Ara Parseghian very ill - nice article here with some Northwestern memories
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I was in the stands for that wonderful crushing of ND in 1962. The score was 35 -6. One got the impression that the Irish would do whatever it took to get Ara on board so they could avoid that sort of thumping in the future. Ara was a terrific coach, and so was Alex Agase. The players had tremendous respect for both of them.
Thanks for the memories, Chores. I have many memories of Parseghian, including the game in 1955 (I was 9 at the time), when he came to Evanston with Miami of Ohio to face the Lou Saban-coached Cats. Parseghian poor-mouthed his squad beforehand, saying he hoped NU wouldn't beat his boys too badly. He then proceeded to rout them something like 37-6. Note of course the symmetry with the 1962 game you mentioned. Almost identical scores, and in each case, Ara gets hired by the guys he's thumped.
I grew up less than a mile from Dyche Stadium and practices were open then. One of my proudest kid moments was when Ara yelled at me, "Kid, get off the field!"
Great story! (I was 12 in 1955.). Obviously your memory is better than mine because you have the advantage of youth.
My father was at that game. We had just moved to Evanston and he could walk to the games. I was 2. He didn't bring me. Geez.
Hahahaha! Maybe because when he'd come home I'd ask,So I guess your Dad din't think much of you as a fan.
"Did Go-U-Northwestern win?" I was a stupid kid.
Did not see Ara coach at NU but did see Alex and he was a solid coach and had us going places. Administration back then was terrible in its support of the program.
if the administration had kept Ara at NU, there would never had been "the dark ages" or that long losing streak. Still think he was the best coach in NU history. Wish him well.
Yup, the wheels really came off the program when the administration threw the sports program under the bus in the early '70s. If you look at the records up to that time, NU had about a .500 record and often fielded competitive teams. The horrible lifetime record the team has today is basically the product of the 20+ years of the dark ages.
The smartest people do the dumbest things. The administration's mishandling of Ara was beyond ignorant. It's refusal to fix the problem in the face of one humiliating season after another was even worse. I still say that responsibility for the gambling scandal rested with the decision makers. You create and encourage a culture of losing, and young people are going to make those kinds of mistakes. The irony of it all is that it was nobody at NU that turned the ship in a NU Direction. It was Bill McCartney at Colorado who convinced Barnett to take the job. Which lead either directly or indirectly to NU first not being able to avoid dealing with the joy of success and only then ... over time... ultimately deciding to embrace it. For 40 years I waited to see what NU could accomplish if it just tried to be successful. Along the way my wife and I have met and come to know an amazing group of NU faithful. Now we're on the cusp of seeing what it will be like the way things should have been all along.
Better way late than never.
Go Cats!!!!
GOUNUII
Probably still would have happened; Strotz would have made sure of that.
When your program funding becomes less than half* that of the next 'poorest' program in the B1G (Indiana back then), it becomes difficult to be competitive in the B1G.
*Read this many years ago. Not sure where, but probably in an SI feature article on NU football in the late '70's. I believe the actual figure was 40%.
As I heard it, it was A.D. Stu Holcomb's jealousy regarding Ara's popularity that drove Ara into the arms of the Irish. Agase wasn't a bad coach, but he was no Ara. Still remember the 7-0 loss at Michigan in 1972 where we punted with a 4th and 2 at midfield with 4:00 left and never saw the ball again. That year was really the start of the Dark Ages despite some really good players we had left over from some good years in 1970 and 71. It was a different era back then, but Alex was way too conservative on offense.
That may be, but the players had a very very high regard for Alex, including my roommate, Jack Cvercko, who went to see him before he died. Alex was a good guy, an excellent coach and a first rate human being.
Coach Agase was also a Marine in WWII and fought on Iwo Jima and Okinawa ; received a Purple Heart. An excellent man.
Alex was definitely old school and recruited some excellent players. He coached the last NU team to win Columbus and the winning score of a 14-10 game was a 6-minute fourth quarter drive that was three yards and a cloud of dust all the way down the field (with several 4th and 1 conversions, I believe). NU had some great defenses in 1970 and 71 but could have used some of Ara's dynamic offensive expertise. Agase left NU for Purdue after that disappointing 1972 season, probably for the same reason Ara departed: lack of institutional support.
For whatever reason there was animosity toward football, and maybe athletics in general (although we did have a good tennis team) from many academics at NU. At the time they were mostly just a bunch of wannabes, so probably jealous.
I remember my dad taking me to a game when I was too young; maybe I was 4 or 5. Of course I was bored before the game even started. The only thing that would keep me from squirming and whining was food. So every time he got the chance, he would buy me a hotdog or popcorn or what ever he could get when the vendors came by or on the many trips I insisted I needed to take to the bathroom.
I vomited eventually and we went home. I would have vomited sooner had I only known that is what it took.
Ara was a great coach and is a great man. Playing for him had a lasting affect on my life. I visited with two summers ago and he is still the one of my all time heroes. His work outside of football and his medical foundation will be a lasting legacy. Let's hope he can live out the rest of his life in comfort.
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