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did an LSU coach die in a plane crash in the 80's?

Discussion in 'The Tiger's Den' started by DocBrooks, Apr 20, 2006.

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DocBrooks Founding Member

Am I losing it or did an incoming coach around 1980 die in a plane crash before he could coach a single game? I think around 1980...

DocBrooks, Apr 20, 2006

#1
StaceyO Football Turns Me On

It was, I think, the spring of 1980. Bo Rein (Ryan) was the man's name. His plane disappeared leaving Shreveport on a recruiting trip. I don't think it was ever found again.

Jerry Stovall was his replacement. That's basically all I remember because I was in 4th grade at the time. But the best quote from the day the news broke in Baton Rouge was from a girl in my class, who said, "My mom thinks that Charlie Mac was on the plane and caused it to crash--then he jumped out at the last minute."

I was nine years old and knew how ludicrous that was. I couldn't WAIT to get home and tell my parents.

StaceyO, Apr 20, 2006

#2
TigerInTally Founding Member

Sounds like the Payne Stewart incident from a few years back.

Bo Rein

TigerInTally, Apr 20, 2006

#3
TN Tiger Founding Member

:dis: Yep, he came from NC State and was thought to be a rising star on the coaching scene. They think the plane lost pressure and all aboard passed out. Best I remember the plane was never found and was thought to have gone down somewhere in the Atlantic.

TN Tiger, Apr 20, 2006

#4
DocBrooks Founding Member

TN Tiger said:

:dis: Yep, he came from NC State and was thought to be a rising star on the coaching scene. They think the plane lost pressure and all aboard passed out. Best I remember the plane was never found and was thought to have gone down somewhere in the Atlantic.
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Atlantic? Where the hell was he going to recruit?

DocBrooks, Apr 20, 2006

#5
TigerWins Founding Member

From Wikipedia...

Robert E. "Bo" Rein became the youngest college football head coach upon his 1976 hiring by North Carolina State University. He was extremely successful during his four years there, and was hired away by LSU after the 1979 season.

In early 1980, Rein and experienced pilot Louis Benscotter left Shreveport, Louisiana in a Cessna Conquest airplane after a recruiting trip. The flight was supposed to be a 40-minute trip to Baton Rouge, but after going east to avoid a storm, air traffic control lost contact with Benscotter. The plane suddenly climbed much higher than it was designed to go, and kept heading due east. After being tracked on radar, the plane was eventually intercepted by U.S. National Guard aircraft over North Carolina, a thousand miles off course. The military pilots could not see anyone in the cockpit. The plane continued on over the Atlantic Ocean, where it crashed after running out of fuel. The military pilots spoitted some debris, but no wreckage was ever recovered. The bodies of Rein and Benscotter were never found.

The most likely reason given was that the two men apparently lost consciousness due to slow depressurization of the cabin. However, no one knows why the two were not seen in their seats. It has been theorised that they undid their restraints before passing out.

Rein, one of the most promising young coaches in football history, was dead at 34, before he ever coached a game for LSU. Cessna later settled out of court with his widow for an undisclosed amount. Out of respect, LSU paid for his children's college educations at the universities of their choice.
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TigerWins, Apr 20, 2006

#6
turbotiger Founding Member

I still remember eating breakfast in my aunts kitchen when we heard the news. I was around 12 at the time and already a die-hard Tiger fan. I don't think I will ever forget that morning, it was just so unusual and tragic.

turbotiger, Apr 20, 2006

#7
red55 curmudgeon Staff Member

I often wonder how different LSU's football fortunes in the post-Cholly Mac era would have been if Bo Rein had lived. Jerry Stoval would have never been head coach, Bob Broadhead might have never been hired to get rid of him, and Arnsparger and Archer migh never have been hired.

red55, Apr 20, 2006

#8
Jean Lafitte The Old Guard

red55 said:

I often wonder how different LSU's football fortunes in the post-Cholly Mac era would have been if Bo Rein had lived. Jerry Stoval would have never been head coach, Bob Broadhead might have never been hired to get rid of him, and Arnsparger and Archer migh never have been hired.
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I have thought of this many times . . . many times.

:bncry:

Jean Lafitte, Apr 20, 2006

#9
clair Rockets

I did research on this in Jr. High school for a paper about 5-6 years ago...

Had this guy not died, he may STILL be our man...

He was that good a coach...

clair, Apr 20, 2006

#10

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