Rob Lindsey

Three time All-American lacrosse player— Two time captain of lacrosse team— Washington and Lee Hall of Fame Athlete— Freshman Athlete of the Year— Four letters in lacrosse, three in football—These are remarkable accomplishments but they hardly pay tribute to the athlete and person that was Rob Lindsey.
Lindsey came to Washington and Lee in 1972 and was a starter for the Generals in both football and lacrosse. In football he was a hard-nosed running back who gained 598 yards and 10 touchdowns over a three year career. In lacrosse, he was a rugged defenseman who finished his career with three goals, one assist, and 162 ground balls during four seasons. Lindsey’s freshman year he was part of the 1973 team that went through the regular season undefeated and advanced to semifinals of the NCAA Division I tournament. His sophomore year, Lindsey earned Honorable Mention All-American honors, leading the Generals to yet another undefeated regular season and a second NCAA semifinals appearance. The following two years, Lindsey earned First Team All-American honors leading his team to the NCAA tournament for the fourth consecutive season. While these statistics and awards speak volumes of Rob’s athletic legacy, he is mainly remembered for his extraordinary character.
Fellow teammates and coaches remember Lindsey as a hard -nosed competitor. In their eyes, he was truly a special, one of a kind player. Lindsey was able to distinguish himself from other athletes not necessarily based on his athletic ability, but with the overall intensity that he competed with. Chuck O’Connell, assistant lacrosse coach recalls the intensity and toughness that Lindsey played with on the field. “Rob did whatever it took to get the job done. He was very intense, tough-minded player. He was physically and mentally very tough,” O’Connell states. His teammates also recognized this focus and persistence that made Rob the outstanding player that he was. “He was one of the most intense people I ever met. Rob was extraordinarily competitive, whatever he engaged in, he attacked with real intensity. Whatever he latched on to he was going to get it done, and get it done the right way,” comments fellow defenseman Jim Farrar, another Hall of Fame athlete.
Undoubtedly, Lindsey’s greatest attribute on the lacrosse field was his ability to smother an opposing attackman, basically taking him out of the game. His head coach and fellow Hall of Fame inductee, Jack Emmer, describes his suffocating style of play. “He was a great, great defenseman. He was a guy that would take an assignment and do it to the nth degree. Attack-men hated playing him because he was like a bad smell, you just couldn’t get rid of him,” Emmer says remembering how Lindsey used to hound opposing players. Emmer adds that “he could close guard like no other,” and was “better than any other player I have ever seen at shutting down attackmen.” Lindsey’s teammates labeled him a shut-off man. Farrar claims, “An attackman didn’t breathe all day long when Rob was matched up with him. He was quick and had a lot of endurance. It was almost like he was physically attached to him and he just kept on hammering him the whole game.”
Lindsey guarding an attackman from the University of North Carolina
Two NCAA tournament games against rivals John Hopkins at their Homewood Field epitomized the way Lindsey played the game. In the semifinals of the tournament in 1974, Lindsey was matched up against the Blue Jays’ attackman Jack Thomas. Thomas was widely considered the best player at his position in the country and would go on to set the single season scoring record in 1974. Before his election to the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, Thomas was a three-time first All-American and captain of the U.S. National Team. Although the Generals ended up losing the game 11-10, Lindsey completely locked down Thomas, holding him to zero goals and zero assists. O’Connell remarks, “This was really the benchmark of Rob’s career. To shut down a player like Jack Thomas was really unbelievable.” Farrar and Tom Keigler, a National Lacrosse Hall of Fame athlete and two time first team All-American, were also impressed, but not surprised by Lindsey’s performance that day. “Jack Thomas was easily the best attackman in the country at the time. That Semi-final game against Lindsey was the only time he was ever shut out in his whole career, but knowing the magnitude of that game, we knew Rob would get the job done,” Farrar comments. Keigler adds, “Yeah, what Rob was able to do against Jack Thomas was really remarkable. The amazing thing was, not only did he do it that year, but the following year he did the same thing against another All-American attackman from Hopkins, Mike O’Neil.”
