About two years ago I had the privilege of meeting and
interviewing Pete Varney, a man best known for catching the two point
conversion after time had run out in the most famous of all Harvard – Yale games, the 1968 “Harvard Beats
Yale 29 – 29” tie. A documentary made about this rivalry and this game in
particular came out in 2008. Harvard
Beats Yale, 29 - 29 was a fascinating and well done piece that fans and historians
of the game can earnestly appreciate.
I was most impressed by Varney’s modesty and concern and high
hopes for those that he has coached. Varney is a sportsman in the truest and finest
sense of the word.
I would like to share the following excerpts from my
interview with Coach Varney.
J.L.: As a player, how
intense was the Harvard-Yale rivalry during your playing days?
Varney: Well, it was
something that every player looks forward to after they’re admitted to Harvard.
They know their chief rival is Yale, so you want an opportunity to play in the
game, number one. And, number two, you want to beat them. It’s something you
always remember. Yeah, we beat Yale, that game was great, great game.’ It’s a
conversation piece for the rest of your life with your teammates.
J.L.: During the game
in 1968, Yale was up 29-13 with about two minutes left. Do you remember your
feelings in those final two minutes or what your teammates were saying to rally
everyone together? What was going on in the last couple moments?
Varney: Quite
honestly, Yale had dominated the game up to the last two minutes; they were
just running all over us. The only thing that kept us in the game was
turnovers. Calvin Hill I think had five for the game. The full-back Levi had a
turnover late in the game. It just seemed like momentum had changed; and it was
only for the last two minutes of the game. Everything seemed surreal. Everything
seemed like a tidal wave. It was nothing you could control - it just happened. But
that’s the reason I think everyone says Harvard won 29-29. Because, I think, if
the game had continued, and the flow of the game had continued the way it was,
just in the last two minutes, that we would have won. There was something
magical and mystical about it, that everything just went our way.
JL: When you think
back to that two-point conversation at the end, do you still get as excited
about it?
Varney: It’s always
better to be remembered as the guy who caught it then as the guy who missed it,
that’s for sure (laughs). It was a play that we had run a hundred times that
season successfully. Basically, even though I was as big as I was, I was like
240, they used to split me out so I was away from the interior line of
scrimmage. I was split out like a wide receiver. What they were trying to do
was use my size as an advantage over whoever was going to be covering me. And,
again, we had run it since day one of the season up until that day. Frank
Champy actually came to the huddle - the guy who was quarterbacking then- said,
‘we’re gonna use this, get open, I’m coming to you’. So, after I caught it, I
was relaxed, but up until I caught it, it was kind of a tense moment.
JL: Most people
remember you for your part in the 29-29 Harvard win, but you were also a
prolific baseball player, and you still have a lot of records at Harvard and
also led Harvard to the NCAA Division I World Series league. You were drafted
to play in the majors seven times, and were the number one pick three of those
times. What’s the story with being drafted so many times and your reluctance to
going to the major leagues?
Varney: It was kind
of different back then. Back then, every six months, if you did not sign while
being drafted, you were thrown back into the pool. There was no rule that said
you had to wait three years of college until after your junior year, as there
is now, or until the age of 21. So the rules changed since then. In 1966, I got
drafted by the Kansas City Athletics –and that was Charlie Finley- he offered
me a contract. I said no and went to Deerfield Academy. That was in September.
In January of ’67, I was drafted again. So every six months you were drafted if
you didn’t sign. So, back then, the rule was that every six months, if you
didn’t sign, you went back into the pool and teams could draft you. I think the
rule was changed in the late 1990s. In the 1990s, basically the NCAA and the
major league teams got together and said that throwing these kids back into the
draft every six months was not good for the colleges because the colleges were
signing kids to four year scholarships. So, the NCAA, the colleges, wanted some
protection. If I’m going to invest some money in this scholarship in this kid,
I want him for four years. Well, the only way we could do that is to compromise.
Some of the NCAA and the major league people come together and said, ok, we’re
going to wait until after junior year, if they don’t sign. As soon as they
enter college, they have to either go until the end of their junior year or
turn 21. So that’s the way the rule changed.
It is interesting, everybody remembers me for the 29-29
game, and nobody remembers my baseball career. So there’s the commentary on my
baseball career.
J.L.: So what was it
like to play for the White Sox and Braves?
Varney: Well, I mean, it was a thrill. It’s something
everybody wants to do. I describe my career as having a cup of coffee and not
having the time to add the cream or sugar in it. But, again, it was a
highlight. Your first at bat, your first hit, your first home run, all
highlights of your career, stuff you’ll never forget. You’ve reached a pinnacle
of your profession. You’re one of 1200 people in the world that are playing
major league baseball, so it’s quite an honor. I wish it had lasted a little
bit longer, but so be it.
