Distance runner Frank O'Mara was one of the first bricks of what became the imposing edifice of University of Arkansas track program.
An import from Ireland, he struggled early in his career. He became a key factor years ago in helping Arkansas upset Texas and Texas A&M to win the Southwest Conference indoor meet.
What motivated his sudden resurgence, reporters asked.
"Coach (John) McDonnell told me if I didn't improve, I'd be back on the boat," O'Mara said.
When probed later about O'Mara's intriguing statement, McDonnell, then an upstart coach, related that he brought his highly touted runner to the states to perform. And if he didn't, the threat would be he'd be back in Ireland by the cheapest means available.
O'Mara went on to become one of many of the UA's legendary track performers.
When McDonnell was laying the foundation for his program, he built it on distance runners. The Razorbacks would usually appear in trouble until the meet gravitated to the 3200 meters or the 1600 meters and here would come the Hogs in waves, taking five of six places, sometimes all six.
Cha-Ching, went the point totals. That team trophy headed closer to the Razorback bench.
McDonnell was familiar with distance runners in his native Ireland. But he had a more practical reason for started with the "wheezing" events.
The Southwest Conference was sprint- and relay-oriented at the time and the opposing teams often cancelled each other out in those events.
"At any time, a sprinter can pull up lame or pull a hamstring, and you lose all your points in that event," McDonnell once related. "Distance runners are far less likely to do that. Even if they are not at their best, they can get you points. With sprinters, you run the risk of getting shutout"
Those two illustrations capsulize why McDonnell is retiring this year as probably the best track coach who has ever held a stopwatch.
Correction. He's one of the best college coaches to ever labor in any sport.
Forty-two national championships in track and field. 652 All-Americans. 23 Olympians. 30 national coach of the year honors. 105 NCAA individual event champions.
He's set the bar high for excellence in any field.
It's both a curse and a tribute that the Razorback track teams achieved the top level, conference and nationally, year after year.
It became almost nonchalant assumption that, under McDonnell, the Razorbacks would win. It was taken for granted, almost like the sunrise and sunset.
The distance runners were just the first out of the blocks. As he developed the program over 36 years, McDonnnell did it with distance runners, field event folks, sprinters, the gamut of events.
Some he had to threaten to "put them back on the boat." For others, it took a quiet, encouraging nudge. For others, it was a stern push. For others, it was a tactical adjustments, maybe a change in event or leg on a relay.
McDonnnell's genius related to his ability to take parts and bits and pieces and blend them into an highly motivated, razor-edge, extremely competitive, high-octane machine on the track. Sometimes, it was kind of like watching your grandma walk into the pantry, find whatever was left over and still available and whipping up some absolutely delicious delicacy.
His brilliance was turning a sport that is normally focused on individuals and individual accomplishments into a team sport. It did matter whether an athlete was capable of one point or 20. All were important to McDonnell.
And when every achievement became important and treasured, you saw the great athletes achieve as advertised but you also saw some lesser ones overachieve. If one point was important, then six might be magnificent. So often, all of the Razorback athletes performed at minimum levels, and a few took off for personal bests. If some stumbled, there would be an overachiever to take his place.
It was synergy compounded.
And that's why McDonnell just didn't appear at coaching conventions, but he traveled the state and the region to talk to professional and business groups.
And through a measure of success most of us would just fantasize about, McDonnell did it was class, integrity and humility. Ask any reporter who has covered the Razorbacks in any sport for the last four decades. Almost to a person, they would tell you McDonnell was one of his favorite coaches to work with. For most, he's one of their favorite people ever.
He treated everyone with respect, he would always give a straight answer with no spin and he was so good at what he did he automatically generated respect.
Few people have achieved such greatness in so routine and so modest a fashion.
As McDonnell drifts into retirement and legendary status, celebrate his achievements. Shed a few tears of joy and sadness because we'll rarely see the likes of him and his measure of success again. In a gritty and often classless wilderness of athletics, he's an oasis.
Most importantly, when reveling noting the glitter and glamor of McDonnell's phenomenal success, remember how he did it.
(Sports columnist David McCollum can be reached at 505-1235 or david.mccollum@thecabin.net)
