Notre Dame-Pitt: How Beano Cook nearly ended annual rivalry game
If you’re a longtime fan of college football then the name Beano Cook certainly means something to you.
Cook was a prominent college football media member and played a huge role in ESPN developing as a college football brand.
Notre Dame fans remember Cook for his prediction about Ron Powlus winning multiple Heisman Trophies, but Cook was so much more than just that.
The following comes from “Haven’t They Suffered Enough?”, Cook’s biography written by avid college football fan and Notre Dame graduate John D. Luckas. As you’d probably guess, the book has plenty of stories of Beano that involve Notre Dame.
Before his ESPN career that most of us knew him from, Cook served as a sports publicist at Pitt. It was in that role that he nearly ended the Pitt-Notre Dame rivalry in 1958.
Beano hated Notre Dame back then
“It’s impossible for me to explain just how much I hated Notre Dame at this time (1958). I hated them more than Penn State. It wasn’t only because we could never beat them in recruiting or on the field with any regularity. They not only had the media in their pocket; they had an entire religion behind their team. They had so many advantages.”
Celebratory right after beating Notre Dame
“When the game was officially over, I didn’t just celebrate, I went temporarily insane. I was so flush with adrenaline I ran out of the pressbox screaming my head off. I was so caught up in the moment, to this day I can’t remember exactly what I said.”
Beano let his potty-mouth fly!
“One variation of the story has me yelling “we beat those bastards!” Some say I was screaming “we beat those (blank) suckers!” Other people present that day insist it was “we beat those mother (blankers)!” It was probably some nasty, foul-mouthed concoction of all three.”
Who happened to be walking by right when Beano was going on this tirade?
“A group of priests, some of whom represented Notre Dame’s leadership, just happened to be crossing my profanity-laden path. Father Hesburgh (Father Ted) was one of them. I vaguely remembered the white collars and black suits.”
Beano had a talking-to
Pitt athletic director Frank Carver then received a call from Father Ted in regards to actions of this “wild man” as Hesburgh had put it.
Carver would tell Cook that “Notre Dame is a good friend of Pitt’s and I believe we are a good friend of Notre Dame’s. We want to keep things that way. Whether you like them or not, that’s immaterial.”
“If you have to insult somebody, don’t insult the one team that fills our stadium. Insult anybody else. Insult Duke.”
How to get the book
You can get yourself a copy of “Haven’t They Suffered Enough?” by ordering your copy on Amazon today.
Cook shares a lot more Notre Dame stories including more on his Powlus prediction, making tons of money off one of Notre Dame’s biggest wins in the 1990’s and the proper historical role of some of the great Notre Dame coaches all-time.
