Leonard Skinner, inspiration for the legendary band Lynyrd Skynyrd, died in his sleep early Monday at a nursing home in Jacksonville, Florida. A no-nonsense basketball coach and gym teacher at Jacksonville’s Robert E. Lee High School, Skinner was known in the 1960s to send students to the principal’s office if their hair touched their collars. Some of those students later had a little fun and named their band after Skinner. In later years, Skinner made friends with Lynyrd Skynyrd’s band members and even introduced them at a concert in Jacksonville.
Leonard Skinner obit and vintage photo in the Baltimore Sun
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