friday, November 21, 2003
news
the university daily kánsan 5A
LEAPER: University employee's dedication inspires football players, Lawrence residents, co-workers
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1A
"If they aren't hustling and flying around, Leaper will get after them," said Clint Bowen, defensive backs coach.
The weeks leading up to the Missouri and Kansas State games are particularly important to Todd. He was known during the 1980s to wear a purple jersey during practice the week before the battle with the Wildcats to fire up the team, said Doug Vance, former Kansas associate athletics director.
On game day, if Todd is not busy with the kicking tee, he is likely to be seen roaming the Kansas sideline passing out gum to Ivashawk players.
"Regardless of the team's record or the situation of the game, Todd is always upbeat,"
Fambrough said. "It's hard to be around him and not want to do your best."
His positive nature stretches beyond the football field and into the hallways of the Athletics Department.
"Leaper is the one guy I could count on every day to have a smile on his face," Vance said. "No matter what was going on in my life, he always gave me a good feeling."
Finding a Niche
"He wanted to be a sports star." — Sean Williams, Todd's brother
Todd's house is somewhat of a Kansas athletics hall of fame. Dozens of Kansas shirts are folded on a table for future wear. A picture of former Jayhawk running back John Rig-
gins hangs on the wall as well as framed professional football and basketball cards of former Kansas athletes.
Born in 1953, Todd was brought into a sports-loving family with strong ties and allegiances to the University of Kansas. His father, Skipper, along with his grandfather Dick and his uncle Odd, formed the Outland Club in 1949 to raise money for Jayhawk athletic scholarships. In 1973, the Outland Club changed its named to the Williams Fund and it continues to fund Kansas athletic scholarships today.
Skipper, class of 1949, was a staunch supporter of Kansas sports. If not at the Kansas game, he would sit by his radio listening to the play-by-play of Jayhawk football and basketball road contests.
During the recruitment of basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain, the Williams family displayed some of its dear love for the University of Kansas. Dick Williams was a friend of legendary Jayhawk basketball coach Phog Allen. As part of Chamberlain's visit to Lawrence, Skipper hosted the basketball phenom from Philadelphia. The Williamses cooked breakfasts of steak and eggs and toured him around Kansas City.
Although too young to remember any of Chamberlain's visits, Todd quickly turned his attention to sports as a child. In the neighborhood surrounding the family home at 641 Louisiana St., a group of boys spent hours playing basketball, football and Wiffle Ball. Each neighborhood boy received the name of a sports star from that era. During football games, Todd was known as Lance Allworth, a star wide receiver for the San Diego Chargers.
ABOVE:To make sure that early runners can do laps around Allen Fieldhouse, Todd usually unlocks doors around 4 in the morning.
Todd was a "typical kid who played sports and did chores around the house," said his younger brother, Sean. Wha'
LEFT: Todd is well-known for his contributions to the football team. During home games, he assists on the sidelines and retrieves the football tee after kickoffs.
BELOW: For 33 years, Todd has done the Athletics Department's laundry, vacuumed its floors and emptied trash from Allen Fieldhouse, among other duties.
separated Todd from his three brothers was his disability.
During his birth, the umbilical cord wrapped around Todd's neck, causing a loss of blood circulation to his brain, Sean said. In the second grade, doctors determined that Todd needed special education.
Todd attended Lawrence High School in the early 1970s in the special education program. His classes were supposed to prepare him to work in a kitchen setting.
"My father could not bring himself to allow Todd to work in a kitchen for the rest of his life." Sean said.
So Skipper took his son over to the Athletics Department to speak to Ray Coughenour, equipment manager for Kansas athletics. He decided to hire Todd on an experimental basis to see if the high-school student could handle a multitude of basic tasks around the department. Skipper told Coughenour he did not have to pay his son, but Coughenour, impressed with Todd's work, arranged for him to earn a weekly pay-check.
"Todd was the best employee I could find anywhere," he said.
