Paul Straub still stands tall

Posted Feb 1, 2010 by Tom McEwen

Updated Feb 1, 2010 at 08:00 PM

Paul Straub will be 89 in June. 

Some 57 years ago, Paul Straub landed on the beach at Guadalcanal and was soon after struck by shrapnel in the palms of both hands and both of his legs were blown away.  Straub has lived a full life as an athlete, coach and administrator - mostly with the Jesuit family. During his entire educational and contributing career, he has been legless - though operating on artificial limbs.

He is amazing. 

Today Paul Straub probably looks to some like he is in his fifties.  He is fit, he is in shape, well-conditioned and he remains unintimidated by anything or anybody.  Who would be after the remarkable life of this man, Paul Straub, a coaching teacher of athletics and faith all of this time, most of it with the Jesuits.  He has always been a tough coach, tough but thorough, master teacher of sports at the high school and college level. 

Paul Straub, this Marine, is an admired man and may be even more when you are reminded that but a few yards after landing on the beach at Guadalcanal, an explosion nearby made him the better person that he became, he says.  The blast near him on that beach caused him to be a double amputee for life.  He was quickly carried by the medics off the beach to the mother ship, had his legs amputated and other wounds repaired and was then sent to Alaska, then to Hawaii where he began another career out of the service.

Visited with Straub the other day.  He is as vigorous, strong-willed as ever as he was as an active Marine.  He strode into my house on his artificial legs using a walker.  When I asked him to show me the legs, he did, saying, “these are very good friends of mine, and they have served me well, when I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, but I was a Marine and that was where I was assigned.”

Paul Straub was not just a coach, he was a plenty-good one. He had champions at Jesuit in football, basketball, swimming and track.  Straub actively coached these teams, he got down and dirty with them.  He ran with them, he hit with them and he leaped with them, “didn’t get very high, about like this” spreading his hands apart about 12 inches. “You can’t get enough spring.”

Straub and son, Steve, brought along for the visit with them an album called ‘A Long, Long Time Ago’ sent by Cookie Garcia, one-time star player for Straub in football and basketball.  With the album was the photograph of the Jesuit State of Florida basketball champions.  And by the way, manager Lou Piniella of the Chicago Cubs, played basketball for Straub at Jesuit.  He was a star. 

“Lou had the shooting eye,” said Straub.

Straub, himself, was quite an athlete before the loss of his legs. He won a scholarship to Potomac Junior College in Pennsylvania, after a high school career in Morgantown, West Virginia. He won a college scholarship to Stetson College in Deland, Florida, and then when Stetson dropped football all of these years ago, he came to University of Tampa to play football and basketball and later to coach both. 

A personal bragging right of Straub’s is to relate how he scored a touchdown against the University of Florida in football.  Prior to that this hard knocks Straub had sold milk, then potatoes he personally dug, and delivered newspapers in West Virginia. 

Straub left the University of Tampa in 1942 to join the Marines and that was a perfect fit for him. Not long after being shipped overseas, he landed on Guadalcanal and a “friendly fire” round exploded so close to Straub, he said he rolled over to advoid being blown up completely, “and it worked,” he said.  He then changed careers and became a spokesman for amputees with the military and the world, meanwhile becoming an administrator and a coach, coming to the University of Tampa.

He was also quite a prankster. He liked nothing better than to have recruits come into his office at the University of Tampa, go stand by the bulletin board and have Coach Marceleno Huerta throw darts that would strike in Straub’s wooden legs which Paul would simply reach down and throw back.  He didn’t tell them that the legs were artificial and pulled that trick on them. 

When Paul Straub flung himself into teaching and coaching, he became an enormous success in those roles.

Paul Straub has received virtually all awards for which he was eligible.

This tribute today is another one.  Don’t ever challenge him to hoops, swimming, hey—even the dashes, or to taking a dart in the leg.

Babaloo!