Father figures

Coach, columnist each made their mark on what it takes to be a dad

MAILBAG

Two families, two very different Father's Days.

Robert Morgan, who spent 19 seasons as head football coach at Warren Central High School in Vicksburg, Miss., has retired. A teacher and coach for 36 years, Robert coached more than 1,000 players since taking over the Vikings in 1985, including his three sons.

Asa Baber, the voice of millions of men often misunderstood by almost every woman, has been dead for a year. A champion for fathers' rights in divorce cases, "Ace" -- as he was known to friends -- was simply "dad" to sons Brendan and James.

Both of these men, an Southern-bred football coach and a Gold Coast resident of Chicago, had profound impacts on my life.

Robert was firmly entrenched at Warren Central when I arrived at The Vicksburg Post in 1992. An assistant coach starting in 1968, Robert replaced legend Lum Wright Sr. as head coach. What followed included a state-record 19 consecutive playoff appearances and two state championships, in 1988 and '94.

I was the Vikings' beat writer in '94, the result of a preseason straw draw when Calvin Stevens, Ross Reily and I were splitting up duties to cover Warren Central, Vicksburg, St. Aloysius and Porters Chapel. Aside from a few good nights at the blackjack tables, it was the draw of a lifetime.

Allowed to sit in on coaches' meetings, game-planning sessions and game-day preparations, Robert gave me total access to his team's championship run. I cherish the afternoons when Robert, assistants Curtis Brewer and Robert Dew and peerless stat-keeper Donny Fuller told stories of glory days gone by. It was a heady time for a twentysomething getting his foot in the door of daily journalism; it's also a time that I have yet to equal in the past 10 years.

Interviewing million-dollar athletes, sitting in the press box of the land's biggest stadiums ... sometimes it's the simple things in life that mean the most.

As for Ace, he was a rock when I was going through my divorce in 1994. I was a fan of his Men column in Playboy -- yep, some people do actually read the articles (and, in the interest of full disclosure, look at the pictures) -- and thought his crusade to even the playing field in child custody cases was a noble cause. He answered my questions, was always quick with a "hang in there" and chimed in at opportune moments with just the right words to keep me grounded.

His 1972 divorce eventually led to the essay "Who Gets Screwed in a Divorce? I Do!" that Playboy published in 1978. Four years later, in April 1982, editor Arthur Kretchmer gave Ace a forum -- some may argue a bully pulpit -- from which to preach the gospel many divorced dads needed to hear. Never endeared to the feminist crowd, Ace simply wanted to know why society -- and the judicial system -- cottoned to the idea that mothers are more important than fathers in a child's life. It's a dilemma that continues to go largely unnoticed.

Robert, who had a career record of 168-71 at Warren Central, received the Jackson Touchdown Club's Contribution to Amateur Football Award earlier this spring. But ask him his most notable contribution to society and he'll answer: Rob, Josh and Brett. Each of his sons starred at Warren Central and played at Mississippi State. But more than that, they are tributes to the way in which Robert and Cathy raised their children: to be men. Respectful of others, true to themselves.

Ace, who succumbed to Lou Gehrig's disease June 16, 2003, penned three books, including a 1992 collection of Men columns called Naked at the Gender Gap. "Asa was an amazing combination of toughness and softness and sentimentality," Kretchmer told the Chicago Tribune last year. Ace had what each of us hold dear -- the ability to be tough, the knack for being soft and the understanding of emotion.

In the decade since I first met Robert and Ace, a lot has changed. Robert will be an onlooker this fall as Curtis takes the reigns of the Warren Central program. Ace still enters my consciousness, reminding me that being a dad is the most challenging endeavor a man can enjoy. And I have three children who, hopefully, will learn many of the lessons Robert and Ace shared with me.

Happy Father's Day, coach, and may God bless you, Ace. Your legacies -- Rob, Josh and Brett; Brendan and James -- carry on. And to a much lesser extent, so do I.

B. Duane Cross is a senior producer for SI.com.