Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/561665
Above all, it is replete with anecdotes from former players on playing for Par- seghian. "I wanted to get it on paper so that people for generations to come will be able to look back at this and say, 'This is what his players and coaches thought about him,'" Pomarico said. "He was a good, decent man that was real. He was a charismatic individual to those who came across him, but when you look at his individual qualities — hard work, discipline in preparation, being a full person — you realize what is more important than just how he was perceived beyond the charisma. "He'd begin the morning at 5 a.m. reading two or three newspapers to always have a grasp of what is going on in the world, and he was feverish about politics. "The other thing everyone constantly talked about was how fair he was. And when you are fair with people you have a tendency to get tremendous loyalty back." Pomarico did have one individual he contacted protest the book's undertak- ing — Parseghian, who is now 92 years old. "He didn't want any more books about him, and I understand that," Po- marico said. "It wasn't in any way a negative conversation, but just like his statue outside the stadium, he didn't want any of the attention brought to him as an individual. Even with the statue, he said if it's going to be done, he wants players in it, which they are. "He doesn't relish accolades. I think he's somebody who likes to be part of a team, part of a group. If it highlights him alone, he doesn't like that. He al- ways wanted his success shared." Part of the enjoyment of the inter- views with former players was learn- ing new items. A prime example was speaking with Tirrell Burton, the star of Parseghian's Miami (Ohio) Mid-Amer- ican Conference champions, with the 1955 crew finishing 9-0. It did not go to a bowl, though, because of the seg- regation bowl policies back then that rejected black players such as Burton. "He was appalled that people were thinking that way," Pomarico said of the information relayed to him from Burton. "He was very much ahead of his time while talking about 'the hud- dle has no color.' Ara was living that in the 1950s when it might not have been the easiest thing to do. He turned down the ballgame. "It just reinforced in my mind the kind of person he was and not general- izing about a person's race or religion or anything like that." As a tri-captain for the 1973 national champs, Pomarico said he became slightly closer to Parseghian, but the head coach always kept a professional distance. "He was never your buddy," Po- marico said. "He was more like your father because he was looking out for you and guiding you, not necessarily kidding around or being a guy you'd have a drink with." Yet more than 40 years later, it is his players who still raise a toast to him. ✦ Pomarico will be available for book signings of Ara's Knights at Notre Dame's Hammes Bookstore during the weekend of home games versus Texas (Sept. 5), Georgia Tech (Sept. 19) and USC (Oct. 17), and pos- sibly Navy (Oct. 10).