By JEFF GATES

Brown News Service

For 50 years as a player and a coach in the National Football League, the branches of Richard Charles “Dick” LeBeau’s tree are far reaching.

Despite the many kudos he has received in the NFL, LeBeau’s feet have always been firmly planted in the soil of his home town. Long before he graced the sidelines in Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Buffalo, Detroit, Green Bay, and Philadelphia — and even before his time in Columbus with the Ohio State Buckeyes — LeBeau put on the shoulder pads for London High School.

“When you meet him, you’ll like him,” LeBeau’s brother Bob said. “He’s still the same guy as he’s always been in London.”

LeBeau’s London and NFL legacies will now come together as the former Red Raider quarterback will be honored at an event to kick off the LeBeau Field House Project — a facility to be constructed in celebration of London’s Legend of the Fall. The fundraising dinner/auction will be held 6 p.m. June 27 starting in the London High School Gymnasium.

Among those expected to honor one of football’s most innovative defensive gurus will be three current NFL head coaches — the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Mike Tomlin, the Cincinnati Bengals’ Marvin Lewis, and Dick Jauron of the Buffalo Bills.

This past year, Tomlin and LeBeau teamed to lead the Steelers’ to a Super Bowl victory. Lewis followed LeBeau as head coach of the Bengals, and Jauron is a long-time LeBeau friend.

Also scheduled to appear are former teammates of LeBeau’s from his playing days at Ohio State and Detroit. Some more special guests are sure to appear.

The cost of the tickets is $100, with a corporate table for $1,000. To order tickets, contact London High School head football coach Bill Dennis at 740-852-5705, ext. 1101 or 330-763-0076. Checks should be made payable to “London Sideliners” and can be mailed to London High School Football, P.O Box 661, London, Ohio 43140.