Indeed, in the quarterfinals of the 1975 NCAA tournament, W & L again found itself playing Hopkins at Blue Jays’ Homewood Field. In this game, Lindsey was matched up against Mike O’Neil, a freshman at the time who would go on to become Hopkins’ all time leading scorer, a three-time first team All-American, and National Lacrosse Hall of Fame inductee. And just like the year before, Lindsey managed to hold O’Neil to zero goals and zero assists. Probably the most noteworthy aspect of these unprecedented performances was the manner in which Lindsey was able to accomplish them. “The thing about Rob’s play against Thomas and O’Neil was the he did it in such a way, you wouldn’t even notice. It’s not like he was constantly taking the ball away from these players, they couldn’t even get open to get the ball!” remarks Coach Emmer.
Despite all the praise for Lindsey’s play and competitiveness on the field, it was his overall demeanor and the way he carried himself off the field is what those closest to him remember most about Lindsey. Not only was his work ethic unparalleled, but he was a motivated, team-oriented, and very coachable player. He was always willing to do whatever made the team better, as evidenced by his team’s incredible 49-14 record over the 4 years that he started. He was known as selfless, unassuming player that never sought any recognition. It was this selflessness that stood out most about Lindsey to his coaches and teammates. Farrar explains, “He never wanted to call any attention to himself. It was almost painful sometimes because we were always trying to do something for him, but he would never let us. Lindsey always was trying to do things for other people.” This desire to stay out of the limelight did not go unnoticed by his coaches either. “Rob would do what you want him to do day in and day out and would do it without glory,” says Emmer.
Emmer remembers another incident that was representative of Rob’s selflessness. Emmer came to Washington and Lee during Lindsey’s freshman year, when he was competing for the starting defensive job. Although Emmer did not recruit Lindsey he notes that the two struck up a fantastic relationship almost immediately. “Rob and I really hit it off right from the start. He was such a coachable kid and a hard worker, it was hard not to be appreciative of him,” explained Emmer. By the start of the season, Lindsey managed to beat out returning, upperclassmen starter John Rodgers. While this was not particularly easy for Rodgers to deal with, Lindsey was very considerate of the situation and made an effort to strike up a relationship with John. Although either player could have held a grudge toward the other, they ended up becoming good friends for the better of the team. “Rob really opened himself to John and they were able to develop a great relationship. It really helped John deal with the whole thing and really ended up helping out the team,” claims Emmer.
Lindsey’s dedication to his team was evident all four years as he was both revered and respected by his teammates. He was known as a terrific worker and practice player who always came to work and get himself and his team better. Lindsey was truly a leader who led by example. He was not known for being “rah-rah” or giving fiery speeches. Keigler remembers, “He worked very hard to get the most out of his abilities. He was not the most talented in his stick skills nor his overall field knowledge, but he was extremely focused and determined and consistently gave 100% effort, in practice as well as games. Because of these qualities, his teammates looked up to Rob.” This admiration by his teammates was demonstrated by Lindsey’s status as a two-year captain, a rarity at the time (and currently) for any sport at W & L, but particularly lacrosse. This was just another testimony to the fact that Lindsey was looked up to by both the younger players on the team and those older than him. “For Rob to get elected team captain as a junior says a lot about how much everyone on the team looked up to him, including the seniors on the team. He was really the ultimate team player,” says Emmer.
