Earl Banks

Norman Earl Banks, a retired National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration supervisor and former Northeast Baltimore resident, died Sept. 15 of cancer at Health Care Windemere in Orlando, Fla. He was 78. Born in Baltimore and raised on Stanwood Avenue, he was a 1949 graduate of Polytechnic Institute. In 1950, Mr. Banks went to work as a draftsman for the Navy's Hydrographic office in Suitland. He transferred in 1972 to NOAA, where he was section chief of the nautical charting division until his retirement in 1986.

Morgan State football coach Donald Hill-Eley said he might soon be out of a job after he accidentally received an e-mail earlier this week outlining the university's plans to seek his replacement. Hill-Eley, who has led the Bears to a 54-69 record in 11 seasons, said he hadn't heard anything official from the university as of Friday despite receiving the e-mail on Tuesday evening. "I don't know what's going on," Hill-Eley said when reached on his cell phone. A university spokesman said he had no immediate comment about Hill-Eley's status.

Earl Banks, Morgan State's "Papa Bear," who put the school's football team in the national spotlight and put 40 players into the professional ranks, was selected yesterday for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame."

Men's college basketball Report: Ex-Hoya C. Smith shot inside his Bowie home The NBC station in Washington reported that Charles Smith , a former star at Georgetown in the late 1980s, was shot inside his Bowie home Thursday afternoon. Smith was shot twice in the chest in the 13200 block of Lansdales Hope Way, according to the report. He was hospitalized in critical-but-stable condition and underwent surgery Thursday afternoon. Prince George's County police are searching for a single gunman, NBC News4 reported.

Morgan State football coach Donald Hill-Eley said he might soon be out of a job after he accidentally received an e-mail earlier this week outlining the university's plans to seek his replacement. Hill-Eley, who has led the Bears to a 54-69 record in 11 seasons, said he hadn't heard anything official from the university as of Friday despite receiving the e-mail on Tuesday evening. "I don't know what's going on," Hill-Eley said when reached on his cell phone. A university spokesman said he had no immediate comment about Hill-Eley's status.

Coaches love to give lectures on the virtues of football as a metaphor for life. No one in this area has done a more masterful job over the years of making that type of philosophy a reality for hundreds of young men than former Morgan State head coach and athletic director Earl Banks, who died last week at age 69.Earl Banks is in the College Football Hall of Fame for achieving stunning results at Morgan State over a 14-year period (a 31-game win streak, a...

If you want to gauge the true measure of Earl Banks' contributions during his 69 years on Earth, you have to look beyond his induction into the College Football Hall of Fame last December, beyond the 40 players he coached who went on to play in the National Football League, beyond his three consecutive undefeated seasons at Morgan State and his 95-30-2 record, beyond his own All-American status while a student-athlete at the University of Iowa.You have to look at Earl Banks' work in molding college-age men at Morgan State into mature and responsible adults.

Howard@Morgan State 7:30 p.m. [ESPNU] Track the Bears as eighth-year coach Donald Hill-Eley's team looks to become the first Morgan State squad since 1979 to start the season 5-1. That team finished 9-2. Hill-Eley (left) has 40 wins, third in school history behind Eddie Hurt (174) and Earl Banks (94).

Local politicians, former players, fellow coaches and his closest friends tried to sum up the man who melded the teaching of college football and life, but even speeches, poetry and music could not explain all the compassion and impact Earl Carey Banks had on those around him."He has left a legacy that will endure through eternity," said Dr. Earl S. Richardson, president of Morgan State University.Yesterday, in the Murphy Fine Arts Auditorium at Morgan State, several hundred mourners remembered Banks in a two-hour memorial service as the coach who led Morgan football into the golden years and turned young men from broken homes into positive contributors to society.

Earl Banks was much bigger than the game of college football.He was an institution, a motivator, a philosopher, a giant man with a heart to match his size.Banks also was a great football coach. He won't be mentioned in the same breath with Stagg, Rockne or Bryant, but his former players held him in the highest esteem."He was one of the best college football coaches in the country," said former University of Maryland and Dunbar coach Bob Wade, a defensive back at Morgan under Banks. "His coaching style would have made him competitive in any arena, even against the best, because Coach Banks, along with coaches like Eddie Robinson and Jake Gaithers, were the elite."

