A large gathering of older men sporting Moeller High School blue and gold congregated at the Miami Boat Club Saturday to honor a man who commands instant respect from his long association with the school.
A 178-23-2 record, 12 Greater Catholic League championships, five Ohio state championships and four mythical national titles will earn you a statue and the occasional large celebration.
Around 1 p.m. Saturday when a white Moeller transportation van rolled into the private facility along the Little Miami River, Gerry Faust was given a hero's welcome. He turned 86 on Friday and this day was to honor him for helping mold many men of Moeller.
"For He's A Jolly Good Fellow" broke out as the architect of the school's football program got out of the van with his family waving like a national political figure. Actually, former House Speaker John Boehner, a Crusader football player himself, was among the gridiron greats awaiting to greet their former coach.
Former Moeller and NFL player Steve Sylvester was the organizer and local TV sports icon Dennis Janson presided over the event. Janson gave Faust a mini-microphone as the coach immediately launched into a pre-picnic pep talk upon arrival.
"I want to thank all of you for coming but more importantly I want to thank you all for making the decision to come to Moeller High School," Faust said. "You all make Moeller what it is. I'm very proud to be part of it."
After a few waves and handshakes, the coach was whisked to the back deck of the club and put on a chair on a stage. Quickly, former players lined up single-file as they might have as a child waiting to see Santa Claus. Most had nametags, but Faust could remember a snippet or two about them.
He told John Boehner (Class of 1968) he was proud of him. He jokingly sparred with other former Crusaders now in their 70s with quick quips like, "You need a haircut! You need a shave!"
Interviews with the retired coach are often interrupted as players repeatedly approach him, thanking him and asking for pictures.
"Moeller is a special place," Faust said. "It's a family. I always told coaches the wins on the scoreboard kept their job. But the wins of the hearts of the young men you're coaching to become winners in life are the real wins. Boy, we got a lot of real wins."
The reach of Moeller
Former Congressman Boehner, the Speaker of the House between 2011-2015 can attest to the name recognition of Faust and Moeller. The reputation follows all who have attended. It followed Boehner all the way to Afghanistan with his political colleagues.
"I was in a camp with 40 mujahideen (a coalition of guerrilla groups in Afghanistan)," Boehner said. "I'm wondering what in the hell am I doing here? My handler went to talk to somebody and one of these guys sat next to me. He looked at me and said, 'Hey, I went to Moeller too!' Half of them were us and half were real mujahideen. Here's a Moeller guy!"
Tough love
Bob Crable played at Moeller and Notre Dame for Faust before becoming a first-round pick of the New York Jets. His thoughts echoed what many of the former players said throughout the afternoon.
"They love him!" Crable said of the gathered players. "The cards that people wrote to him said something about love. He was probably one of the first people who taught us words of love in a team setting. When you learn that and have success with it, it's a domino-effect at that point."
Karl Woods (1977) bypassed Sycamore and came to Moeller when Faust took interest in him. As a linebacker, he went on to become the all-time leading tackler at the University of Cincinnati. He admits that Faust wasn't easy at times, but the end result can't be debated.
"The life lessons that he taught us made us who we are," Woods said. "All of us here have that to thank him for. He's molded us into being good men, good husbands, good providers to try and put a good footprint on society. The older I got like everyone else, the more we appreciated and respected what he did."
Following Faust
The Francisco brothers, Hiawatha and D'Juan ran for more than 7,300 yards as Moeller running backs. Hiawatha was only a freshman in Faust's final year at Moeller, but both played for him at Notre Dame.
"He's like a father," Hiawatha Francisco said. "The card I gave him today was a Father's Day card because he's like a father to me."
D'Juan Francisco says he has plenty of Moeller friends that he's still in touch with thanks to Faust introducing Hiawatha to Moeller, which led to him also becoming a Crusader. He again followed his older brother to the Fighting Irish and gives Faust credit for his time in South Bend which ended at 30-26-1.
"Whenever I see him I always thank him for the opportunity, even though I won a national championship under Coach (Lou) Holtz. We won a championship with a lot of guys Coach Faust recruited me at Notre Dame. I was part of a great high school and a great college because of Coach Faust."
It's coming up on 42 years since Faust last coached a game at Moeller. Hundreds of players received scholarships through their association with the program Faust built from nothing starting in 1962. Of Moeller's nine state football titles, five belong to Faust.
To those who fly the gold "M" on a hat or flag, he's a jolly good fellow, which nobody can deny.
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