McVay's sons honored by gathering of former Dayton football players to celebrate his life

Apr. 11—John McVay Jr. showed off his dad's Super Bowl XVI ring Monday night at the Presidential Banquet Center in Kettering. His younger brothers, Jim and Tim, wore rings of their own. Their dad gave them his rings from his first three Super Bowl victories with the San Francisco 49ers and then won two more.

Even at a distance, with close to 100 of McVay's former players, plus a number of his former assistants, watching the McVay brothers and others speak, the rings sparkled, but they were not the reason this group got together.

McVay coached the Dayton Flyers football program for eight seasons (1965-72) before rising to fame as the architect of the 49ers dynasty. The Celebration of Life event on Monday, held six months after McVay's death at 91, came about because of how special those years were to McVay and his family.

"This is just an overwhelming and humbling honor to be here," said McVay Jr., a 1971 Alter High School graduate who played wide receiver at Miami University, "and to see these men honor Dad with some of their wonderful memories and stories about how he was as a coach and as a man and what he did for them in their careers is just such a blessing. The Dayton Flyers and the Dayton community is where we call home. We grew up here. We love it here. We still have so many friends here. Trust me, we keep an eye on the Flyers all the time."

Among the people who spoke Monday was Betsy Nelson, whose late husband Mike Nelson coached with McVay at Dayton early in what would turn out to be a long career. She told a story of McVay signing a lease for them so the young couple could get into a house.

Walt Wingard, who grew up in Jefferson Township, told a story of getting called to the office at Jefferson High School during the recruiting process and meeting McVay, the mayor of Dayton, James McGee, and UD's Tom Frericks. The group also included Earl Morrall, who was then the quarterback for the Baltimore Colts. They picked Wingard up in a Cadillac and took him to the famed King Cole restaurant in Dayton. Wingard had already signed with Indiana, but McVay's pitch changed his mind.

There were many more stories told — enough to fill a book.

When McVay Jr. spoke, he wore the Super Bowl ring from the 49ers' first victory in 1982 against the Cincinnati Bengals. Jim McVay wore the ring from the second Super Bowl title in 1985 against the Miami Dolphins.

While McVay's sons experienced the thrill of watching their dad run a team that starred Hall of Famers like Joe Montana and Jerry Rice, they first marveled at the players he coached at Dayton — many of whom attended the event Monday.

"These guys were our heroes when we were like 12 or 13 years old," said Jim, a 1972 Alter graduate who played quarterback at Dayton.

Tim McVay, who graduated from Alter in 1974 and played defensive back at Indiana, was a ball boy for his dad's Dayton teams.

"These guys were like the Bengals or the Packers or the Rams or whoever," Tim said. "When I looked at who was coming back, I knew just about everyone. It's great. They're great people. The UD community, in basketball and football, is really connected, and this is just another example of them coming out to show their love for a coach rom a long time ago."

Tim's son, Sean McVay, the head coach of the Los Angeles Rams, sent a video message that played for the crowd at the banquet.

"I think about how fortunate I've been to even just have McVay as a last name because of the legacy," Sean said. "I was able to basically start on third base, and I try to work hard every single day to make sure to honor all the blessings that he's brought to me and to our family. I love you, Grandpa. I know that you're listening, but you are the most special man that I've ever met. And I thank you for the legacy and for the influence that you always had on me."

Eddie DeBartolo Jr., who owned the 49ers and hired McVay in 1979, also sent a video tribute. Like McVay's sons, he is pushing for McVay to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

"When I left the University of Notre Dame, I ended up attending the University of Dayton," DeBartolo said, "and it has always had a very special place in my heart. So many of you were roommates or friends of mine during that time, and I wish I could be there to see you all again. Back then, I didn't follow football much, and I didn't know that John McVay was the head coach and athletic director of the Dayton Flyers. Years later when I owned the San Francisco 49ers and Bill Walsh was our head coach, he suggested bringing in John McVay. This started off a very special relationship.

"Back in those days, our front office was small. It was me, Bill Walsh, Carmen Policy and, of course, John. John was the glue that held our organization together. He kept our 49ers on the tracks. It's no secret Bill and I had arguments and disagreements, but John was the one who would use his common sense, wisdom and remarkable communication skills to keep us all going in the same direction. John always knew the right thing to say, to smooth things over and get us refocused. Beneath all that humility was one of the fiercest competitors I had ever met. He was a great talent evaluator, and he has never gotten the credit he deserves for our five Super Bowl victories. It is one of the big disappointments of my life that John didn't get elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame while he was with us, but I promise to do all I can for him to join me in Canton."