A book for a king

Krewe of Elders King IX Theophile N. Scott is an humble and gentle man on the Krewe of Elders court.

But in the early 1940s, he had a reputation — as a football player. A Times sportswriter called him "...fleet, shifty Demon from (NSU). Scott’s ability to ‘scat’ beyond the scrimmage line always made him dangerous."

Theophile’s son and his wife, Mark and Jacqueline Scott of Fairport, N.Y., have recorded Scott’s prowess on the football field in "Beat Tech! Inside the Louisiana State Fair Football Classics 1940 to 1942." (The book is dedicated to Scott’s wife/Mark’s mom, the late Laura Scott, who died six years ago. It said: "She listened to this story for over 50 years.")

The book tells the tales of the early 1940s Louisiana State Fair football classics between what is now the Northwestern State University Demons and Louisiana Tech University Bulldogs. The coaches: Tech’s Joe Aillet and NSU’s Harry Turpin.

Although Theophile takes center stage in the chapters, others who contributed include Clem Henderson, Tom Bambrick, Ralph McFarland, Garland Gregory and Johnny Perritt.

After football — the U.S. Army. In World War II, Theophile participated in the Philippine Campaign from December 1944 to November 1945.

More nuggets about Theophile: At one time, he held several team records in football, one for over 38 years at NSU ... He was captain of the championship NSU team in 1942 ... Voted West Texas High School Football Coach of the year in 1980. (Oh, and he tells us he is descended on his mother’s side from Louis Chamard, knighted by Louis XVI of France!

Wow, Theophile!)