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Sept. 20, 2004

NEW ORLEANS, La. - During his Tulane football career in the mid-1940s, Leonard Finley was never the biggest, the fastest or the strongest. Instead, he was simply known as the best.

Dubbed "The Field General," Finley starred as the quarterback, running back and punter and was commonly referred to as one of the best blockers ever to don the olive and blue of a Tulane uniform. But even more important that the plays he executed on the field were the lessons he learned off of it.

"Being a student-athlete at Tulane helped me learn teamwork, time management and discipline," Finley said. "I learned to get along with all sorts of people, and the importance of working hard to attain a bigger goal."

That attitude helped Finley go a long way since he hung up his pads following the 1947 season. In the professional world, Finley carved out a niche for himself with Exxon Oil Company, for whom he worked for 32 years (1949-81).

A native of New Orleans and graduate of Jesuit High, Finley attended Tulane from 1942-48 and starred under legendary Tulane coach Claude "Little Monk" Simons. He played two seasons as an undergrad (1943-44) during which time he helped the Green Wave post wins over Auburn, Clemson and Rice, as well as a 27-0 shutout victory over arch-rival LSU.

After leading the Green Wave in receptions as a junior with 11 grabs for 197 yards, Finley was named to the preseason All-America squad as a senior by All-America Gridiron Preview Magazine. While he enjoyed an outstanding year in 1944, a leg injury midway through the year put a damper on his All-American campaign.

In addition to starring on the gridiron, Finley also lettered in basketball in 1943 and 1944. Outside the realm of athletics, he excelled in academics and campus activities. He was named a New Orleans Quarterback Club Scholar-Athlete two consecutive years to earn the distinction of being the first repeat winner since the inception of the award.

A leader off the field as well, Finley was voted Class President as a freshman and sophomore, was Student Council President in 1944 and was a member of Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership Society and Kappa Alpha social fraternity.

Looking back to his time at Tulane, Finley refers to a post-playing experience as one of his favorite moments with the Green Wave.

"I went to the Tulane/Hawaii game a few years back (1993) along with some other Tulane people," he said. "A bunch of former players went, and we spent the whole time talking about football. That was a very good time."

Finley earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering in 1944, and as required in that era, served a one-year stint V-12 military service with the Navy during World War II. He returned for 1946 and 1947 seasons, however, and used that time to complete his master's degree in chemical engineering.

He began his post-playing career in 1941 as a chemical engineer at Exxon and finished his time with the company in 1981 as the head of employee relations. Immediately upon retirement from Exxon, Finley took a job with International Paper/Nevamar as a general manager, and retired for good in 1989.

Throughout the years, however, he remained active athletically through recreational sports and community service, including coaching almost every team his children played for. In addition to refereeing high school and semipro football and basketball games, Finley went on to become a Senior tennis, swimming and racquetball champion, slowing down only recently.

Today, Finley lives with his wife of 53 years, Sallye, and is the proud father of six, grandfather of nine and great-grandfather of two.