Lee Hedges was more than just a football coach, he was a leader during an important time in history

SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) - “I will miss him greatly. I just wish everyone had the opportunity to, if you didn’t get to know him, know Coach Lee Hedges, " says former Captain Shreve, LSU and NFL linebacker Bo Harris.

Many have been fortunate to play football under the direction of Louisiana’s all-time greats. The clock hit all zeroes on the legendary coach’s journey on Earth. But, not without leaving memories more than 120 yards long.

“There’s people that will make a difference in your life, and then there was the person that was the difference in your life, " says Harris. “He was the guy for me that was the difference.”

Hedges’ time at Captain Shreve High School included a state championship. But, the biggest victory of all came off the field, during desegregation.

“It may have been tough at first, but the way he would present it, it would help you buy into it, " says Willie Mosley, member of the 1973 Captain Shreve football championship team. “You didn’t have to worry about him saying something, then doing something else.”

“Eden Gardens and Captain Shreve merged. To say the least, it was an interesting year, " says Harris. “But, his leadership through that ended up putting the athletes in a position to, if we helped transition that time period into the school body. Something that could’ve been really, really, really ugly turned into something pretty cool.”

Through all the reps and good plays, anyone who played for Coach Hedges awaited his final approval.

“I know that I lived to hear ‘Attaboy, Bo,’” says Harris. “That’s just the way it was. You would kill for him to get those words to come out of his mouth, to hear him say something good about you.”

“No matter if you were a snotty nosed kid, or a kid that had money, it didn’t matter, " says Mosley. “It didn’t matter to him. You married him as an individual.”

As Lee Hedges joins other greats on Heaven’s football field, those who know him best have one final message.

“Thank you, that’d be it, " says Harris.

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