Happy Birthday to Legendary Notre Dame Head Coach Ara Parseghian

Today marks 101 years since the birth of one of the greatest coaches not just in the history of Notre Dame football, but in the history of college football as well.

Ara Parseghian was born on this day in 1923 in Akron, Ohio. He’d go onto a collegiate football career at Miami (OH) before a short stint with the Cleveland Browns. From there he’d return to Miami to begin his coaching career that ultimately led him to college football’s peak.

Notre Dame football was a shell of itself when it hired Parseghian following the 1963 season. That year the Irish went 2-7 under Hugh Devore and were seemingly light years away from the perennial national championship contender they once were.

That year, the Irish hired Northwestern head coach Ara Parseghian, who went 36-35-1 with the Wildcats. That may not seem all that impressive, but the program had gone 7-28-2 in the four seasons before his hiring. Parseghian also went 4-0 against Notre Dame during his Northwestern tenure which certainly left an impact on the brass in South Bend.

In 1964, Parseghian led an incredible turnaround. The Irish went 9-1 and were minutes away from clinching a national championship before giving up a late touchdown at USC in the season’s final game. Quarterback John Huarte was named the Heisman Trophy winner that year, and only Tim Brown has won a Heisman at Notre Dame since.

Parseghian earned his first of two titles in 1966 after running out the clock at Michigan State in the famed 10-10 tie. Just how good was that ’66 team? It produced six shutouts in 10 games, had just two wins by fewer than 23 points and four of the 10 games came against teams ranked in the top 10.

1973 was the second of Parseghian’s national titles with the Irish. The season culminated in a 24-23 thriller over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, his first of two wins against Paul “Bear” Bryant and the Crimson Tide. The second was Ara’s final game as Notre Dame’s head coach, capping the 1974 season in the Orange Bowl.

Parseghian finished his Notre Dame career with 95 victories, which trailed only Knute Rockne at the time of his retirement. Lou Holtz and Brian Kelly both passed Ara since.

One of the best to ever do it at Notre Dame and the key in turning around a program that was on the brink of irrelevance, Parseghian led the Irish to six top-five finishes in 11 seasons as head coach. Twice more his teams finished in the top-10 and they never closed a year ranked lower than 14th.

Parseghian was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1980. Take a look back at the legend, Ara Parseghian, through the years below: