2019 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 189
BY SENATORS CARTER, BISHOP, BOUDREAUX, CORTEZ, DONAHUE, LUNEAU,
MILLS, MORRELL AND PRICE
A RESOLUTION
To express the sincere condolences of the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana upon the
death of legendary football coach Otis Washington.
WHEREAS, it was with deep regret and profound sorrow that the members of the
Senate learned of the death of Coach Otis Washington, one of the state's most outstanding
football coaches, on May 24, 2019, at the age of eighty; and
WHEREAS, Coach Washington had an extraordinary impact upon the lives of
countless people; this monumental impact was nowhere more evident than during his historic
tenure as football coach at St. Augustine High School where he molded the minds and
characters of many young men and women, preparing them for life beyond the playing field,
the court, and the classroom; and
WHEREAS, he was a passionate, innovative leader and articulate communicator who
helped establish the standard for St. Augustine athletics, shaping Purple Knight football into
a program that reflected his dedication to discipline, teamwork, attention to detail,
scholarship, and excellence both on and off the field; and
WHEREAS, Otis Washington was a Selma, Alabama, native, born on February 12,
1939, who graduated in 1957 from R.B. Hudson High School and came to Louisiana on a
football scholarship to Xavier University of Louisiana where he earned all-conference
honors in football (guard, linebacker) and baseball (catcher); he was the captain on what was
the final football team in 1959 before the school for a time discontinued sports; and
WHEREAS, he completed his degree at Xavier in 1961 and worked eight years as
an assistant coach at St. Augustine High School before being named the head coach prior to
the 1969 season; he assisted on three state championship teams in the Louisiana
Interscholastic Athletic and Literacy Organization before the school became a member of
the Louisiana High School Athletic Association in 1967; and
WHEREAS, "Coach Wash", as he was known by most, led St. Augustine to state
championships in 1975, 1978, and 1979; in his eleven seasons at the school, he compiled a
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113-17-1 (86.6% winning) record and guided the Purple Knights to eleven consecutive
winning seasons and seven district titles in the ultra-competitive Catholic League; more than
one hundred twenty of his players went on to play college football; and
WHEREAS, in 1975, the school won the state title with a perfect 15-0 record and the
1978 state championship game, a 13-7 victory over Jesuit, drew a crowd of 44,000 at the
Superdome; and
WHEREAS, he moved on to LSU in 1980 as an offensive line coach, becoming the
first black coach at the school, and in 1981, was named head coach at Southern University
where he served for six seasons, posting a 35-30-1 record; and
WHEREAS, Coach Washington, who remained in Baton Rouge after his coaching
days, was inducted into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2015, and the St. Augustine
High School Hall of Fame in 2017; he is also a member of the Allstate Sugar Bowl Greater
New Orleans Hall of Fame, inducted in 1994, and the Louisiana High School Sports Hall of
Fame; and
WHEREAS, in 1955, Coach Washington converted to Catholicism and was a
member of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Baton Rouge; and
WHEREAS, although the death of Coach Washington has left a tremendous void in
the lives of his beloved wife of fifty-two plus years, the former Linda Patterson of Baton
Rouge, and his family, friends, and all whose lives he touched, the memory of this treasured
gentleman shall live forever in the minds and hearts of all who knew and loved him.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby express its most sincere and heartfelt condolences and sorrow upon the death
of Otis Washington, former head football coach at St. Augustine High School and at
Southern University, as well as assistant coach at Louisiana State University, and does
hereby express gratitude for the indelible mark that his enduring legacy has left upon St.
Augustine High School, the state of Louisiana, and the United States of America.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
Coach Washington's wife.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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