Leonard Skinner was a high school basketball coach and physical education teacher at a Jacksonville, FL high school in the late 1960's. One day, he sent a group of students to the principals office because of their long hair. The students had their own rock band and decided to name themselves after Mr. Skinner. The resulting group, Lynyrd Skynyrd scored some big hits in the 1970's with "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird".
Mr Skinner,77, died on September 19, 2010 at a nursing home in Jacksonville from complications related to Alzheimer's Disease.
Initially, Mr Skinner was not impressed with the band using a variation of his name. He later embraced the idea. The band even played a gig at a bar he owned.
Over the years, he became friends with many of the band's followers who were intrigued by who he was and his past relationship to the band.
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