It's so very wrong that Billy Livings isn't here to see this day.

The longtime and legendary Vero Beach High School football coach should've had the opportunity to go to Gainesville, take his rightful place in the Florida High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame and receive a much-deserved reward for life that touched so many others.

But immortality comes too late for Livings, who died in October, at age 75, after suffering a massive stroke. And the people who allowed this inexplicable and unnecessary gaffe to happen ought to be ashamed of themselves, embarrassed by their failure to pay proper tribute to a beloved man who was denied the chance to attend his own induction.

Truth is, his election to the Hall of Fame he'll be formally inducted Sunday night was long overdue. This honor should've come years ago, when he would've been able to embrace the moment with family and friends and could share the occasion with all of us.

He would've enjoyed that.

Livings was modest. In the folksy, self-deprecating manner that was so much a part of his Southern, small-town charm, he was quick to deflect any credit that came his way in the wake of his teams' success. And when asked about the Hall of Fame, he would downplay its importance.

Privately, though, the Hall of Fame meant more to him than he would ever admit publicly.

"When it happened in Alabama, I could tell he was excited about it," Livings' wife, Rosie, said, referring to his 2007 enshrinement in the Alabama High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame, which recognized his championships-filled, 12-year stint at Jefferson Davis High in Montgomery. "The newspapers and TV stations up there made a big deal of it, and I know Billy enjoyed that ... just as he would've enjoyed getting into Hall of Fame in Florida, if he were here.

"He didn't need the Hall of Fame to know how good he was at what he did. And anyone who couldn't see that he was a special man wasn't paying attention. But he would've been thrilled to get in."

For reasons beyond personal glory.

Originally posted here:
Ray McNulty: Livings' honor should have come much sooner