Bob LaPointe
Encyclopedia
Bob LaPointe was an American football
coach in Michigan
from 1968 through 2010. He is best known for winning Michigan's Class B high school state championship in 1975, and for serving as interim head coach at Eastern Michigan University for part of the 1982 season.
From 1974 through 1977, LaPointe was the head coach at Divine Child High School
in Dearborn, Michigan
, where his team went undefeated and won a state championship in 1975.
In 1978, newly hired Eastern Michigan University
head coach Mike Stock
brought LaPointe to the university. Three games into the 1982 season Stock was fired, immediately after losing his twenty-second consecutive game, the major-college longest losing streak in the country. LaPointe was named the interim head coach, and the school immediately began a nationwide search for a new coach. The team received widespread attention for their various attempts to end the streak, which included "bringing a coffin to the locker room before the game...as a reminder to kill the streak", and hiring a local hypnotist. The team lost his first five games as head coach, two by a single point each, before defeating Kent State 9-7, ending a school-record 27-game losing streak that had lasted more than two years. For the following season, Jim Harkema
was brought in as head coach.
In the mid-1980s, LaPointe coached high school football at Notre Dame Preparatory in Pontiac, Michigan
, before going to Belleville High School
in Belleville, Michigan
, where he remaining for nearly 20 years until his retirement in 2010. While at Belleville High School he coached eventual National Football League
players Kris Jenkins
, Cullen Jenkins
, and Ian Gold
.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
coach in Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
from 1968 through 2010. He is best known for winning Michigan's Class B high school state championship in 1975, and for serving as interim head coach at Eastern Michigan University for part of the 1982 season.
From 1974 through 1977, LaPointe was the head coach at Divine Child High School
Divine Child High School
Divine Child High School is a private Catholic high school in Dearborn, Wayne County, Michigan, United States. The principal is Peggy Knuth and the Assistant Principal is Damian Hermann. The school's pastor is Father Jim Bilot...
in Dearborn, Michigan
Dearborn, Michigan
-Economy:Ford Motor Company has its world headquarters in Dearborn. In addition its Dearborn campus contains many research, testing, finance and some production facilities. Ford Land controls the numerous properties owned by Ford including sales and leasing to unrelated businesses such as the...
, where his team went undefeated and won a state championship in 1975.
In 1978, newly hired Eastern Michigan University
Eastern Michigan Eagles football
The Eastern Michigan Eagles are a college football program at Eastern Michigan University. They compete in Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the Mid-American Conference...
head coach Mike Stock
Mike Stock (American football)
Mike Stock was an American football coach from 1961 through 2009. He coached for 26 years at the collegiate level, 17 years in the National Football League, one year in the United States Football League, and one year coaching high school football in Ohio; altogether he coached 14 different teams...
brought LaPointe to the university. Three games into the 1982 season Stock was fired, immediately after losing his twenty-second consecutive game, the major-college longest losing streak in the country. LaPointe was named the interim head coach, and the school immediately began a nationwide search for a new coach. The team received widespread attention for their various attempts to end the streak, which included "bringing a coffin to the locker room before the game...as a reminder to kill the streak", and hiring a local hypnotist. The team lost his first five games as head coach, two by a single point each, before defeating Kent State 9-7, ending a school-record 27-game losing streak that had lasted more than two years. For the following season, Jim Harkema
Jim Harkema
E. James Harkema is former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Grand Valley State University , from 1973 to 1982 and at Eastern Michigan University from 1983 to 1992, compiling a career college football record of 109–86–6...
was brought in as head coach.
In the mid-1980s, LaPointe coached high school football at Notre Dame Preparatory in Pontiac, Michigan
Pontiac, Michigan
Pontiac is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan named after the Ottawa Chief Pontiac, located within the Detroit metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 59,515. It is the county seat of Oakland County...
, before going to Belleville High School
Belleville High School (Belleville, Michigan)
Belleville High School is a public high school located in Belleville, Michigan and the only zoned high school in the Van Buren School District.- History :...
in Belleville, Michigan
Belleville, Michigan
Belleville is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,991 at the 2010 census. It is the sister city of Machynlleth, Wales. Belleville is southeast of Ann Arbor and southwest of Detroit.-Geography:...
, where he remaining for nearly 20 years until his retirement in 2010. While at Belleville High School he coached eventual National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
players Kris Jenkins
Kris Jenkins
Kristopher Rudy-Charles Jenkins is a former American football nose tackle who played for the Carolina Panthers and New York Jets of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Panthers in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft...
, Cullen Jenkins
Cullen Jenkins
Cullen Darome Jenkins is an American football defensive tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League . He was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2003...
, and Ian Gold
Ian Gold
Ian Maurice Gold is a former American football linebacker of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 2000 NFL Draft. He played college football at Michigan....
.