Posted on 08/02/2017 6:58:32 AM PDT by Borges
Ara Parseghian, a member of the College Football Hall of Fame who coached Notre Dame and Northwestern, has died. He was 94. Parseghian, who was born May 21, 1923, in Akron, Ohio, recently spent time in a nursing care facility because of a hip infection. He returned to his Indiana home last week to receive 24-hour care. Parseghian led the Irish to two national championships (1966, 1973) in 11 seasons in South Bend, Ind. Both of those teams were unbeaten. He had a 95-17-4 record at Notre Dame, where he also coached in what some called the "Game of the Century," a 10-10 tie between his top-ranked Irish and No. 2 Michigan State in 1966.
(Excerpt) Read more at chicagotribune.com ...
Wow... thought he passed years ago.
RIP, Coach.
Condolences to family and friends of Ara Parseghian. Great coach, great players.
Back in the days where you either loved or despised Notre Dame, but you couldn’t ignore them. RIP Coach.
I still despise Notre Dame (Go, Trojans!), but I had a lot of respect for Parseghian.
Born three days after my mother. And we remain blessed with dear ol' mom's presence for yet another precious day. :-)
Rest in Peace, Coach.
Another name from my childhood gone. RIP, Coach.
The only time I heard of him was when he was depicted in the movie “Rudy”.
He was played in the film by Jason Miller. Who died in 2001.
That is my feeling too.
Never cared for Notre dame but had to admit Parseghian was a great coach.
Didn't pay attention to college for about fifty years after THAT mess.
Ara was the last great coach Notre Dame had.....and that’s including Lou Holtz who was a weasel whiner.
The 1966 team was indeed unbeaten, but only by virtue of scraping out a 10-10 tie against Michigan State (a game I count myself fortunate to have attended). This was the infamous "Tie one for the Gipper" game, where Parseghian settled for a short yardage field goal in the waining moments, rather than risk a loss, figuring if his unbeaten Irish tied the unbeaten Spartans on their home turf, the post season polls would award the (at that time) mythical national championship to his team.
He was right. But a great coach nontheless. RIP
Oops. Commented before finishing reading the post.
His teams always found a way, it seems, to win most of the close games. The mark of a great coach and well-conditioned players. I was never an Irish fan, but you had to respect them back then.
I to despise Notre Dame but respect their heritage of some great college football.
I miss the days of the big independents before the "big" conferences swallowed them up like my PSU. BTW,I would love to see a USC v PSU rematch.
One year Notre Dame was playing a home game vs USC, who was undefeated and ranked #1.
Ara brought the team charging onto the field in bright, Kelly green jerseys; the crowd erupted and stayed insane throughout the game.
ND demolished USC.
I remember that game. I also remember the game where ND jumped out to a 24-0 lead, and USC scored the last 55 points.
But this was probably the biggest play in Parseghian’s coaching career.
Clements to Weber vs Alabama in the 73 Sugar Bowl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDyiutPA92c
They called former Auburn coach Pat Dye, “Tie Dye” because he did the same thing against Syracuse, and may have cost Syracuse a chance at the title.
“Condolences to family and friends of Ara Parseghian. Great coach, great players”
Great coaches are like great generals...national treasures. RIP coach Parseghian.
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