Lindsey’s unselfishness and commitment to those around him was apparent off the field as well. Those who knew Rob described him as a “quiet leader” around campus. Although his parents could afford it, they made Rob pay for his room and board and as a result, he had a part-time job in the dining hall in exchange for his food and he was a dorm counselor his junior and senior years. His senior year he was the assistant head dorm counselor. These experiences exposed Lindsey to younger students and provided him with opportunity to be a leader on and off the field. Although Lindsey was a social person and member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, he was not particularly known as a party guy. He was popular and well-liked among his peers, but could not be described as an arrogant person. Doug Chase recalls, “Rob was truly a nice person. He wasn’t a nerd or a jerk; he was just a good guy. He was a good looking guy too, with a great smile, but you never saw him playing that up either. He had every reason in the world to be cocky, but you never felt that he was gloating about anything.”
Following his graduation from Washington and Lee in 1976, Lindsey returned to his high school Alma matter at McDonough in Baltimore where he taught and coached lacrosse for two years. Following this short tenure at McDonough, Lindsey dove into the business world and carried with him the same values that led to his athletic success in college. Farrar states, “Rob really showed that there are shared values in athletics that can translate into a good life. His competitiveness and teamwork abilities led Rob to have a successful business career. He was a shrewd businessman and a tough negotiator.” Lindsey demonstrated his tenacity and determination in the business world as he revived two struggling companies. As the chief financial officer for Freuhauff Trucking Company, he took over at the helm for this ailing franchise and helped turn it around into a productive business. Following this venture, Lindsey took over a struggling software business in Northern Virginia and turned it into a very profitable software provider whose clients included IBM, Bell South, and T. Rowe Price. Clearly, Lindsey had an extraordinary sense of determination and intensity that prevented him or anything that he was involved in to fail.
Despite all his successes, there was one thing he couldn’t defeat. As healthy 52 year-old, Rob was tragically diagnosed with non-smokers lung cancer in the fall of 2006. Lindsey’s diagnosis came as shock to most people, especially since he was in good health at the time, even able to go skiing out west shortly after his diagnosis. He received treatment in early 2007, but took a turn for the worse later that year and passed away on November 27, 2007. Yet, even while Lindsey was in the battle for his life, his selflessness and concern for others always managed to shine through. Keigler, who was the last non-family member to visit Lindsey, recalls his sincere compassion for others during his final days, “Whenever I or anyone else went to visit Rob, we would talk about him and how he was doing and his treatment for about ten minutes and then Rob would change the topic of conversation. He always made a point to ask about everyone else’s families and kids, when the focus should have been on him.”
Following Lindsey’s death, O’Connell claims that, “Everyone’s first reaction was to do something in his honor. He was such a great guy; he definitely deserves to be remembered.” During the 2008 lacrosse season, the Generals have sported a sticker with Lindsey’s initials, RFL, on the back of their helmets to commemorate the former defensive standout. Current lacrosse head coach Gene McCabe comments, “Our team is proud to pay tribute to Rob's career at W&L. Each of our players understands the kind of player and person Rob was. The helmet decal we wear is a reminder to us each day of how the game should be played and how each of us should live our own lives.”
Rob Lindsey
Further, with the construction of a new football and lacrosse stadium at Washington and Lee, it seemed only fitting that an anonymous donation in Lindsey’s honor was made for a permanent memorial on the field’s turf. Preliminary plans include a black disk with the Lindsey’s initials and his number, 11, juxtaposed in white. While these are honorable and appropriate tributes to a great player and an even better person, those who knew him best contend that Lindsey would have been against such things. “There is no doubt in my mind that Rob would not want any sort of memorial in his name. He was a very humble person and never sought the limelight or any recognition for his accomplishments,” O’Connell says. Farrar and Keigler both agree as well that the whole idea of a tribute to Lindsey is something that he would never want, but see it as a fitting memorial for such an outstanding person. Likewise, Chase asserts that “Anything that honors the memory of a good and decent person is appropriate, especially for someone who has never asked for it,” referring to the proposed field memorial.
Rob Lindsey was able to represent Washington and Lee as a great athlete and an even better gentleman. With a memorial in Lindsey’s honor, his athletic legacy will certainly not be forgotten. Hopefully his legacy as a remarkable person will not be forgotten either.