McKay’s Influence Still Carries Weight

“Gee formation, 28 pitch, and tell Davis to run over the free safety if he shows up in the hole.”

--John McKay

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I first met John Harvey McKay when I was 14. His son, J.K., and I had become friends our freshman year of high school at Bishop Amat in La Puente.

He was doing what he loved to do in the off-season--watching a western on television--anything with John Wayne was worth watching--diagraming football plays on a yellow legal pad in his lap.

I am not so sure he did not create Student Body Right after watching a particularly punishing John Wayne scene where the Duke cleared a path through “the black hats.”

Corky, his wife, had just made her world-famous steak sandwich for Coach and I was asked to join them in the meal.

This was the start of a very special friendship between Coach McKay and myself, a friendship that would span more than 30 years, about 12,000 Anthony Davis runs left, right and up the middle, a few drinks at Julie’s and enough good memories to last more than one lifetime.

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“Port formation, 23 blast, and tell Cunningham to blow up the middle linebacker.”

--John McKay

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Just before my senior year at Bishop Amat, my father was transferred to Northern California and J.K. asked me if I wanted to move in with the family.

(These days, the NCAA would put the institution on probation, break up the engineering department and banish Beowulf from being taught for such a transgression!)

It was a wonderful year for me--Corky and Coach were incredible to me and I shared a room with the second McKay son, Richie, upstairs in their home in West Covina.

Coach had a keen sense of timing--not just in his delivery of a one-liner, but how he managed always to be home that year when I was being recruited. It was difficult enough for Bear Bryant, Tom Osborne, Ara Parseghian or John Ralston to have to come to the McKay home to recruit me. Making things worse was that Coach always managed to answer the front door when a coach asked, “Is Pat here?”

The only time I ever saw him really angry--other than when I threw interceptions and he reminded me our team had cardinal and gold uniforms--was when I returned home from a high school date at 1 a.m.

J.K. was still not home and Coach was furious. The two of us went out to look for J.K. in the wee hours of the morning and found him at his girlfriend’s house. We never missed curfew again.

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“Star formation, zoom motion, 65 Z cross and tell Swann to look for the ball early.”

--John McKay

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At USC, Coach was an autocrat. His players always knew there was only one decision-maker. But he loved his players, even if he did not show it with outward signs of affection.

One of his favorites was Pete Adams, an offensive tackle from San Diego, who later became a first-round draft pick.

While at USC, Pete matched Coach’s sense of humor. To my recollection, Pete had one outfit he wore other than his football uniform--shorts, Hawaiian shirt and flip-flops.

McKay loved the way Pete played football and his laid-back demeanor. Pete would bring his dog with him to every meeting and Turk would run wind sprints with us every day. After Traveler, Turk became Coach’s favorite mascot.

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“Haw formation, 24 counter and make sure O’Bradovich kicks the linebacker outside.”

--John McKay

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We never lost a Pac-8 game while he was my coach, we went to three Rose Bowl games and we won two national championships.

However, the most difficult part of any game for me was the bus ride to the stadium.

Coach made the starting quarterback sit next to him on the bus. He had a penchant for cigars--even at 9 in the morning on game day. Nothing like a few whiffs of cigar smoke to a 20-year-old, in a cramped bus, with no air-conditioning, to get you ready to play the Irish!

Coach was known for his tailbacks at USC, but he was a great recruiter of offensive linemen. I still think they were his favorites.

He knew you could not have 1,000-yard rushers without 1,000-yard blockers. And so, players such as Ron Yary and John Vella and Pete Adams and Charlie Young all did their part in making Student Body Right part of the legend of USC football.

Offensive linemen were stars at USC under Coach McKay and were as important to his remarkable record as any tailback or quarterback.

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“Tell Sims that when Harmon comes down the line on the option, to knock him to Vermont Avenue.”

--John McKay

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The last few years, Coach seemed quite happy. A doting grandfather, he enjoyed time with his family more than he ever had.

The last time I was with him, I asked how he was doing. His response, “Pat, I am only 76, but I have been awake for 74!”

He loved his daughters, Michelle and Terri, and relished the success of his sons, Richie and J.K. There seemed to be a balance to his life that he had not been able to enjoy until recently.

John Harvey McKay was a great coach--an innovator, at his best in the biggest games on the largest stages. He was tough to play for at times--but what great coach was not tough-minded? His players appreciate him more and more as time marches on.

So while there may not be anymore drinks at Julie’s, the sounds of a western in the background, an unlit cigar in the ashtray, or the Xs and O’s on a yellow legal pad, Coach McKay will always be remembered by me--a young kid he gave a chance to chase a dream.