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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 2001)
Duck football adds to staff ■Oregon hires an experienced wide receivers coach, Southern California assistant Dan Ferrigno By Scott Pesznecker Oregon Daily Emerald Oregon head football coach Mike Bellotti may not have left to coach Southern California, but the Ducks’ coaching staff will import a former Oregonian from the Trojans. Dan Ferrigno, a 16-year assistant coach in the Pacific-10 Conference, has been hired to coach the wide receivers for the Oregon football team, Bellotti announced in a re leased statement Wednesday. Ferrigno doubled as wide re ceivers coach and special teams co ordinator in his first, and only, sea son with USC. The 47-year-old San Francisco native spent his previous four seasons with California, serv ing as tight ends coach the first three seasons and wide receivers coach in 1999. Last season, Ferrigno helped de velop USC sophomore receiver Ka reem Kelly, who finished third in the Pac-10 in receptions with 55 catches for 796 yards. The Trojans ranked third in the league in pass ing offense with 262.3 yards per game. He’s coached other standout players during his 26-year coaching career, including Tony Gonzalez, NFL All-Pro tight end; Nick Harris and Deltha O’Neal, first-team all conference special teams stalwarts, at California; and NFL defensive back Reggie Tongue at Oregon State in 1995. For the Ducks, he replaces Chris Petersen, who left to become offen sive coordinator at Boise State. “I have known Dan for almost 30 years and have personally been ac quainted with him for the last 20 years and have come to know him as an exceptional football coach, re cruiter and a person,” Bellotti said. “He develops great rapport with his players and fellow coaches and brings with him extensive experi ence in the Pac-10. “I believe he will have a tremen dous impact on our program.” Ferrigno is no stranger to North west life. He spent nine seasons (1987-1995) at Oregon State, coach ing the running backs through the first four years, then the secondary in 1991, the outside linebackers from 1992 to 1994 and the second ary again in 1995. He began his coaching career as an assistant at St. Ignatius High School in San Francisco in 1975, then advanced to the college ranks in 1978 as the wide receivers and tight ends coach at San Francisco State, his alma mater. Ferrigno worked with the tight ends and offensive line for the Golden Bears as a graduate student in 1980 and 1981. Ferrigno was then an assistant at Western Michigan for five years, coaching running backs the first two seasons, the offensive line the next two seasons, and the quarter backs in 1986. He was also offen sive coordinator in 1985 and 1986. Did Giants steal ’51 pennant? NEW YORK — The Giants stole the pennant! The Giants stole the pennant! For a half-century, fans of the old Brooklyn Dodgers claimed that’s what Bobby Thomson and the New York Giants did in 1951. Now, there’s evidence that maybe it hap pened just that way. The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday quoted Hall of Fame outfielder Monte Irvin, catcher Sal Yvars and pitcher Al Gettel as ad mitting they stole catchers* signs to overcome a 13 1/2-game deficit and win baseball’s most famous pen nant race. “Every hitter knew what was coming,” Gettel said. “Made a big difference.” Irvin said the Giants have nothing to be ashamed of. “Everything we did was on our own,” he told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “Our accomplish ments were true and genteel.” The AP reported the sign stealing on March 22, 1962, citing an unidentified source who was with the Giants. Stealing signs by players and coaches is a long-standing tradition in baseball. Opponents suspected New York Mets manager Bobby Valentine of employing cameras to do it in 1997 and Boston manager Jimy Williams accused Cleveland of doing it in 1999. Valentine, by the way, is the son in-law of Ralph Branca—the pitch er who surrendered Thomson’s homer that ended the 1951 pennant playoff. Thomson’s three-run drive in the bottom of the ninth inning at the Polo Grounds lifted the Giants over the Dodgers 5-4 in the deciding Game 3. The “Shot Heard ’Round the World” became the most replayed moment in baseball history, with Giants announcer Russ Hodges screaming, “The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pen nant!” Thomson said he didn’t take stolen signs when he connected off Branca. “It would take a little away from me in my mind if I felt I got help on the pitch,” he was quoted as saying. “My answer is no.” “Stealing signs is nothing to be proud of,” Thomson said. Several players said the Giants stole signs during home games in the last 10 weeks of the 1951 season. New York trailed the Dodgers by 13 1/2 games on Aug. 11 before mak ing up the deficit in only 53 days. The Journal said infielder Henry Schenz and coach Herman Franks relayed signals from the Giants’ cen ter-field clubhouse — the wall was 483 feet from home plate — to the bullpen with a buzzer system creat ed by electrician Abraham Chad wick. Yvars said he then relayed sig nals to hitters. “My wife never liked me to talk about it,” Yvars told the Journal. “She gets embarrassed” Franks refuted the account. “I haven’t talked about it in 49 years,” he said. “If I’m ever asked about it, I’m denying everything.” Irvin contradicted him, saying: “He’s sitting there with a telescope, and he’d relay it to the bullpen. ” Thomson homered with one out. At the time, Whitey Lockman was on second base and Clint Hartung was on third. Lockman said he was unable to pick up thasigns by Brooklyn catch er Rube Walker, who was playing in place of injured Roy Campanella. With a runner on second, as is the practice, Walker switched the signs and made them more elaborate. “I didn’t recognize the sequence,” Lockman said. Thomson and Branca are sched uled to appear together Sunday night at a Manhattan hotel at the New York Baseball Writers’ dinner, starting the 50th anniversary cele bration of that great moment. A few years after Thomson home red, rumors began to circulate that the Giants had stolen signs in late 1951. “When I heard those rumors and innuendoes, I made a decision not to speak about it,” Branca said. “I didn’t want to look like I was crying over spilled milk.” “Bobby and I are really, really good friends,” he said. “He still hit the pitch.” The Associated Press Super Bowl bet gets best of Giuliani NEW YORK — Mayor Rudolph Giuliani ate crow — uh, raven — Wednesday, when he had to pay up for losing a bet with Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley after the Giants lost the Super Bowl. “This is not easy. I’m not used to this,” said Giuliani, accustomed to winning bets with rival mayors when the Yankees play in the World Series. The Baltimore Ravens beat the Giants 34-7. So Giuliani reluctantly pulled on a white baseball cap embla zoned “Baltimore Ravens, Super Bowl champions,” and displayed the booty O’Malley won: Tickets to the Broadway show of O’Mal ley’s choice; one case each of Brooklyn Lager beer and New York City tap water; a copy of the Encyclopedia of New York City; several pounds of fresh striped bass (“right from the East River,” Giuliani joked); and a few knishes (“they’re like rocks”). Giuliani had also been sched uled to hoist the Ravens flag atop City Hall and bathe the building in purple light (one of the colors of the Ravens), but said he will wait until later this week so O’Malley can see for himself. “We were going to do it today, but he’s going to be in town Friday and wants to see it,” said Giuliani. The Associated Press ODE Classifieds... Worth Looking Into! 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