Coach Vince Lombardi: The Early Years - Part III

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The full text of “Coach Vince Lombardi: The Early Years - Part III” by Al Bruno, Writer and Teacher, from the Vol 1 — Winter 2019 issue.

Most modern-day, sports enthusiasts would probably acknowledge that Vince Lombardi is the greatest or certainly one of the greatest football coaches of all-time. An impressively-qualified and forward-thinking Lombardi, a virtual unknown from Brooklyn in 1948, could have indelibly etched his football legacy into Buffalo’s, sports annals as the new football coach at Canisius College.

Unfortunately for Lombardi, Canisius passed on him, and his head coaching quest would be foiled and crushed, sending him reeling and even doubting himself, privately; he was only 35. Most believed Lombardi was politically snubbed by the Canisius decision-making process. This is a true story that Canisius College has never commented on.

If Lombardi were hired back in 1948, can you futuristically imagine how Canisius College would have flourished and transformed its football program into a division one powerhouse like Notre Dame or Boston College? This Canisius alumnus (‘79) can certainly envision it. The long and arduous journey to coaching greatness for Lombardi would begin humbly in the New York City borough of Brooklyn.

By Al Bruno, Teacher and Writer Coach Vince Lombardi: THE EARLY YEARS - PART III “Being part of a football team is no different than being a part of any other organization – an army, a political party. The objective is to win, to beat the other guy. You think that is hard or cruel – I don’t think it is. I do think it is a reality of life that men are competitive, and the more compet - itive the business, the more competitive the men. They know the rules, and they know the objective, and they get in the game.

And the objective is to win – fairly, squarely, decently, by the rules, but to win.”

Vincent Thomas Lombardi was born on June 11, 1913, in Brooklyn, to Neopolitan-born father Enrico “Harry” Lombardi (emigrated at age two), a butcher and meat distributor, and Brooklyn-born Matilda Izzo, the daughter of a barber (from east of Salerno in southern Italy). Harry Lombardi was a strong, domineering father while his mother, Matilda was soft and caring, providing a strong religious-oriented, stable Catholic household.

Italian mothers were usually the nurturers while the Italian fathers were the hard-driving enforcers of the household. Young Vince Lombardi and his brothers were very much influenced by the strong will of their father, Harry. Phillips (2001), a Lombardi biographer, vividly describes Harry Lombardi: “At the age of eleven, he quit school to help support his family and became a well-respected and successful butcher. Short, stocky, and strong, Vince’s father was hottempered and overbearing.

He had an intimidating style about him that allowed no back talk from his children... “Harry was honest, straightforward, and a pure perfectionist. Those around him had to do things right or not at all. He constantly lectured his three sons that they’d be successful only if they worked harder than everybody else.” Lombardi was raised in the Sheepshead Bay area of southern Brooklyn and attended public schools through eighth grade.

After eighth grade, young Lombardi faced the first critical decision of his young life: Where should he continue his education? In 1928, at age 15, he entered the Cathedral College of the Immaculate Conception, a diocesan preparatory seminary and a six year secondary program to become a Catholic priest. Why did Lombardi choose the preparatory seminary? David Maraniss (1999), an awardwinning Lombardi biographer, explains in detail: “The Trinity of Vince Lombardi’s early years was religion, family, and sports.

They seemed interwined, as inseparable to him as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. The church was not some distant institution to be visited once a week, but part of the rhythm of daily life... “When his mother baked bread, it was one for the Lombardis, one for the priests, with Vince shuttling down the block between his house and the St.

Mark’s Rectory delivering food and tendering invitations.” Following his faith, young Vince was devoted and followed his mother’s lead in worship: “From an early age, her son Vince revealed an equally strong affinity to Catholicism’s routine. He accompanied his mother in prayers to St. Jude and St. Anthony, the family’s patron saints, and toted his own prayer book to church for seven o’clock mass.

As an altar boy, he never wanted to be just another candle bearer, but up front in the procession, bearing the cross.” After four years of a six-year, preparatory seminary program, Lombardi decided not to pursue this vocational and spiritual path toward priesthood. He was a good athlete and a solid high school football player; he loved the physicality and camaraderie of sports and continued playing sports in spite of the discouraging views of sports by his seminary priests and teachers.

