RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Good morning. I'm Rachel Martin. Seventy-seven-year-old Denny Douds was the head football coach for East Stroudsburg University for 45 seasons until Saturday, when he called an illegal fourth timeout with just seconds remaining in the game.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Four seconds left.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Yeah, I don't know why they stopped the clock.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: I'm not sure why they stopped the clock, either.
MARTIN: Douds told a local TV station he huddled with his players, told them he was retiring, then just walked off the field. He told his wife he wanted to go out in style. Quote, "I tipped my hat, walked to the car and smiled all the way home." Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.