Randall Harry Minniear, beloved husband, father, brother, grandfather, coach, and mentor, passed away peacefully with his brother Steve and other family by his side on August 13, 2023. He was greeted in Heaven by his mother, Virginia Minniear, and his father Harry Minniear, along with a host of other family members and friends.
Born December 27, 1943, Randy grew up in Indianapolis, where he played football, basketball, and baseball year-round. His love of sports was first shown in the Tabernacle Presbyterian Youth Sports leagues. In 1958, his grade school #69 won the City Jr. High Football Championship. Moving on to Broad Ripple High School, he excelled as a three-sport athlete, earning 9 varsity letters in an era where Freshman could not letter. In 1961, as a senior at Broad Ripple, he was named as an all-city and all-state running back, and also honored by the Sporting News as a national All American. In 1962, he was honored by the Indianapolis Times newspaper as the City Athlete of the Year in addition to the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce naming him Football Player of the Year. He also received professional baseball offers from the New York Yankees and the Cincinnati Reds.
Attending Purdue University, Randy was a member of Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity, and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 1966. He was a three-year starting fullback for the Purdue football team, and in 1964 led the Big Ten in Touchdowns. Again in 1965, he was the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce Football Player of the Year. In his senior year, Purdue was ranked #1 in the nation for a short time after beating Notre Dame. After his final college game, he was selected to play in the national North-South game on Christmas day in Miami, where he was elected Captain of the North Team.
Upon graduation from Purdue, he was drafted by the New York Giants football team, where he played four seasons, and then one season for the Cleveland Browns. He retired from pro football in 1971 and began a 40-year career in the Wall Street Financial industry.
During these Wall Street years, while living in Freehold, New Jersey, Randy was blessed with two children, Heather Lee and Randall Jeffrey. Heather has given him a grandson, Kyle, and from Randy J. he has a granddaughter Jaelyn, and grandson Jake; they all can be seen in many of his 7,000+ photos on his phone, and he was happy to show everyone! In those years he also remained active in local and national affairs. He was instrumental in the organization of the Freehold Pop Warner football team and a key contributor to the Jersey Shore Pop Warner League. He arranged for the initial stadium lighting at Freehold Township High School. He was named the Freehold Man of the Year in 1993. While serving locally, he also was heavily involved in the NFL Alumni Association, where he served 15 years as the President of the New York Chapter. In 1980 he was elected to the NFL Alumni National Executive Board where he served 20 years as the Chairman of the Board. When he retired from the national board in 2015, he was given the title of Chairman Emeritus. He also served on other NFL related boards and committees and was a founding Director of the NFL Players Care Foundation.
After marrying Rebecca D. Duncan in 1998, he lived in Connecticut where he finished his Wall Street career. Randy has two stepsons, Dan Scott and Jason Scott, and step-grandchildren Alex, Jack, Hadley, and Connor.
In 2009, Randy retired from Wall Street, then he and Becky moved to Nashville, IN. Quickly he became immersed in Brown County High School athletics. He volunteered as a football and baseball coach for 14 years, eventually becoming the head coach for both sports for 5 years.
In 2015, Randy was inducted into the Indianapolis Public Schools Hall of Fame; then in June of 2023, he was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame.
Randy was a mentor and friend to many. His legacy will live on the lives of his family, friends, and the many young men and women he coached, befriended, inspired, and loved through the years. He will be missed by many.
Visitation will be from 2:00pm to 5:00pm on Saturday, August 19 at the Brown County High School Gymnasium. A Celebration of his Life will be on Sunday, August 20 at 1:00pm, again at the Brown County High School Gymnasium.
In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting that a donation be considered to the Brown County High School Booster Club at https://gofund.me/27fe3166.
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