Professor J.D. Futch

In the Hall of Fame of Washington and Lee professors, I believe that Professor J.D. Futch would be in the inaugural class.  Over 250 years, I am sure there are others who would qualify.  But for a student from the 1960s onward, Professor Futch would be a first ballot selection, without question.

Dr. Futch, as he was more respectfully called by nearly all, was originally from Baltimore and had attended Johns Hopkins University.  But as a long-time W&L professor he was certainly a son of the South.  His full name:  Jefferson Davis Futch III.  The History Department faculty referred to him occasionally as "Jeff" or "Dave" but no student ever called him by a first name.

Dr. Futch was rightly renown for various reasons:  he required that all male students wear a tie to his class.  As a member of the Class of 1987, this meant everyone.  He had a spare set of ties if you needed one, but this being Washington and Lee, ties were in good supply.  Until the 1970s all students were required to wear coat and tie in town, and Dr. Futch, being a product of that time, simply carried the rule through the years.

Students wanted to be in his class and wear the "Futch Tie" because primarily of his encyclopedic knowledge, delivered in an imitable fashion of dry humor, sexual innuendo, and witty banter that never left a student with the last word.  He was also known as a (relatively) easy grader.  Easy perhaps if you were a History major on the Honor Roll, but generally good for a middle of the road grade by simply attending lectures.  In hindsight, there was not much easy about it.

Students from every major took one of his classes.  His specialties were European History included special spring term courses The Papacy Since the Schism [affectionately called Popes for Dopes] and Venetian History.  The Middle Ages and the proclivities of that time were great material for him.  He also taught  class on Germany from 1870 to World War II, another ripe time in history.

In his office, lined with books top to bottom, was a bust of Otto Bismark.  A voracious reader, he would often been seen in the campus bookstore, in his signature tweed jacket and round horn-rim glasses.  He lectured in obligatory conservative fashion, but when I saw him buying the Village Voice one day, he said "You've got to keep up with what the Enemy is saying".

During senior year, a group of us were invited to his house.  We were so excited of the prospect that we were checking the time before, determined to be there right on time so as not to miss a minute.  Looking at the watch sweep to 8:00 pm. we rang the doorbell.  When he answered, he exclaimed "You're like Big Ben!"

Dr. Futch is perhaps 90 now, and I understand not in good health.  He'll be forever young to generations of W&L students.  When you see students wearing ties on a regular basis at Washington and Lee University (and you will), think of that Hall of Famer who kept several good traditions alive: outstanding professors, faculty/student rapport, and the classic Futch Tie.    Wear it with pride.