Читать книгу A Legacy Unrivaled. The Story of John Gagliardi онлайн

37 страница из 56

Even in his eighties, after more than six decades of coaching, John had not lost his passion for studying film. My former teammate Derek Stanley recalled how, long after graduating, he once went to visit John on a Friday afternoon in June. While most Minnesotans would have been on their way to a cabin on one of our ten thousand–plus lakes, John was in his office watching film—during the offseason. On that occasion, he was trying to figure out if lining up his players slightly differently would allow them to gain an extra three feet on one of his favorite plays.

For this class period, John had selected a series of successful passing plays from the previous season. The first play he showed was a long pass, and John called out to the class, “What happened on that play?”

The monks gave John the first television set on campus in 1953 after he led the Johnnies to victories over archrivals Gustavus Adolphus and Saint Thomas in back-to-back games. Courtesy of Gagliardi family.

“A touchdown,” came the reply from the darkness of the classroom.