The first time I met John McDonnell, the former track and field coach at the University of Arkansas, was way back in 1988 when I was the state AAU track and field youth chairman.
I had started a youth running program in northwest Arkansas and was trying to get children interested in track and field competition. Newly elected to the Arkansas chair, I thought it would be a major coup if I could somehow get to put on a youth meet at the UA, the best facility in this corner of the state if not the whole state. I was sure that the exposure and prestige of having track events there would be a shot in the arm for the sport among the younger set.
Becoming acquainted with someone close to Mc-Donnell, I was told that the venerable coach was very supportive of the idea of youth track and that I ought to go talk with him. Calling the track office which was then located in Barnhill Arena, I was told to come by on a certain morning when the coach would be in his office.
Getting there around 10 a.m. one morning, I walked in the north doors at Barnhill and looked around for a sign to point the way to the track office. I saw none but I did see a rather skinny fellow pulling a mop bucket with a mop over his shoulder. I walked over to the gentleman and inquired as to where the track office was. He pointed the way and as I was leaving, he called over to me, asking who I was looking for. After I said, “Coach McDonnell,” the coach in disguise stopped me by saying, “Hey, I’ll talk to you right here.”
Going to meet with a five time NCAA national champion track coach, I would never dream that I would see him doing such a mundane thing as house cleaning. It seems there was a spill on the office floor, and rather than waiting around for the custodial staff to take care of it, he just did it himself. From his humble beginnings to his reaching the pinnacle of success, John McDonnell was who he was, a man well worth emulating.
Not until speaking with the coach that morning did I realize that he was an Irish immigrant, having come over to the states to compete in track as a collegian.
Being fourth generation Irish-American myself, I was fascinated with the way the naturalized American citizen spoke. Of course, I was eventually more fascinated with the way he thought and did things.
Expecting to have to raise some money to pay for what could be an expensive event seeing that it would be on a national class track, I asked McDonnell what it would cost. After looking at me for a couple of minutes, McDonnell remarked, “Seeing as how it’s for the kids,I won’t expect any payment as such, but there is something I would like to ask in return.”
He then inquired as to how involved I was in track and field, and I related how I was an all-state high school sprinter in Missouri and that I ran for coach Ted Lloyd at Harding University in both cross country and track. I also related to him my track coaching resume, how many high school all-staters I had coached and how many youngsters I coached who had won national medals.
After giving coach Lloyd high praise for the college program he had built at Harding, he went on to say, “Well, I think you probably know track and field well enough and you might be able to help me with a problem I have.”
Realizing that I had no idea what he was talking about, McDonnell quickly explained that he had a hard time getting enough officials for home track meets that knew the sport well enough to properly officiate it. To get the use of the field I had to first promise that the field would be taken care of and that it would be in the same condition that I found it and, secondly, he wanted me to commit to being a member of his home officiating crew.
I quickly agreed, earning my United States Track and Field certification in a variety of events the next year, and going on to officiate dozens of cross country and track events including numerous national and regional events at the UA.
Using the UA track provided a great platform for the state’s AAU program, even earning Arkansas the right to host the AAU Region 8 Track Championships in 1989, with over 1,500 youth athletes from six states in attendance.
As a university coach, Mc-Donnell could have no contact with the athletes in attendance at my youth meets, but he did come by the meets from time to time to offer advice even providing some equipment assistance that he paid for himself.
Ever thankful for his help and support, McDonnell would always acknowledge my thanks by stating that it made his heart glad to see youth getting the chance to participate in track.
Growing up in a poor county in a less than prosperous and occasionally violent country, competing in track and field provided a life for McDonnell that would change his life and the lives of countless other people. Getting the chance to coach cross country and track at Arkansas led to his building a program that not only became a dynasty, but a program that became almost mythic in the eyes of those that know and appreciate the sport.
During his tenure as the head coach at Arkansas, his teams carted home 42 national NCAA championship trophies in cross country, indoor track and outdoor track. So complete was his domination of track in America, during that same time all the other universities in America combined managed to take home the championship trophy only 24 times.
All good things must come to an end and, in 2007, McDonnell announced his retirement from the UA.
This led me to the decision to retire from officiating meets at the university after 18 years and achieving the rank of master official. It was hard for me to visualize a McDonnell-less Razorback team.
I hadn’t seen him since 2007 and when I heard that the coach was going to be at a book signing event in Bentonville, I knew I had to be there. His life story had finally been published and I was going to get a copy and stand in line to see “Coach” at least one last time. Wondering if he would remember me after all this time, he departed from his “Best Wishes” and similar remarks that he had been writing in others’ copies to inscribe in my book “Thanks for all you did to promote youth track in Arkansas.”
He remembered - and that I’ll never forget.
From that summer day in 1988 to a mid-March day in 2013, I somehow received the privilege of seeing up close the life and career of a truly amazing American.
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Editor’s note: John McGee is an award-winning columnist and sports writer. He is the art teacher at Pea Ridge elementary schools, coaches elementary track and writes a regular sports column for The Times. He can be contacted through The Times at [email protected].
Sports, Pages 8 on 03/27/2013