Otis ‘Coach Wash’ Washington passes away at 80

3rd June 2019   ·   0 Comments

By Fritz Esker
Contributing Writer

Legendary St. Augustine High School football coach Otis Washington passed away at the age of 80 on Friday, May 24.

“Coach Wash,” a member of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, was an assistant for St. Aug in 1967 during its integration into the Louisiana High School Athletic Association. Washington would become the school’s head coach in 1969.

St. Aug claimed its only three state football championships during Washington’s tenure. In 1975, the Purple Knights went undefeated. In 1978 and 1979, they became the first AAAA team to win back-to-back state championships. The 1978 title game vs. Jesuit, witnessed by 44,000 people, was the first state championship game held in the Superdome. Washington’s 1971 season saw St. Aug finish 2nd in the state. In 11 seasons as St. Aug’s head coach, Washington had a 117-18-1 record.

While his athletic triumphs at St. Aug were memorable, school president Kenneth St. Charles, said Coach Washington’s impact on the school and its students extended far beyond the football field.

“His presence and his commitment molded and shaped so many young men at the school, whether you were an athlete or not an athlete,” said St. Charles, who was a student during Washington’s tenure at St. Aug. “His tone and his presence made people want to emulate him and follow him… He showed us by example what it meant to be a leader.”

St. Charles added that Washington’s lessons and example still influence the culture of St. Aug and its young men to this day.

Washington, who was an All-Conference guard and linebacker at Xavier University in 1959, also coached at the college level. He became LSU’s first Black football coach as an offensive line coach in 1980. In 1981, he was hired as the head coach at Southern University in Baton Rouge. He lasted six seasons at Southern, compiling a 35-30-1 record, with his best being the 8-3 1982 season.

New Orleans leaders were quick to praise Washington and his contributions to the community.

“New Orleans has lost a leader and a legend… Coach Washington was a leader on the field and off of it, and he taught generations of players what it meant to have discipline and achieve excellence,” said New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell.

Congressman Cedric Richmond (D-LA) said Washington imparted valuable lessons to young men about leadership, perseverance, and teamwork.

“Coach Washington was a giant whose career transcended wins, losses, first downs, and touchdowns,” Richmond said. “The state of Louisiana is forever indebted to Coach Washington for all he did for the community… It is now the responsibility of all of us he impacted to passionately carry on his legacy of greatness, selflessness, and leadership.”

Washington, a native of Selma, Alabama, was married to the former Linda Patterson of Baton Rouge for 52 years. The couple had no children.

A public viewing for Washington was held at St. Augustine High School Chapel on Thursday, May 30 from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Washington’s funeral Mass was held on Saturday, June 1 at 10:30 a.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church at 2250 Main Street in Baton Rouge. Washington was interred at Heavenly Gates Baton Rouge (10633 Veterans Memorial Blvd).

This article originally published in the June 3, 2019 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.