Mike Pecarovich

Michael J. Pecarovich (September 23, 1898 – March 23, 1965) was an American football coach and actor. He served as the head football coach at Loyola University of Los Angeles—now known as Loyola Marymount University—in 1928 and 1939, Gonzaga University from 1931 to 1938, and the University of San Diego from 1960 to 1961. Pecarovich also coached two professional teams, the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast Professional Football League and the San Francisco Clippers of the California-based American Football League.

Early life Pecarovich was the son of Croatian immigrants (his father Nikola was from Vis) born in Astoria, Oregon, Pecarovich attended Santa Clara University, where he played on the football team from 1919 to 1921 as a guard and an end. Pecarovich then transferred to Gonzaga University in Spokane, where he played football as a quarterback under head coach Gus Dorais. He graduated in 1922, and was an assistant under Dorais. In 1924, Pecarovich earned a law degree and passed the nowrap|bar exam. The Lions amassed a 5–3 record in 1928.

Pecarovich returned to his alma mater Gonzaga in 1931 to succeed Ray Flaherty as head While there, Pecarovich appointed Bing Crosby, a friend and former classmate, as an assistant coach, and made appearances in several movies alongside Crosby. He remained at Gonzaga through 1938 and compiled a record in eight seasons.

In 1939, Pecarovich returned to coach Loyola, which gave him a three-year contract; the Gonzaga administration agreed to release him from the two years remaining on his His second stint with Loyola was not successful, his team earning a record, and he was replaced by Marty Brill. He led the franchise to a second-place finish with a record in the eight-team league's only season. He later served as an assistant coach under Flaherty with the New York Yankees professional football team, He led the Toreros to a record over two seasons.

Later life Pecarovich earned a reputation as a skilled after-dinner speaker, He also used his oration skills during halftime pep talks, and people who knew both men compared him to Knute Rockne, who had been a famed motivator as the Notre Dame coach. Pecarovich died of a heart attack on March 22, 1965, in his home in Rolling Hills, California, and was buried at All Souls Cemetery in Long Beach.

He was the namesake for Pecarovich Field at Gonzaga, a $25,000 baseball venue which opened in 1967; it was renamed August/ART Stadium in 1996 and razed in 2003 to construct the McCarthey Center. The Gonzaga Athletic Hall of Fame inducted Pecarovich in its class of 1991.

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