Anita Caldwell, wife of Coach Caldwell, passes

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Many of you may not recognize this lady's name though she is an institution at Duke. Her husband was Herschel Caldwell, one of the assistant coaches Wallace Wade brought from Alabama to Duke. Coach Caldwell was still coaching at Duke in the late sixties. Mrs. Caldwell was 103. She missed only 2 football games in 67 years. Quite an extraordinary woman!
http://www.howertonbryan.com/index.cfm

[Newton_14]

Many of you may not recognize this lady's name though she is an institution at Duke. Her husband was Herschel Caldwell, one of the assistant coaches Wallace Wade brought from Alabama to Duke. Coach Caldwell was still coaching at Duke in the late sixties. Mrs. Caldwell was 103. She missed only 2 football games in 67 years. Quite an extraordinary woman!
http://www.howertonbryan.com/index.cfm

Wow. Thanks for sharing DitBD. Sounds like she was quite a lady. My thoughts and prayers to the family for their loss.

She obviously loved Duke Football. Attending all but 2 games in 67 years is an extraordinary feat. May she Rest In Peace.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

Wow. Thanks for sharing DitBD. Sounds like she was quite a lady. My thoughts and prayers to the family for their loss.

She obviously loved Duke Football. Attending all but 2 games in 67 years is an extraordinary feat. May she Rest In Peace.

Mrs. Caldwell was very instrumental in providing all sorts of information and photos to Louis Bowling for his biography of Wallace Wade.

Her husband was a terrific coach, loved and respected by his players. He and "Dumpy" Hagler came from Alabama where they played under Wallace Wade and became assistant coaches under Wade. Caldwell and Hagler were sent on to Duke ahead of Wallace Wade while he finished out the season with Alabama playing in a Rose Bowl game. Caldwell and Hagler are in the Duke Sports Hall of Fame.

[Devil in the Blue Dress]

This article is an interesting read about Mrs. Caldwell. Her record of attending home football games is even more remarkable than first reported.

http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story_news_durham/12939026/article-Grande-dame-of-Duke-football-dies-at-103?instance=main_article

The living connection to Wallace Wade grows a little fainter now, but the legacy remains.

[Kewlswim]

Hi,

Stories such as this one give me goosebumps. I have to admit I am angered in a way too, angered that Mrs. Caldwell had to be subjected to the football being played here after being a part of the Wallace Wade years. I can only imagine how painful it must have been to be a part of that and then have to suffer through many of those seasons. Loyalty should be a two-way street and Mrs. Caldwell was most certainly on a one-way doing the bulk of the driving. I am so happy to know there are women like Mrs. Caldwell who are/were a part of the Blue Devil family. I hope the football team sends a representative--and I don't mean a bouquet of flowers and a card--to the memorial service.

I also hope that there is a portrait of her put up, if there isn't already one there, at Wallace Wade Stadium and in perpetuity should a new stadium be built. The portrait and explanation of her commitment should be in a prominent place. If it were up to me, and it clearly isn't, the same way we retire numbers of players there should be some sort of a "retired" jersey with her name on it and the number of years along with the number of games she attended. Mind you she wasn't attending Duke basketball when we are going to final fours and what not, she was going to Duke football. I really wish I had the chance to meet her. She is my hero. I thought I loved Duke football and I clearly don't hold a candle to Mrs. Caldwell.

GO DUKE!