Maraniss (1999) describes Lombardi, the student and adolescent, at Cathedral College, the seminary, this way: “He was remembered at Cathedral for three characteristics: his smile, a sudden, wide flash of teeth that heated the room; occasional eruptions of anger; and his physical maturity. He had the body of an adult at age fifteen. He five eight and 175 pounds... “They knew that he played football on a sandlot team on Sunday afternoon.

Every now and then he arrived at school with a black eye, which he earned boxing in a Golden Gloves program under

22 a pseudonym. The Cathedral priests disapproved of violent sports; the only thing worse was going out with girls. Boys found to be dating faced suspension.” The love for football, in particular, and sports, in general, won out over the calling for priesthood; consequently, he transferred to the St. Francis Preparatory High School, where he was a standout on the football team, making the All-City team as a fullback.

In 1933, Lombardi accepted a football scholarship to Fordham University in the Bronx to play for Sleepy Jim Crowley, the new head coach who was one of the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame under Coach Knute Rockne in the 1920s. During the early 1930s, Fordham was recognized as the largest Catholic university in the nation; Fordham was nationally heralded for stressing character and the development of social morality.

Relevantly, Phillips (2001) recalls Lombardi’s impact at Fordham: “At Fordham, Lombardi gained a reputation for being extremely tough – playingall-out, even when seriously hurt. At one practice, after suffering a separation of his small intestine, he was carried off the field writhing in pain. Severe internal bleeding landed him in the hospital... “On another occasion, Lombardi continued to play a regular-season game even though several teeth had been knocked out.

In later years, Lombardi was fond of retelling the story – saying that his father had often him to ignore the small injuries; that hurt is in the mind.” Lombardi was converted from fullback to offensive guard. Lombardi was an undersized offensive guard at 5’8” and 185 lbs., but his hustle and toughness won him a starting position at guard on Fordham’s offensive line.

He and the offensive line gained football notoriety and were acclaimed as the Seven Blocks of Granite for their staunch, tough play on the line. In the classroom, Lombardi was, at best, a slightly above average student. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from Fordham in June 1937; he was 24 years old. The importance of Fordham in Lombardi’s life went beyond football.

It was Lombardi’s understanding of the Jesuit tradition and philosophy at Fordham that would forever fuel his methodologies in coaching, leadership, and in life. Maraniss (1999) explains: “There is a direct line in thinking from the Jesuits to football to what would become the philosophy of Vince Lombardi.

They also maintained a hierarchical order in which the inferior submits willingly to the superior… “This willingness to accept a rightful order required believing that the chief – God, the general, the coach – loved each member of the group with the same love.” The devotion to Catholicism and a deep understanding and practice of Jesuit philosophy would provide Lombardi with the spiritual direction and balance necessary in his life as coach, father, and spouse.

Lombardi’s daily attendance to early morning mass as a child became a staple in his life – something he would continue to observe the rest of his life.

In 1939, after two years of unfulfilling jobs, semi-professional football with the Brooklyn Eagles (bulking up to 205 lbs.) and Wilmington Clippers, and a semester of Fordham’s law school at night, Lombardi gladly accepted an assistant coaching job at St. Cecilia’s, a Catholic high school in Englewood, New Jersey. He was hired by its new coach, a Fordham teammate, former quarterback “Handy” Andy Palau.

In addition to coaching, Lombardi, age 26, also taught Latin, chemistry, and physics for an annual salary of under $1800 at the high school. He and Palau shared a boarding house room across the street for $1.50 each per week. In 1940, Lombardi married Marie Planitz, a cousin of another Fordham teammate, Jim Lawlor. In 1942, Palau left for Fordham, and Lombardi became the head coach at St. Cecilia. At St.

Cecilia, Lombardi was given his first opportunities as head coach for football and basketball, and he turned out to be extraordinarily successful at both; Lombardi stayed on a total of eight years (five as head coach). Phillips (2001) recalls the stellar debut and overall record of Coach Lombardi at St. Cecilia’s: “Under his direction, the high school won six state championships in the two sports. In football, Lombardi’s teams ran off a thirty-two-game unbeaten streak.

And, at one point, his teams won twenty-three games in a row… “Part of the reason that Lombardi’s players were willing to work with him was that he nurtured and cared for them like a father. When Lombardi succeeded, so did they. Twenty-two of St. Cecilia’s players were named to All-County and All-State teams while he was coach.” Lombardi left for Fordham in 1947 to coach the freshman teams in football and basketball. The following year he served as an assistant coach for Fordham’s varsity football team.

