Of all the stories about Wilson Matthews (and there are literally thousands of them), his total command of a situation is best exemplified by something that happened in 1957.

As the whole world knows, President Eisenhower ordered Army paratroopers to Little Rock to restore and enforce the court-ordered desegregation of Little Rock (by then Central) High School.  When the troops moved in, they started parking vehicles and erecting tents on the Tigers' practice field.  They intended to turn it into a campground, helicopter launching pad and armored vehicle parking lot for the 101st Airborne.

That is, they did until they found a loud, angry and assertive civilian in their midst.  "Get those (expletive) things off this field right now," Coach Matthews yelled. "Where the hell do you think we're gonna practice football?"

The troops didn't know who Matthews was, but their instincts told them they were up against the football equivalent of General George Patton.  According to a Sports Illustrated article by Gary Smith, nearly 50 years later, the Army reacted by "jumping to Matthews' command, clearing tents and moving jeeps to the end of the field.  A helicopter levitated so fast that players looked to see if it even had a pilot in it."