John 'Doc' Hussey, a longtime journalist in New Hampshire, died Friday at the age of 65.
Among many other items in a notable career, he broke the story that forced Notre Dame to ditch football coach George O'Leary just days after hiring him.
Hussey provided the Union Leader with one of its biggest scoops when he detected something was amiss in the public-relations biography of University of New Hampshire graduate George O'Leary, named head football coach at the University of Notre Dame.
Seeking to do a local-angle story on the new head of the world's most storied college football program, Hussey spoke with several players and the man who coached the UNH football team at the time O'Leary was said to have earned three varsity letters. None of the men remembered O'Leary playing football. Hussey shared his information with colleague Jim Fennell, whose reporting ultimately revealed that O'Leary had falsified his resume, and the coach -- since named head coach at the University of Central Florida -- was forced to step down at Notre Dame. The Union Leader's coverage of the story earned numerous awards and national acclaim.
He may not have been a big player in national college football media, but his fact-checking thoroughly tarnished O'Leary's otherwise solid reputation and Notre Dame's football program has yet to settle on a reliable coach since.
