We used to tailgate with him. One of the nicest guys I have ever met. He would always have his Super Bowl ring and would make people put it on if they wanted a picture.
So much great information.
And thanks for the link, great to read of his other exploits. For me, especially, the note about War Memorial Stadium, a place I visited and since was dismantled & I doubt many would remember but for being the scene of "The Natural."
Not sure what year it was, but probably 1966. Curt Gowdy, Jr. was a neighborhood friend, and he invited me to go to the Pats vs. Jets game being played at Fenway Park. Curt Sr. was announcing the game for NBC (he was the AFL’s lead sportscaster...former Red Sox announcer...and did the Olympics & American Sportsman) and he was interviewing some players in the locker room. So Jr. and I were let into the locker room before the game.
We sat down next to Bobby Dee (DE) who was a great guy and very friendly to us 14 year old kids. Then Jim Nance (FB...if anybody can remember that position) sat down next to us...what a huge guy...the Star of the team...the biggest ass I ever saw in my life.
Then I look off to the side and my biggest thrill was seeing John Huarte walk by, and along came Joe Bellino (who I met years earlier at a Book signing at Jordan Marsh in Framingham). My dad was a ND grad and my oldest brother was a sophomore at ND. So Huarte was a “god” to me...and I had to go and later watch Namath play the Pats. I think that Namath got the highest draft bonus of $400K from the Jets and Huarte got $200K also from the Jets. As a kid, I never liked Namath due to the Huarte ND/Ara vs. Namath Bama/Bear debate...Good vs. Evil...the civil rights issues of the time probably made the demonization of everything Alabama easier. Those were the days when the NFL and AFL competed for talent prior to the merger. I was an AFL lean due to the Pats, and forgave Namath, when he won Super Bowl III.
it should be fascinating.
Many schools take pride in their football heritage. As your posts illustrate, ND is second to none. In fact, I believe, even Alabama and Texas are largely based upon ND men. I am sure you know of many other examples.
This could turn into a book, but a review of the ND/Rockne/Leahy/etc. coaching tree would be both interesting and educational for both mature fans and the naive who are unaware of those who made the game great. I think you have mentioned much of this in your previous posts. But a concise listing would be handy for anyone confronted by uninformed fans from other schools who do not realise that the history of college and pro football is, perhaps more than any other school, in debt to ND.
I should think the authors on this page could guide you on how to publish something of this sort.
someone must be playing a joke. Really, did John Law coach Sing Sing?
P.S. My mind runs in old channels; so rather than a book, likely a website dedicated to ND coaching would be more appropriate and easier. Links are easier to attach and change. Could be added to ND Nation I suppose.
This would have made a good Burt Lancaster or Charlton Heston movie, "Law of Sing Sing."