Safety came first
>This is the second in a series of articles commemorating the 50th anniversary of Butler’s undefeated 1963 varsity football team.Terry Hanratty played a vital role in Butler varsity football putting together a perfect regular season in 1963.But not as a quarterback.A junior on that squad, the eventual Notre Dame and Pittsburgh Steeler quarterback started at safety for the Golden Tornado. He did not play quarterback for Butler until his senior season of 1964.“I had nine games of experience as a varsity high school quarterback,” Hanratty recalled. “The next game I played at quarterback was the season opener of my sophomore year at Notre Dame, against Bob Griese and Purdue.“There was a pecking order in high school. The senior was going to play, so I got to play defense. When I was a senior, it was my show.”But then-Butler coach Art Bernardi was pressured by the public to start Hanratty behind center in 1963 over returning starter Mike Zaccari.“No question, Terry was a talent,” Bernardi said. “But he had no experience at that point and Mike was the returning starter from a 7-2 team.“Mike fit our offense well. He ran the option almost perfectly. Besides, I liked to play my eventual quarterbacks in the defensive backfield for a year. It helped their development.”It helped Hanratty. And he helped the team as well.Hanratty intercepted 11 passes during that 1963 season. The Golden Tornado secondary picked off more than 20 passes on the year.“Mike was the safe choice to play quarterback that year,” Hanratty said. “He had the experience and we only threw the ball four times a game, whether we had to or not.“Art wasn’t ready to uproot his offense at that point. We were highly successful running the football and we had a big line. Mike was a good fit for what we were doing.“Butler was a lot like those great Steeler teams we had. Run the ball and play great defense. If you didn’t allow points, you weren’t going to lose,” Hanratty added.Though Butler went through the 1963 season unbeaten, Bernardi had to constantly explain the quarterback situation at public functions he attended.“People always thought we should do more,” he said. “I got a letter from Joe Paterno commending me for sticking to my guns and going with Zaccari. I still have that letter someplace.”Hanratty admitted that playing safety for a season helped him once he did step behind center.“I learned how a secondary reads a quarterback’s eyes because that’s what I did,” he said. “Where his eyes went was where the ball was going. That’s how I got all of those picks.“When it was my turn to play quarterback, I knew to look one way and throw the other way. You learn to look off defensive backs by playing defensive back.”Hanratty credited the pass rush for many of his interceptions as well.“A defensive back is only as good as his pass rush,” he said. “I played high school ball during an era when everybody ran the ball. But we stuffed opposing running games and forced them to throw it.”That theory held true in the waning moments of the WPIAL championship game against West Mifflin North at Forbes Field. The West Mifflin quarterback was hit by two defenders as he lofted a pass from the Butler 4-yard line in what was a 6-6 tie at the time.Hanratty stood in position to make the interception — with no one standing in front of him.“I was going 100 yards the other way easy,” he said. “It was going to be my easiest interception of the year. It looked like the ball was being thrown to me.”But a teammate inadvertently collided with Hanratty as the ball arrived. The ball sailed over his fingertips as he was knocked to the ground and the receiver caught the pass on his knees in the end zone for the winning score.Butler went on to suffer a 12-6 loss.“Just one of those things ... not much you can do,” Hanratty said. “But we had a lot of tough and talented kids on that football team.“We were the sons of steelworkers, coal miners, kids who just enjoyed playing the game. We just happened to kick the crap out of people while we were doing it.”Butler Football Hometown Heros will honor the 1963 varsity football team prior to kickoff at the 2013 season opener Aug. 30. Anyone knowing the whereabouts of players and coaches from that team are urged to call Kevin Vogel at 724-822-5291.
