1933 - September 20, 2010) is an American high school sports teacher, basketball coach, and entrepreneur from Jacksonville, Florida. He is known in popular culture as the namesake of rock band Southern Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Video Leonard Skinner
Biography
Skinner was born in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1933 and graduated from Robert E. Lee High School in 1951. He studied at Jacksonville Junior College on a basketball scholarship before being admitted to the US Army. After his return from the Army, Skinner studied at Florida State University, where he graduated in 1957.
For years, Skinner was a sports teacher at his alma mater, Robert E. Lee High School. Prior to training at Robert E. Lee, he taught at Glynn Academy in Glynn County, Georgia. He is also a basketball coach at Stillwell Jr. High in Jacksonville. Some of Lynyrd Skynyrd's band members, including Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington, and Bob Burns, were students at Robert E. Lee in the 1960s. Skinner's strict enforcement of long hair inspired members to name their bands afterwards. Skinner believes that he only enforces school policy. Some band members will try to straighten their hair with Vaseline. This is a short-term solution, because students are asked to take a bath after the sport. At that point, it was easily revealed that their hair was longer than the rules. The group reportedly changed their name after Skinner sent Rossington and the others to the principal's office for taking too long. Over time, Burns, Rossington, and other band members developed a series of quizzes in a joke about Skinner and finally decided to pay his "tongue-in-cheek" honor by renaming themselves "Lynyrd Skynyrd". In 1977, an Associated Press article described the band's connection to their gym teacher as follows:
It seems that physical education teacher Leonard Skinner does not like long hair or loud music. The leap with him helped keep the kids suspended. As a way to go back, they named the band to Skinner, changed the vocals to avoid a lawsuit and became quite famous for making the story into a rock legend.
Interviewed in January 2009, Skinner said he only follows the rules about hair length. It bothers him that the legend has grown that he is very hard on the band members or that he drives them out of school. She said, "It's against school rules, I do not like long hair on men, but again, that's not my rule." At the same time, Skinner told The Times-Union of Jacksonville, "They are good, talented, hard-working kids, they work hard, live hard and hard." Skinner's son said, "I think he ate it a bit, at first he did not like it, he had mixed feelings later, but I think he finally liked it."
Skinner was later taught at Jacksonville Technical College and retired from training in 1970. He worked in the real estate business during the 1970s, and in 1975, he allowed the band to use his "Leonard Skinner Realty" sign for the album third them, Nuthin 'Fancy . Once the album is released, Skinner begins receiving late night calls from all countries from fans who have seen the sign (and phone number) on the album artwork. Skinner recalled, "They'll say, 'Who's talking', and I'll say Leonard Skinner, and they'll say 'Away!' which is not until four in the morning. "
Skinner became friends with several band members, and they played at a bar that Skinner opened in Jacksonville called "The Still". Skinner also named a few bars after him, utilizing the name's fame.
In January 2009, the people of Jacksonville held an event called "A Tribute to Coach Leonard Skinner & Southern Rock" at National Guard Armory. At that time, the Jacksonville newspaper wrote, "He's just an ordinary Westside man, a coach and entrepreneur with a strong code of honor, a discipliner at home and at school."
On September 20, 2010, Skinner died at the age of 77 in a nursing home in Jacksonville, after suffering from Alzheimer's disease for several years. At the time of his death, The New York Times called him "arguably the most influential high school gym teacher in American popular culture." The Florida Times-Union called her "basketball coach and gym teacher no-nonsense and edged, whose name is forever attributed to the legendary Lynyrd Skynyrd in Jacksonville."
Maps Leonard Skinner
References
External links
- Video Skinner explains his role in naming Lynyrd Skynyrd, San Francisco Chronicle
- Gene Odom and Coach Leonard Skinner on YouTube, Coach Skinner and Gene Odom at Robert E. Lee High School and Coach Skinner tell how he teaches sports classes with Ronnie and Gary. Also some additional history of Skynyrd and how Coach found they named the band after him. Video by documentary filmmaker Tony Beazley.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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