His Arrival Happy Day for Rams

There used to be a comic strip character back in the old days named Happy Hooligan. He went around with a tin can on his head and a big grin and the outlook on life of a guy who just knew he was about to win a lottery any minute.

So, when the announcement was made this year that the Rams had picked up a tight end from deep in the depth chart of the San Diego Chargers named Hoolihan, or Hoolighan, you were tempted to clear your throat and say, “Uh, er, does he have this little tin can on his head?”

The point was, no one was quite sure who Peter Joseph Holohan was. He came out in the public mind as Who?lihan.

No one ever called Pete Holohan Happy, but, as a matter of fact, he is. He seems to enjoy football. In fact, he seems to enjoy life. A lot of guys in pro uniforms act as if they have been called upon to go cut cane or dig coal for a living. This Happy Holohan acts as if he’s locked in a candy store.

When he makes a catch, he runs back to the line of scrimmage, waving his arms and chattering, in case his teammates didn’t notice. He treats every game as if it were for the high school championship.

Naturally, he went to Notre Dame. A Holohan from Liverpool, N.Y., would have needed a note from the bishop to play anywhere else.

A George Gipp he wasn’t. He arrived at South Bend under the impression that he was a quarterback. But the Irish already had one. A fellow named Joe Montana. Holohan watched him and realized he only thought he was a quarterback.

Coach Dan Devine made him a flanker. Which was a little surprising because Holohan was not your basic ocelot on a deep pattern. He had, you might say, tugboat speed. But he had the hands of a pickpocket and the moves of a, well, if not a belly dancer, at least a guy running for a bus.

Also, since defensive backs, for some reason, all seem to go 5-foot-10 or so, they first had to climb him to stop him. Pete goes 6-4 1/2 and weighs just under 235.

He could catch anything that stayed in the air long enough. A San Diego coach once said of his sticky receptions, “Holohan could catch a dagger and not get cut.”

He didn’t so much have a career at San Diego as a seat. When he got there, the Chargers already had a tight end. A fellow named Kellen Winslow. Pete might have given some thought to going back to quarterback. Except the Chargers also had one of those. A fellow named Dan Fouts.

The Chargers drafted Holohan in the seventh round, which means they didn’t think they were getting the new Kellen Winslow, either.

He didn’t start a game his first 2 seasons. He only caught 1 pass in 2 years. But when Winslow got injured, he caught 98 in 2 years.

The Chargers knew he was too good to cut but not good enough to start. He just got a reputation as Winslow’s caddy. So, when the Rams got him--for a measly fourth-round draft choice--it’s questionable if they knew what they were getting. But it is a part of Ram lore that, on the second day on the practice field, defensive back Leroy Irvin, impressed, went up to him, whistled and said, ‘How in hell did we ever get you? “

In the second quarter of the “must” game against Atlanta last Sunday, with the Rams clinging to a precarious 3-0 lead, quarterback Jim Everett threw a pass that was headed out of bounds and into the seats. The Atlanta defender relaxed. It was a throwaway, he figured. Everett was saving a sack.

But running along the sideline, Pete Holohan leaped. He got only the fingers of one hand on the ball, batted it down like a defender into his other hand and fell to the ground with a 29-yard reception. It was shortly converted into another 3 points.

On the next Ram possession, with the ball on the Atlanta 30, Everett flipped a crossing-pattern pass to tight end Holohan who--well, dashed isn’t the right word. He kind of pounded down to the 1-yard line. From there, the Rams scored to go ahead, 13-0.

Those plays effectively broke the back of Atlanta’s game plan. Not good at the catch-up game, they went quietly. You might say they left at the half.

Was this an isolated instance of Holohan’s happiness? Hardly. His 8 receptions gave him 56 for the season. The 106 yards he gained on those receptions gave him 594. He’s nobody’s caddie now. He’s a big part of the Rams’ small-play offense.

You can call him Happy all you want.