Loran - Smith

Loran

While I have not conducted any definitive research, the South seems to be the only region of the country where touchdown and quarterback clubs continue to flourish.

For years, there were marquee clubs in big cities with expansive budgets, honoring professional, college and high school athletes. The Washington Touchdown Club once hosted one of the biggest sports banquets in the country. I remember the heyday of the Washington club, which hosted a banquet that seemed to last until midnight. One year, entertainer Danny Kaye, who was part owner of the Seattle Mariners, was honored and thanked his proctologist “for making it possible” for him “to last through this banquet.”

It is traditional at such events for honorees to toss “thank you’s” to mentors who influenced their life along the way. A local radio personality, honored for his station’s community service, went in another direction when he said, “First, I’d like to thank my wife. She left me ten years ago.”

That club doesn’t exist anymore. Certainly not like it once was. No baseball owner would fly across the country for a marathon banquet. Even college players would not make a two-hour flight to pick up a piece of hardware—unless there was a significant check attached.

Several clubs exist in the state pf Georgia. Three in particular—Athens, Atlanta and LaGrange—work together to offer significant honorariums that have enabled them to host headliner speakers. It helps that Kirby Smart, UGA’s head coach, is a loyal supporter of the Athens Club.

The Atlanta Touchdown Club, founded in 1938 would have likely gone defunct without the support and leadership of a former president John McMullan. In La-Grange, there is great enthusiasm to meet, socialize, and talk football.

Recently, Ivan Maisel, an accomplished sportswriter who has worked for the Atlanta Constitution, Sports Illustrated, Dallas Morning News, ESPN.com, and On3 Media, was the speaker for these clubs whose members showed up to get an autographed copy of his book on Frank continued from page

Leahy and solicit his opinion on the current state of affairs of college athletics— primarily, NIL, the transfer portal, and the playoff system.

Along the way, Maisel has found time to write books. On his recent trip to Georgia, he promoted his book about former Notre Dame coach Frank Leahy, who was a close friend of former Bulldog coach, Wallace Butts. Leahy often visited Athens where he was treated to greens, cornbread, and potlikker at the Butts’ home. When Leahy was invited to coach the collegians in the College All-Star game in Chicago, in 1947, he asked Butts to join him as one of his assistant coaches.

With all three clubs, Maisel offered up an insight into Leahy’s coaching career and his drive to succeed in South Bend. The subtitle, “The Triumph and Tragedy of Notre Dame legend Frank Leahy,” confirms that sometimes driven men accomplish their goals, but their families often suffer.

Maisel, with determined research, was able to provide enlightenment to Leahy’s personal life as well as his extraordinarily successful coaching career.

Only Leahy’s coach at Notre Dame—Knute Rockne—has a higher winning percentage than Leahy: Rocke’s record was 105-125 for a winning percentage of .881. Leahy’s record was 107-13-9 for .864.

If you read this book, you get a glimpse into the post-World War II years when there was not as much scoring as there is today and coaching salaries were not as extravagant as they have become. And, God forbid, paying players! Coaches were more colorful and certainly more sociable. When trains were the most frequent mode of travel and a team stayed over following a road game, the coaches might have dinner together. Even if coaches were okay with that routine today, alumni would never go for it.

Ivan Maisel provided insights into college football history, Notre Dame and Frank Leahy, and college football. He is a gifted storyteller, a seasoned historian, and someone who appreciates the virtues of the game of football. He is honest, forthright, hardworking and accomplished. His presentations are like having a fireside chat.

Club members in Athens, Atlanta and LaGrange are happy that he came their way. Long live such sports organizations.