His coaching stay at Fordham would be a brief one. In 1948, Lombardi fathered his only daughter, Susan Lombardi. Vince Jr. was now six years old. Susan would be the second and last child born to Vince and Marie Lombardi. Lombardi believed he was motivated and prepared to take on the responsibilities of becoming a head coach at the college level. One such opportunity presented itself in 1948 at Canisius College of Buffalo, NY.

A Jesuit-school grad from Fordham, Lombardi felt certain that he was the most qualified and best candidate for the Canisius job. Larry Felser (2008), an award-winnig sportswriter for the Buffalo News, recalls how Lombardi’s ruefully responded: “Canisius was the disappointment of my career. In 1947, their coach, Earl Brown was hired by Auburn as its new head coach, and I wanted that Canisius job. I came to Buffalo, interviewed, and thought that I had it.

Instead, they hired some local lawyer (Jimmy Wilson), from years before.” Following the 1948 football season, Lombardi accepted another assistant’s job, at the United States Military Academy, a position that would greatly influence his future coaching style. As offensive line coach under legendary head coach Colonel Red Blaik, Lombardi worked long hours and refined his leadership skills.

Blaik’s emphasis on execution would become a hallmark of Lombardi’s NFL teams. Phillips (2001) writes about Blaik’s influence on Lombardi: “Coach Earl Blaik was an important person for Vince Lombardi to have adopted as a mentor. His practice sessions were precise, efficient, and highly organized. Blaik was conscientious, honest, and fair, though also a hardworking taskmaster.

Vince savored every moment and appreciated all that he had learned from his mentor.” Lombardi coached at West Point for five seasons with varying results. The 1949, 1950, and 1953 seasons were very successful, but the 1951 and 1952 seasons were poor and mediocre, respectively, due to the aftermath the cadet cribbing scandal in the spring of 1951, severely depleting the talent on the football team.

To cite, Lombardi applied for head coaching jobs at West Point and Notre Dame, and he was rejected for both positions because of his Italian ethnicity; it was troubling and perplexing for Lombardi. David Claerbout (2004), a biographer, reflects on the hiring dilemma and obstacles that oppressively faced Lombardi in his coaching search; he writes: “Lombardi watched helplessly as the other less competent coaches were elevated for political and ethnic reasons.

He once applied for the head coach job at Wake Forrest; Lombardi was confident he was the most qualified for the job... “When the school did not call, Lombardi called an insider friend who told him Wake Forest will never hire a coach whose last name ends in a vowel.

This is something Lombardi said himself when he was removed from consideration for the Army head coaching position when the renowned Earl Red Blaik - on whose staff he served - resigned, also after the ‘58 season… “Lombardi was an Italian Catholic in an era of Waspish (and, in some parts of the gridiron world, Irish and Polish Catholic) dominance.” Following these five seasons at Army, Lombardi accepted an assistant coaching position with the NFL’s New York Giants.

Lombardi was even successful as the offensive coordinator for the New York Giants from 1954 to 1958, under head coach Lee Howell; in fact, Lombardi coached side-by-side with defensive coordinator Tom Landry, who later coached the Dallas cowboys and is an inducted member of NFL Hall of Fame. The year before Lombardi joined the staff, the Giants suffered through a three and nine record and scored the least amount of points in the NFL.

Within three years of Lombardi’s arrival, the Giants won the NFL Championship and three division titles. Including the five years as the Giants’ offensive coordinator, Lombardi never experienced a losing season in football on any level (i.e. high school college or NFL).

References Claerbaut, D. (2004). Bart Starr: When Leadership Mattered , Lanham, MD: Taylor Trade Company. Felser, Larry (2008). The Birth of the NFL. Gullford, CT: The Lyons Press. Lombardi, V. (2001). What It Takes To Be #1 . New York:, NY: McGraw-Hill. Maraniss, D. (1999). When Pride Still Mattered . New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks. Maraniss, D. (1997). When football mattered. Esquire , 128 (2). Phillips, D. (2001). Run To Win . New York, NY: St. Martin’s Griffin Publishers www.vincelombardi.com .

The Official Website of Coach Vince Lombardi . Photo by John Chapman