An unexpected story

I was tracking down an old colleague from my days at WCCO -TV  in Minneapolis, Ann Rubinstein, then  a fine reporter, and discivered she had exec produced a couple of recent docs, including one that is a gem of a  story.




Trailer

This is  a film about Duke track coach  Al Buehler .  Chances are you've never heard of him. I certainly hadn't.  But his is a remarkable story that makes you feel good finally knowing about him .


What struck me as most telling aboit his story is the way he integrated black athletes from  a nearby black college, North Carolina Central,  with his white athletes at Duke during the days of the deeply segregated South. ( Dukle had no black students at the time ) He just thought it was the right thing to do, accomplished his  mission and amazingly got away with it at a time of great racial turmoil around the civil  rights movement. 

His  partneship with Dr. Leroy Walker , the black coach at North Carolina Central , is another great story in the film -- the way they pulled their teams together in practices at the pristine Duke track facilities  and how they divided their turf, Buehler coaching  the distance runners, Walker coaching the sprinters.  The men complemented each  other in many  ways --Buehler, the inside  man  quietly  organizing  the details, Walker the outside man,  becoming the spokesman for the duo .

Together ,  they would organize major integrated track and feel meets, the PAn-Africa games ,  the MLK Jr. , iInternational Freedom Games ,  even extending the integrated track idea to the cold war with the first USSR-USA itrack meet in 1974.  Buehler and Walker would both become important Olympic track and field  coaches, serving several  US Olympic teams.  

And remarkably in the early 70's when women becane the new civil rights issue , Beuhler was at the forefront  again, bringing  the first woman runner  onto the Duke track team and then whenTitle IX  was enacted mandating equal  acess to women athletes, Buehler voluntarily gave all his track  scholarships to the  women's program  at Duke,  so it could get off to a strong start. 

His friend coach Walker, attributes Buehler's remarkable  record to his inherent humility And it makes sense.  If you're not looking for  glory for yourself , its easier to do right by others. ... 

All in all, Buehler strikes me as the Atticus Finch of college athletics-- a humble and principled man , willing  to take on the challenges of his day and do the right thing. 

The film  tells much of this well , ably directed by one of Buehler's former students,  Amy Unell, who went on become a producer  at NBC an decided in 2010 make this doc in tribute to the Duke coach on his 80th birthday.  And the film is organized as a glowing tribute, but in this case m it doesn't matter.  It is such a great story, you easy  forgive its sentimentality  and come away grateful for having learned about this remarkable man.
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I do think a stronger  film could have been made , focusing more on his integration efforts , and trimming some  of the material in the second  half of the film. But these are quibbles.

The film can be rented on itunes and is streaming on Netflix.

Watch this film. You'll be glad you did.