Parseghian’s Wildcats: Northwestern Football, 1955-1963

Over a memorable eight-season run (1956-1964), Ara Parseghian transformed the Northwestern University football program from a cellar-dweller in the Big Ten Conference to a nationally known power. Before his arrival from Miami of Ohio, he had never been associated with a losing team, as a coach or as a player. At 32, he would face his biggest challenge at Northwestern but would eventually lead the Wildcats to winning seasons in four of his last five years there. The payoff came in 1962, when the Wildcats were ranked number 1 in the nation and a safe bet to play in the Rose Bowl. This biography--the first documenting his stint at Northwestern--recounts Parseghian’s struggles and successes as a dynamic young coach in the years before he made history at Notre Dame.

Jack Danilewicz began his writing career as a correspondent for the Daily Southtown in Chicago. His articles have appeared in the San Diego Union-Tribune, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Omaha World-Herald, Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, and other newspapers. He lives in Ewa Beach, Hawaii.