Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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be given responsibility in Catholic af- fairs commensurate with their dedica- tion, their competence and their intel- ligence. "Many people may not have taken that seriously, but we did. For me, it was the most natural thing in the world." The second was making the univer- sity coed in 1972. "We can't run the country on men alone, never could," Hesburgh said 25 years after the first women enrolled. "Women ought to have the same op- portunities to develop their talents as men do." HESBURGH & FOOTBALL When the Notre Dame football pro- gram went through its nadir from 1956-63, posting a 34-45 record in those eight years with seasons of 2-8 (in 1956 and 1960) and 2-7 (1963), Hes- burgh bore the brunt of enmity from Irish followers who believed he had fired the legendary head coach Frank Leahy (1941-43, 1946-53) in an effort to de-emphasize football and upgrade the school's academic standing. The genesis of this perception oc- curred in his first press conference as president when a group of reporters — comprised almost exclusively of sportswriters — asked him to pose with a football, including hiking it from center. "Would you ask the president of Yale to do that?" he reportedly replied, declining the request. Hesburgh sought the counsel of Princeton president Robert Goheen, asking him how Notre Dame could best enhance its reputation in scholar- ship. As the story goes, Goheen recom- mended: 1) firing the football coach (Leahy), 2) bolstering the faculty and 3) raising the standards for incoming freshmen. One year after becoming the school president, Hesburgh saw Leahy resign following the 1953 season. In a 1987 interview with Pulitzer Prize winner Ira Berkow of The New York Times, Hes- burgh said he called Leahy into his office after the 1953 season and recom- mended that he resign because of the coach's poor health issues. Leahy collapsed at halftime of the Georgia Tech game that year and was administered last rites by Joyce. In an- other game, versus Navy, Leahy was laid out on a bench and given a hypo- dermic. "Frank, this is ridiculous," Hes- burgh told Berkow of his conversation with Leahy after the season. "I think you ought to seriously consider retir- ing, for the sake of your family and your health. But it's up to you, you still have two years to go on your con- tract, and we'd pay you the rest of it." Leahy said he'd think it over. "Then in a kind of Machiavellian way, I got two of Frank's friends, the former public relations director at Notre Dame and The Chicago Tribune sports columnist Arch Ward to talk to him," Hesburgh continued. "And one night at dinner with them he called and said he thought I was right, and he'd resign. I sweetened the pot by telling Frank that, if his six boys quali- fied, we'd give them all full scholar- ships to Notre Dame." Leahy departed after 11 seasons, and the pattern would continue with Ara