Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 4, 1995 TAG: 9505040085
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: ANDREA KUHN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LEXINGTON LENGTH: Medium
For many at the funeral of Gary Fallon on Wednesday, one card on a single arrangement of flowers said it all:
``Thank you for making us the men we are today.''
More than 500 people packed Lee Chapel on the campus of Washington and Lee to remember Fallon, the football coach at W&L for the past 17 years, who died Saturday of an apparent heart attack at the age of 56.
Many of the mourners were current and former players who remembered Fallon as a fierce competitor who taught them not only lessons on the gridiron, but lessons in life.
``I mean no disrespect to academics at Washington and Lee, but I maintain I learned more about being successful in life from Coach Fallon than in any of my classes,'' said Glenn Kirschner, a W&L player from 1980-84 who spoke at the funeral service.
``He taught me dedication and sacrifice and he instilled in me a fierce sense of loyalty. He was a real family, God and country man.''
John Surface played football at W&L and was a captain on the 1993 team. His brothers, Frank and David Surface, also played for Fallon.
``Obviously, it's tough to put into words what he meant, not only to my family but to the W&L community as a whole,'' John Surface said. ``The thing I remember most about him was his passion. He was the best motivator because he cared so much about his players and the game. There wasn't an ounce of falseness or untruth in him.''
But there was strictness and a rigid ability to tell it like it was in a rough New York accent.
Fallon gave William Propst a second chance last year after he quit the team in 1993. Before the season began, Fallon said he respected Propst for telling him to his face he planned to quit and for having the courage to ask to rejoin the team.
``But that was just him,'' Propst said Wednesday. ``He was a man of dignity. I told Mrs. [Patricia] Fallon that I was so glad I was able to make peace with him because he was such a great man. I think I finally made him proud.''
Frank Miriello, who was an assistant under Fallon for 10 years, also made a tearful speech in honor of the man he called his mentor and best friend.
``He had a passion for life, for teaching and for caring,'' Miriello said. ``He possessed a fire and a never-surrender mentality.''
Fallon starred in football and lacrosse at Syracuse University from 1958-62 and was a member of the Orangemen's 1959 national championship football team. He also wrestled at Syracuse, where he earned a bachelor's degree and master's degree.
Fallon played three years of professional football and served two years of active duty and four years of reserve duty in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Fallon was 76-85-1 at Washington and Lee, where he was named coach of the year in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference three times. He won ODAC championships in 1981 and 1985.
In the off-season, Fallon was an official for collegiate lacrosse games and worked games in the ACC and NCAA tournaments.
The last lacrosse game Fallon officiated was April 22, Virginia Tech at Radford. The night before he had done Virginia-Duke in the ACC tournament. He was scheduled to officiate a high school game Saturday night, but had called officiating supervisor Bob Sandell during the week to say he had taken a shot of cortisone to help relieve a bone spur in his foot.
``He was one of the top guys in the country,'' said Sandell, who was at the funeral. ``Oh God, let me tell you, that hit me about as hard as anything has hit me in a long time. Of all our guys, he was in the best physical shape of all of them. What a shock.''
Present team members plan to establish a memorial scholarship fund in honor of Fallon. Donations can be made by calling the W&L Development Office at (703) 463-8410.
In addition to his wife, Patricia, Fallon is survived by his mother, Mary Campisi Fallon; a brother, Patrick T. Fallon; three daughters and sons-in-law, Kelly and Eliseo Cidre, Carrie and Jeff Ax, and Susan and Richard Poli; and seven grandchildren.
by CNB