Sadly, Bad Things Have Happened In Threes In The Sports World – R.I.P Coach Bruce Snyder
April 14, 2009 – 1:14 pm by Michael Bean
Sometimes life seems to adhere to that 50% rule – half the time things are going great, the other half Murphy’s Law seems to be in full effect. It’s also often said that bad things happen in threes, and unfortunately, that was indeed the case recently with the passing of a triumvirate of great men – longtime Phillies broadcaster Harry Kalas, college football coach Bruce Snyder, and baseball phenom Mark Fidrych. If you haven’t already done so, you should read the post written by Jimmy here on SRI earlier today about Kalas’s death. As a Philadelphia native and former radio guy himself, Jimmy had a nice heart-felt reflection well worth reading.
As for Snyder, the college football world certainly lost a great man. Snyder, who had turned 69 years old just last month, succumbed to his battle with cancer. Though he’ll certainly be remembered for far more profound reasons by those he worked with and coached, he’ll be remembered the greater sports loving world as the coach who led the underdog Sun Devils of ASU to the Rose Bowl in 1996. It was Jake Plummer who captured the imagination of football fans that year, but it was Snyder who turned ASU from a perennial afterthought into a national title contender in the mid 90s with his unique blend of motivation, eye for hidden talent, and big game offensive coaching ability.
On Monday, a slew of former colleagues and ex-players chimed in on what Snyder meant both as a person and as a coach. Included are interviews with Jake Plummer, current San Jose State coach Dick Tomey, who coached at rival Arizona while Snyder was in Tempe, and current Arizona Cardinals OL Scott Peters, who was recruited by Snyder more than a decade ago. All interviews are compliments of KTAR in Phoenix.
The quotes from Jake Plummer, Dick Tomey, and Scott Peters, plus the full interviews after the jump.
Plummer on having to deal with the loss of former teammate Pat Tillman and now former coach Snyder:
“Yeah, death is never easy. It comes when you least expect it. You hope you end on good terms always. With Bruce we knew he was sick, we were all rooting for him, hoping he would battle this and find a way to overcome the disease and move on and be around awhile longer but it was his time. We’re going to miss Coach Snyder.”
On the magical Rose Bowl year that Snyder led the Sun Devils to in 1996:
“It was one of my favorite years in football and it was a lot of fun. He surrounded us, the players, the coaches, he surrounded everybody with good people and that was a reflection of his qualities, his character as a human, his morals, his values. And that’s why we had so much success. It was due to him and what he put together.”
Click here to here the rest of Plummer on KTAR in Phoenix
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Tomey on Snyder, who was a rival between the lines, but a friend when the two coaches’ teams weren’t squaring off:
“He was more than just a great football coach. He was just a good person. He and Linda [his wife] were just great people and they had a great family, and just exhibited class in everything they did. So it’s a very sad, sad day.”
On his close relationship with Snyder despite being at rival schools:
“People expect you to hate each other but I competed against Bruce when he was at Cal and I had nothing but just tremendous respect for Bruce.”
On how he and Snyder worked together to tone down some of the unacceptable extracurricular stuff that had boiled over between the Wildcats and Sun Devils programs:
“There was a year when one of our guys – his leg was broken in a malicious hit that was after the whistle. And Bruce took action with his team and we tried to encourage our guys not to retaliate. We both just took a stand and Bruce was just so instrumental in making that happen because the most important thing is it’s just a game of football and the integrity of the game, and to play it the way it was meant to be played. He was just such a class individual in everything that he did.”
Listen here to the rest of Tomey on KTAR in Phoenix
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Peters on his former coach’s philosophy to recruit good guys more rigorously than good athletes:
“That’s why he had Pat Tillman and Grey Ruegammeri Jones. Guys that nobody gave a second look at. Coach Snyder knew those were guys he wanted on his football team and he developed them.”
On what Snyder meant to his career, which is still going on with the Cardinals in the NFL:
“I was lucky that the best coach I ever had was the first coach I ever had.”
Listen here to the rest of Peters on KTAR in Phoenix
Tags: 1996 Rose Bowl, Arizona State Sun Devils, Bruce Snyder, Dick Tomey, Harry Kalas, Jake Plummer, KTAR, Mark Fidrych, Philadelphia Phillies, tragic death