Three men with local ties will be inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame as part of the 2011 class. Former Morgan State coach Earl Banks and offensive tackle Roosevelt Brown will join Art Shell, who was an offensive tackle at UMES when it was Maryland State College, in the hall's second class, it was announced Thursday. Banks spent 14 years as Morgan's coach, amassing an .839 win-loss percentage. He was Morgan's athletic director from 1970 to 1983 and died in 1993. Brown, a Black All-American in 1951 and 1952, was a member of the NFL's 75th Anniversary All-Time Team.

The Black College Football Hall of Fame announced its Class of 2011 finalists Monday, and five of the 35 finalists have ties to Maryland schools. Former Morgan State offensive lineman Roosevelt Brown, running back Leroy Kelly and coach Earl Banks are joined by offensive lineman Art Shell and running back Emerson Boozer, both of Maryland State College, now known as University of Maryland Eastern Shore. The Hall of Fame's second annual class will include 11 new members at the ceremony held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Atlanta on Feb. 19, 2011.

Howard@Morgan State 7:30 p.m. [ESPNU] Track the Bears as eighth-year coach Donald Hill-Eley's team looks to become the first Morgan State squad since 1979 to start the season 5-1. That team finished 9-2. Hill-Eley (left) has 40 wins, third in school history behind Eddie Hurt (174) and Earl Banks (94).

Norman Earl Banks, a retired National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration supervisor and former Northeast Baltimore resident, died Sept. 15 of cancer at Health Care Windemere in Orlando, Fla. He was 78. Born in Baltimore and raised on Stanwood Avenue, he was a 1949 graduate of Polytechnic Institute. In 1950, Mr. Banks went to work as a draftsman for the Navy's Hydrographic office in Suitland. He transferred in 1972 to NOAA, where he was section chief of the nautical charting division until his retirement in 1986.

As Leroy Kelly stands at the summit of achievement, entry into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he remembers his high school and college coaches and what Morgan State University, in particular, made possible.Without Morgan State's offering the opportunity, there would have been no reference point. And it was Kelly's performance in the Morgan program that led him to an invitation to play pro football.There was a strong link between Morgan and the Baltimore Colts, mainly because Earl Banks, the athletic director and coach, had been a lifetime friend of Claude "Buddy" Young, who played for the Colts, scouted talent and ultimately joined the National Football League as a special consultant to commissioner Pete Rozelle.

Reading Time: Two MinutesFor you folks lamenting the horrible start of the Washington Capitals, be advised that heading into Friday night's home game against Vancouver, the team is enjoying its fifth-best start in history (20 years) with its 6-7 mark.* Earl Banks was the kind of guy who made an immediate and lasting impression when you met him. First off, there was the physical presence, the man resembling a couple of granite blocks lashed together. He had huge, smiling eyes behind those thick glasses, and his voice seemed to rumble up from the bowels of the earth.

Three men with local ties will be inducted into the Black College Football Hall of Fame as part of the 2011 class. Former Morgan State coach Earl Banks and offensive tackle Roosevelt Brown will join Art Shell, who was an offensive tackle at UMES when it was Maryland State College, in the hall's second class, it was announced Thursday. Banks spent 14 years as Morgan's coach, amassing an .839 win-loss percentage. He was Morgan's athletic director from 1970 to 1983 and died in 1993. Brown, a Black All-American in 1951 and 1952, was a member of the NFL's 75th Anniversary All-Time Team.

NEW YORK -- All the plaudits and tributes have been officially extended and football stories from games past recounted, if not documented. Now that Earl Banks is in the College Football Hall of Fame, he says it's his desire to start playing "pay back."In typical Banks whimsy, he put the honors heaped upon him at banquets in Baltimore and New York in smiling perspective."When I pass on, I won't have to try to rise in the casket to find out what they're saying about me," he quipped. "I've heard it all, and it sure sounded good."

Local politicians, former players, fellow coaches and his closest friends tried to sum up the man who melded the teaching of college football and life, but even speeches, poetry and music could not explain all the compassion and impact Earl Carey Banks had on those around him."He has left a legacy that will endure through eternity," said Dr. Earl S. Richardson, president of Morgan State University.Yesterday, in the Murphy Fine Arts Auditorium at Morgan State, several hundred mourners remembered Banks in a two-hour memorial service as the coach who led Morgan football into the golden years and turned young men from broken homes into positive contributors to society.

Coaches love to give lectures on the virtues of football as a metaphor for life. No one in this area has done a more masterful job over the years of making that type of philosophy a reality for hundreds of young men than former Morgan State head coach and athletic director Earl Banks, who died last week at age 69.Earl Banks is in the College Football Hall of Fame for achieving stunning results at Morgan State over a 14-year period (a 31-game win streak, a...