By Jerry Ratcliffe
Like many of you, I was deeply saddened by the passing of 89-year-old Lou Holtz on Wednesday.
I had the great fortune of hanging out with one of the greatest football coaches in history, many times during my career, plus many phone conversations. My favorite encounter was the very first, when upstart Virginia was scheduled to take on Holtz’s Notre Dame team in the 1989 Kickoff Classic at the Meadowlands.
The Irish were coming off winning the 1988 national championship under Holtz, who was hired by my good friend and Notre Dame athletics director Gene Corrigan. Heading into the 1989 season, the Irish were ranked No. 2 in the preseason polls.
Virginia, coached by George Welsh, was expected to have a good season with quarterback Shawn Moore and wide receiver Herman Moore among its stars.
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