Huarte Enjoys Notre Dame Reunion

John Huarte can hardly believe 50 years have passed since he won the Heisman Trophy, the award presented annually to the most valuable player in college football.

Huarte won it as the quarterback at Notre Dame  in 1964 and he was invited back to South Bend, Indiana, to celebrate the honor Oct. 4, the same day Notre Dame rallied to defeat Stanford, 17-14.

Accompanying the 21-year Huntington Palisades resident were many Corpus Christi Church parishioners, all of whom have connections to Stanford or Notre Dame, including Huarte’s daughter Monica Kennedy and her family (part of the Fighting Irish clan) and former NBA basketball player Adam Keefe and his wife, former U.S. Olympic volleyball player Kristin Klein, both of whom were inducted into the Stanford Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000.

Although the weather wasn’t perfect, the weekend was for 31 Palisadian “diehards,” who were in good hands with trip organizer Mike LaSalle.

Huarte goes back once or twice a year to cheer on his alma mater but his most recent visit was the most memorable — and not just for Huarte himself.

“A special thing for me is that they offered to take my grandchildren into the locker room where they filmed the movie “Rudy” and then five hours before kickoff they got to run out on the field at the 50-yard line,” Huarte said. “They honored our 1964 team and I had a wonderful time. Adam [Keefe] was there — he always stands out in the crowd.”

The game was an instant classic, as Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson orchestrated a late drive and, on fourth-and-23 from the Stanford 23-yard line, threw to tight end Ben Koyack in the back of the end zone for the game-winning touchdown with 1:01 remaining.

“I really like what Coach [Brian] Kelly has done there,” Huarte said. “He’s building a strong program and one thing Notre Dame has been lacking in recent years is speed. We might lose one or two games, but I like where it’s going.”

Ara Parseghian, now 91 years old, coached Notre Dame to national championships in 1966 and 1973 and his  emphasis on discipline left a lasting impression on Huarte, who played for Parseghian the year he won the Heisman.

“He had an intensity and a clarity that demanded attention,” Huarte recalled. “He would always tell us we can’t hold, we can’t be offsides, we have to stay disciplined. I never saw his teams flat. He always had us ready to play. And he’s still sharp, he’s fun to be around. I’m proud of him.”

Huarte, 70, was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005. His daughters all live in the Palisades, Monica nearby in the Huntington and the other two, Mariah and Bridget, in the Alphabet Streets. He also has two sons, Matt and Mark.

After winning the Heisman, Huarte signed with the New York Jets of the American Football League along with fellow rookie Joe Namath. In his six seasons in the AFL/NFL, Huarte played in 24 games, completing 19 of 48 passes for 230 yards and one touchdown. He also played two years in the World Football League before it folded following the 1975 season.

“Winning the Heisman was the high point of my career,” Huarte said. “Nothing can top that.”