J.L.: So, you played
professional baseball, but did you ever have any desire to play professional
football as well?
Varney: No. I knew
from day one that I really wanted to be a baseball player. Played football,
loved football, loved the camaraderie of it, loved the physicalness of it,
loved every aspect of it. But, I get a workout with Dallas, and they offer me
$5,000 to sign out of college and I say, ‘no, I’m going to go play baseball.” I
just always assumed in my own mind that I was going to be a baseball player,
not a football player.
J.L.: After your
professional playing career, you became a coach. You went to Narragansett High
School briefly and then came to Brandeis. How did you decide to become a coach?
Varney: I wanted to
pursue my professional career playing baseball, and always in the back of my
mind I wanted to be a coach. I loved my coaches in high school. They were
always tough on me, kind of tough-love stuff. I wanted to do the same thing. I
love baseball, I love kids, I love working with kids, I love teaching the game,
and I just thought it was a natural fit for me. I probably could have done a
lot of other things and made a lot more money, but, for me, I’ve been very
happy with what I’ve been doing.
J.L.: Did you have
any coaches at Harvard or while playing baseball professionally that influenced
you to become a coach, or was it just you wanting to become a coach on your
own?
Varney: Well, again,
since high school, my high school football coaches, my high school
basketball coaches, my high school
baseball coaches - I’ve always respected
them and admired what they were doing, how they were doing it and thought, ‘I
would like to be doing that.’
J.L.: You’ve been
coaching at Brandeis for 29 years, and you’ve brought the Judges (Baseball) to
the postseason in 20 of those seasons. What are some of your favorite memories,
or favorite memory, from Brandeis?
Varney: I think it’s
when I get together with the alumni, we have a golf tournament. It’s one of the
things we do. Seeing the kids come back and seeing the camaraderie they have
with each other, that’s important to me. It’s important to me that they’ve done
very well in their lives and with their families and the occupations that
they’ve chosen. I have seven kids that are now college head coaches, which is
pretty impressive. I’m happy for them, and that they wanted to go into the same
profession as me. I think that’s pretty cool. I have a lot of high school
coaches and teachers now who’ve been through the program… Whatever they’re
doing, they’re doing it well, and that kind of sparks a little bit of pride in
me, that the kids have gone through Brandeis and gotten their education and
have gone on and been successful in life, in their family life and professional
careers.
J.L.: So, I asked you
about your favorite memory from Brandeis, but what is your favorite memory from
your entire sports past?
Varney: My entire
sports past? Well, to rank them: First career home-run, Larry Ger in Shea
Stadium, even though it was against the Yankees. It was when Yankee Stadium was
being refurbished. You know, the 29-29 catch. I don’t know you could rank them:
one, two, three. High school athletics: all of them. Going to the tech tourney and
playing in the Boston Garden. I’ve been very, very, blessed in that all of my
life a lot of my memories are revolving around athletics. So, to rank them, I
don’t know if that’s fair. I can remember crying right after a basketball game
the in the summer at Red Auerbach’s basketball camp. You know, all those
memories conjure up emotions that are very positive about athletics.
J.L.: Many people consider
you to be a celebrity and can recognize your photo. Do you think of yourself as
a celebrity?
Varney: I was part of
a very unique experience. I think there are a couple reasons why people
remember “the game” Both teams were undefeated. I think it was the
only time in the history of the Harvard-Yale game that both teams were
undefeated not only in league play, but in outside play. Both teams were
undefeated and it wound up in a tie! If it hadn’t wound up in a tie, I don’t
know if people would remember it as much as if one team had really beat the
other team. So that’s the significance of the game, I think. I’m very
reluctant. A lot of people have come to me for over 40-some years about the
game and sometimes I don’t feel very good about it because I think I was a
small part of that game. A lot of people did a lot of great things in that game
that season. It happened to be one particular moment in time, that’s all. I
enjoy my relationship with my former teammates; it was a great thrill,
obviously, but to think I’m a celebrity? No, I don’t think that at all. They still
charge me a buck ninety-nine for coffee at Dunkin Donuts.
J.L.: You’ve been
interviewed many times before this. Is there anything else that hasn’t gotten
out in those interviews about your sports legacy or your coaching that you’d
like to say?
Varney: Nope. Like I
said, I’ve been very blessed. I’ve been very fortunate to have some very good student-athletes
over the years. I’ve been very proud of what they’ve accomplished. I haven’t
accomplished anything in my 29 years here [at Brandeis]. Haven’t caught a ball,
hit a ball, thrown a ball. I’m very happy that I’ve had, hopefully, some
positive influence over some young men over the years.
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| Pete Varney scoring Harvard's historic 2-point conversion |
