Why do you cll him notorious?
I would imagine that is because the word fits! :-)
I love the idea for the memorial to Pappy...heck, were it made, I might even get a miniature for my desk!
I think the word is used in the article because "Pappy" was notorious for his drinking and being anti-authoritarian (to put it nicely!:))
He was 'notorious' in a way that we admire -- independent, cussed, getting the job done any old way he could, the niceties be damned!t