Sonny Randle obit

VIRGINIA ICON SONNY RANDLE PASSES AWAY AT THE AGE OF 81

 

He was not on the list.

Sonny Randle made it very difficult not to like him. The former Virginia player and coach who died Tuesday at age 81 felt like a friend to many in the Commonwealth, particularly in Central Virginia and the Shenandoah Valley, most of whom never actually met him.

After Randle’s move into broadcasting later in life, even Virginia Tech Hokie fans would have a hard time not smiling when his welcoming, unmistakable sing-song voice came on the radio, signing off each time “Until our next visit … this is … Sonny Randle sayin’… soooooooooo long everybody.”

Randle grew up north of Charlottesville near Culpeper. He didn’t even play football until his senior year of high school and joined the Cavaliers program as a walk-on after originally enrolling at VMI. But he became a star wide receiver and kick returner at UVA, leading the ACC in all-purpose yards in 1958 before becoming a four-time NFL Pro Bowler in the 1960s.

His coaching career was more varied. After winning two Southern Conference titles at East Carolina, he returned to UVA in 1974 as head coach but won just five games in two seasons before he was let go.

Coaching at one’s alma mater can be a difficult thing. Only two men have done it at UVA since 1922, and both were fired. Al Groh’s tenure ended in bitterness with the patriarch of a once beloved Cavalier family more or less estranged from the university.

Randle, who also later coached Marshall, simply moved on. If he held any kind of grudge against his school, he didn’t show it. In turn, an unsuccessful stint as head coach didn’t keep the Virginia community from embracing him the rest of his life.

“He was so loyal to the people who were loyal to him,” former UVA play-by-play announcer and Randle friend Mac McDonald said. “He just made sure whatever loyalty he got 10 fold. Anytime I needed anything I could pick up the phone and he’d help. He would never really tell me stories about himself, but he’d spend all day talking up his friends.”

The transition into full-time broadcasting brought him back to the region where he lived just over the mountain from Dear Old UVA and was a near constant presence on the airwaves.

Younger Virginians might only have known Randle as the funny old guy on the radio. Ahead of his time as a speed-burner wide receiver, he was decidedly old school as a broadcaster, coming on in his later years to offer a minute of wit and insight about whatever the big sports story of the day happened to be. It was like listening to a kindly grandfather explain what sports used to be like, and how they ought to be.

So, until our next visit, Sonny. So long from everybody.

Randle was selected by the Chicago Cardinals in the 19th round (218th overall) of the 1958 NFL Draft, with a future draft pick, which allowed the team to draft him before his college eligibility was over.

In 1959, although he was one of the fastest players in the league as a rookie, he had trouble adapting to the professional game, registering only 15 receptions, but veteran defensive backs Dick 'Night Train' Lane and Jimmy Hill taught him how to get open.

In only his second season in the NFL, Randle had a break-out year registering 62 receptions (second on the league) for 893 yards and 15 touchdowns (led the league) and was named first-team All-Pro by the Associated Press (AP), The Sporting News and UPI.

In 1961, his numbers fell with Sam Etcheverry at quarterback, posting 44 receptions for 591 yards and 9 touchdowns. The next year Charley Johnson took over at quarterback and he finished with 63 receptions (second on the league) for 1,158 yards (second on the league), with an 18.4 average per reception and 7 touchdowns.

On November 4, 1962, Randle had at the time the second best game statistically by a wide receiver in NFL history as he caught 16 passes for 256 yards in a game against the New York Giants. He finished the season with 63 receptions for 1,158 yards, 8 touchdown catches and was named second-team All-Pro by UPI.

Randle once again passed the 1,000-yard receiving mark in 1963, finishing with 51 receptions for 1,014 yards and 12 touchdowns (fourth on the league).

In 1964, he suffered a serious shoulder separation and was lost for the season after the seventh game. At the time he was on pace for third straight 1,000-yard season.

In 1966, he was limited with a fractured hand and although he didn't miss any games, he only recorded 17 receptions for 218 yards and 2 touchdowns.

On September 14, 1967, after drafting wide receiver Dave Williams in the first round, the Cardinals traded him to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a second round draft choice (#42-Bob Atkins). He left the Cardinals as the franchise's second all-time leading wide receiver. In 1988, he was named to the All-time Cardinal Team.

In 1969, he was acquired by the Washington Redskins and was moved to tight end under head coach Vince Lombardi. He was injured in a preseason game and was released on September 16.

Randle finished his career with 65 touchdown receptions in 120 games, currently placing him 12th on the NFL's all-time TD-per-game list (minimum 60 TDs). His 65 TD catches were also the most in the NFL during the 1960s; Don Maynard caught 84 and Lance Alworth caught 77 in the American Football League (AFL).

In 1961, Bing Devine the general manager of baseball's St. Louis Cardinals, asked him to work with his players on improving their running technique, for which future Hall of Famer Lou Brock gave him credit for his success stealing bases.

In 1970, he became an assistant coach at East Carolina University and was a part a of the coaching staff during the 17–14 win against Marshall University, which would later be involved in a plane crash on the way home, that killed 75 people: 37 football players, five coaches, two athletic trainers, the athletic director, 25 boosters, and a plane crew of five. He became the Pirates' head coach in 1971, leading the team to back-to-back Southern Conference championships in 1972 and 1973. He was named the conference's coach of the year in both years.

He then spent two years as head coach at his alma mater, the University of Virginia (1974–1975), two seasons at Massanutten Military Academy (1976–1977) as head football coach and athletic director, and five seasons at Marshall University (1979–1983) as the football head coach.

In 2009, he was inducted into the East Carolina Athletics Hall of Fame.

In the 1960s, Randle began his broadcasting while still playing for the Cardinals. In the mid-1980s, he was active in sports broadcasting, participating in radio broadcasts of college football games as a color commentator in St. Louis, Virginia and West Virginia. In 1991, Randle started S-R Sports, a syndicated talk radio network based in Virginia.

Career history

As a player:

Chicago/St. Louis Cardinals (1959–1966)

San Francisco 49ers (1967–1968)

Dallas Cowboys (1968)

Washington Redskins (1969)*

 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only

As a coach:

East Carolina (1970)

Wide receivers coach

East Carolina (1971–1973)

Head coach

Virginia (1974–1975)

Head coach

Massanutten Military Academy (1976–1977)

Athletic director and head coach

Marshall (1979–1983)

Head coach

Career highlights and awards

First-team All-Pro (1960)

Second-team All-Pro (1962)

4× Pro Bowl (1960–1962, 1965)

NFL receiving touchdowns leader (1960)

Virginia Sports Hall of Fame (1991)