The bond between Todd and Coughenour became so tight during Todd's early years on the job that he once named Coughenour as his hero in a high-school class. When Coughenour retired from Kansas, he had no question about who he would miss the most.
"The first person to come into my mind was Todd," he said.
Hometown Guy
"Everyone has bad days, except for Leaper." — David Lawrence, former Kansas football player
Todd's loyalty, impact and involvement does not stop with the Athletics Department. As a 1973 graduate of Lawrence High School, his loyalty to the Lions has never wavered. No matter what sport, boys or girls, it is never a surprise to see Todd in the bleachers watching intently.
For his loyalty, Lawrence High School gives him season passes to all sporting events. In return, Todd offers encouragement and advice to Lion athletes by phone
or in post-game conversations.
"Most of the athletes by their senior year have been around Todd for one or two years and appreciate his enthusiasm," said Ron Commons, Lawrence High School athletics director. "He always wants them to be successful."
For most of his adult life, Todd has been a regular in a church softball league, too. He plays on the non-competitive team for the Plymouth Congregational Church, and he is known for a characteristic that has defined him throughout his life.
"He always hustles," said Jim Crothers, a former softball teammate of Todd's. "He runs out to his position full-speed and back into the bench."
Todd usually plays catcher and gets help from his teammates who cover the plate if a play needs to be made around him.
Despite his role as a catcher, Crothers best remembers a play Todd made in right field.
As Crothers and other members of the competitive team were meeting outside of the field after their game, Todd's team took the field. Someone hit a ball and he made a saving catch in the outfield. The competitive team members had all watched the catch from beside the field.
"Everybody just stood up and yelled, 'Way to go, Leaper!'"
Crothers said.
The competitive team players admired his hard work and determination so much that they awarded Todd with a trophy they won at a five-game tournament. As part of the Dream Machine softball team Todd earned a gold medal at the International Special Olympic Games located in South Bend, Ind., in 1985. That year, he was also named to the Special Olympics Hall of Fame.
Todd was involved in another Olympic event in February 1996. The Olympic torch was run across the United States before it landed in Atlanta for the beginning of the Olympic Games. Selected out of hundreds of applicants for a dozen positions in Lawrence, Todd carried the torch for nearly a quarter of a mile. Today, that torch rests in Todd's house along with a framed picture of
him running.
The Beginning of 'Leaper'
"The nickname became bigger than the name itself." — Steve Ice, friend of Todd
Growing up, hardly anyone showed as much enthusiasm for sports as Todd did. Whether he was watching or playing sports, he paid attention to the strategy of the game and to the individual players and their statistics.
But it took the compassion of one friend to make Todd a player noticed by others.
Tony Ice, a former supervisor of Todd's in the Athletics Department, had a son, Steve, who shared the same physical education class with Todd at Lawrence High School. When it came time for the class to pick teams for basketball games, Steve Ice was careful to bolster the self-confidence of Todd.
"I didn't always pick him first," Ice said. "But I never let him be picked last."
Todd and Ice became friends through their days of playing basketball in gym class together. During the early 1970s, athletic jumping abilities and slam dunks were becoming the rage of basketball, from the playground asphalt to the hardwood floors of the NBA. Todd and Ice would talk about the new plays in basketball, such as the alley-oop. Ice was always quick to mention that Todd had great leaping ability. Thus, the nickname was born.
Today, it has a different meaning. Shirley Hodgson, who has worked with Todd for 10 1/2 years as a custodial specialist thinks of the nickname in terms of Todd's work ethic.
"He leaps and almost runs when he works," Hodgson said. "He only knows one speed, and that's 'fast.'
It is now 4:45 a.m. Hodgson sits and sips on a cup of coffee. Todd zips by Hodgson up and down the stairs of the Athletics Department delivering packages and emptying the trash around the locker rooms. The sun has not risen and the heads of the department have yet to arrive, but Todd is ready to pull out his keys again and open the door to start another load of laundry.
"I wish everybody could follow him for a day," Hodgson said. "And see how the world is better because he's in it."
Edited by Ehren Meditz
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