Miami’s Cleveland Gary didn’t fumble. Just ask him. Canes great, others inducted into Hall
Miami Hurricanes fans still shake their heads about a controversial and to this day disputed call against Canes running back Cleveland Gary, which helped propel then-No. 4 Notre Dame to a one-point victory in No. 1 UM’s only loss of 1988 on Oct. 15.
Gary, now 55 and living in Stuart, was inducted into the UM Sports Hall of Fame on Thursday night, along with 17 others representing several sports. The ceremony encompassed the induction classes of 2020 and 2022.
“That’s all they talk about,’’ Gary said of old-time Canes fans, 450 of whom gathered at the Doubletree by Hilton Miami Airport Convention Center for the banquet. “I hear about it every day. It’s painful but it’s [also] kicks and giggles. It’s over.’’
The game, at Notre Dame, was known as “Catholics vs. Convicts.’’ UM had the ball on fourth-and-7 at the Notre Dame 11-yard line with about seven minutes left and Notre Dame led 31-24. Gary caught quarterback Steve Walsh’s pass inside the 5-yard line and lost control of it at the 1, officials ruled, and the Irish recovered. The UM faithful and many others insist he crossed the goal line before losing control.
Officials called it a fumble.
Gary said he “clearly’’ put the ball over the goal line. “He threw it behind me and I caught it and in my head I said, ‘I’m going to dive over and score.’ And that’s what I did. It wasn’t a big deal. It was a touchdown. Somebody said it was a turnover of downs. So everybody was confused. But the next day an official said it was a touchdown.”
Walsh, a fellow UM Hall member, said Thursday “it was a touchdown.’’
“As he reaches for the ball and breaks the plane and goes over it the ball comes down and then squirts out. I saw a touchdown.’’
Thursday, there were no arguments, just an exceptionally fun time had by the old-timers and the others who wore the gold blazers.
Jay Brophy
Former All-American linebacker Jay Brophy came from Ohio to celebrate his induction.
“In all honesty, I never thought I’d make it into the UM Hall,’’ said Brophy, 61, who played on the Hurricanes’ first national championship team of 1983 and was a 1984 second-round draft pick by the Miami Dolphins. “I was a pretty good player on a great football team. That’s what our success was all about.’’
Brophy led the Canes in ‘83 with 133 tackles and three interceptions and now coaches high school ball outside Akron, Ohio. He gratefully acknowledged the hiring of UM coach Mario Cristobal, who attended the banquet and happily mingled with those that came before and after him. Cristobal won national titles as a UM offensive lineman in 1989 and ‘91.
“He will be the difference-maker,’’ Brophy said. “He’s going to bring back a lot more meaning to the U than people even understand.”
Mario Cristobal
“It’s everybody’s goal to wear a gold jacket like that,’’ Cristobal said. “When you get to don one of those it means you’ve done things at the highest level. The best thing we can do is support them. Like when Steve [Walsh] shows up to practice the other day and he sits in the quarterback room. They already know of him, but when they hear him speak and feel his presence, that’s what changes the game for a current student-athlete.
“It’s not just a picture on the wall, it’s not a highlight film they saw. It’s an actual person completely bleeding orange and green.”
Linebacker D.J. Williams, 39, was also inducted for his contributions from 2000 through ‘03. He was a Butkus Award semifinalist in 2002 and started for the 2001 national championship team, recovering a fumble in the Rose Bowl title game. He was picked by the Denver Broncos 17th overall in the 2004 NFL Draft and spent 11 years in the League.
Williams now lives in South Miami and is the founder of clothing company Dyme Lyfe, which caters to UM followers. “We’re loud, fashionable fan gear, he said. Williams was asked to describe the Ibis and U-covered shorts and button-down shirt he wore to the event.
‘Summer line collection’
“I’m rocking part of the summer line collection,’’ Williams said, “basically some swimming trunks and a little fly button-up top. Our brotherhood is unlike any other, and now I’m basically in the top tier of that brotherhood.”
Mike Ward, 67, director of running at Carrollton Sacred Hearts in Miami and part of the 2020 induction class, coached at UM from 1997 to 2008. He was the Big East Coach of the Year in 1988 and had a penchant for getting future Canes football greats to join the team.
“One of the first things I did was go up to [former Canes head coach] Butch Davis and say I need more football guys,’’ Ward said, citing players such as Andre Johnson, Reggie Wayne, Ed Reed, Devin Hester, Santana Moss, Vince Wilfork, Phillip Buchanon (2020 UMSHOF class) and the late Sean Taylor as examples. “They were instrumental to our success.’’
Fellow track inductee Tim Harris, 36, now UCF football’s co-offensive coordinator, called the night “surreal.’’
“I’m very humbled being considered one of the best ever to do it here at this university,’’ he said.
Basketball inductee Shenise Johnson said she felt “blessed.’’
“I know everyone always says that,’’ Johnson said, “but a little girl from Rochester who never even thought about going to college, and now I’m in the Hall of Fame. It’s absolutely amazing and I’m extremely grateful.”
And this from basketball inductee Jack McClinton, 37, who graduated UM in 2009: “I can’t even tell you I dreamed of this moment because I never imagined I’d be here. It’s like a new world. I’m just soaking it all in and supremely honored.” for the opportunity.
▪ Class of 2020: Jay Brophy (football 1979-83), Phillip Buchanon (football 1999-01), Yasmani Grandal (baseball 2008-10), Johnny Hemsley (basketball 1996-2000), Brittney Steinbruch (soccer 2007-10), Laura Vallverdu (tennis 2007-10), Coach Mike Ward (track and field (1992-2008), Kevin Williams (football 1990-92).
▪ Class of 2022: Jeff Alkire (baseball 1989-92), T’erea Brown (track and field 2007-11), Lane Carico (volleyball 2008-11), Conny Falk (tennis 1989-91), Cleveland Gary (football, 1986-88), Tim Harris (track and field 2004-08), Shenise Johnson (basketball 2008-12), Jack McClinton (basketball 2006-09), DJ Williams (football 2000-03), Brittany Viola (diving 2007-11).
This story was originally published April 21, 2022 at 9:24 PM.
