USC's Fusci remembered for legacy of love for university
Donna Fusci doesn't think there's a whole lot her father wouldn't do for the University of South Carolina. He was even proud of the fact that the school's initials were in the middle of his last name, always having his license plate read "F-USC-I."
"We changed our name to have USC in the middle," Donna Fusci said. "No, we were blessed, and it seems that it was destined."
Dominic Fusci, a Hall of Fame USC tackle in the 1940s, passed at age 89 Wednesday night, leaving behind a legacy of unconditional love for his destined alma mater that is as colorful as the many stories and jokes he told.
A native of Greenwich Village in New York City, Fusci's accomplishments asn athlete include being the first and only lineman in school history to make the All-Southern Sophomore Team in 1942, the first tackle in the school's history to make the All-Southern Conference in 1943 and the only tackle in the school's history to make the All-Southern team playing offense and defense.
Fusci went on to be named an All-Pro for the American Football League in 1948.
In 1991 he was inducted into the South Carolina Athletic Hall of Fame, and in 1993 he was elected to the USC Athletic Hall of Fame. But anyone who truly knew Fusci wouldn't name off his athletic accomplishments to describe him. It was all about the stories as, after all, Fusci was a quite a storyteller.
Mike Safran, owner of The Gamecock Shop on Whaley Street and a close friend of Fusci's, recalled him coming by the store to tell an array of jokes and stories, the most famous of which involved a game against Clemson when there were too many players on the field. Fusci ran to the Clemson sideline to avoid the penalty and made his way around the stadium to get back to the USC sideline, but not before stopping a vendor for a hotdog to enjoy on the field. When the vendor asked Fusci for compensation for the hotdog, Fusci replied, 'Does it look like this thing has pockets?' in reference to his uniform.
Fusci stopped by Safran's store Tuesday and shared stories with former teammate and fellow Hall of Famer Lou Sossamon. Safran said that after visiting the store, Fusci and Sossamon hit the happy hour at the American Legion. Fusci also gathered some friends the next day for happy hour at Pawley's Front Porch before passing that night.
"We should all be so lucky to go out on our own terms, but that's kind of the story of Dom," Safran said. "Dom lived by his own terms."
Sossamon said that when Fusci called him on Tuesday to meet with him at The Gamecock Shop, he thought Fusci knew his time was coming to an end.
Sossamon can recall serving as Fusci's interpreter when Fusci first joined the team.
"I told him, 'You're going to have to change your language a little bit because you speak like a Yankee. You're going to have to learn to say "y'all,"'" Sossamon said. "I said, 'You say "you guys," but you need to start saying "y'all" and everybody will understand you better, Dom.' We had a good time together during our lifetime."
Sossamon went on to say that just as Fusci had USC in the middle of his name, he had USC in the middle of his heart, even though he was a New Yorker.
"Everybody liked Dom and his personality," Sossamon said.
Donna Fusci recalls her father showing his light-hearted personality even in discussing his memorial at Dunbar Funeral Home in advance of his death.
"So Dad's sitting there with this woman at Dunbar and she's not smiling a lot, so Dad's talking about wanting to be at Fort Jackson because they're going to have a crematorium there, but it's not going to be finished until then and he was worried about dying before then," Donna Fusci said. "The lady says, 'Well, what we can do is we can take your urn to Sumter, and when it does open, we'll return your urn and place you there.' He goes, 'You know, I really get carsick.' He didn't want to travel."
Jack Thompson, a Hall of Fame basketball player for USC, was witness to Fusci's compassion. He referred to Fusci as a humanitarian and said, "If that's not the legend that you want to talk about, I don't know what else you could talk about."
"Had it not been for Dom Fusci, I probably would've been ... kicked out by (then–USC coach) Frank McGuire," Thompson said. "When I was a freshman, I was read the riot act in front of a man I never had met before. Later, I found out his name was Dom Fusci. Not only was I being read the riot act, Frank was vulgarly attacking my personality and my whole character, expecting to send me home on the next train.
"And this man standing next to Frank, after having heard a number of profanities hurled in my direction, he plainly looked over at coach McGuire and said, 'Frank, give the kid a break.' Then Frank stopped yelling at me and cursing at me and said, 'Go get dressed and get ready for practice.'"
Fusci and McGuire had been friends, as Fusci was instrumental in bringing McGuire to coach basketball at South Carolina. The Gamecocks were 117-60 under McGuire's leadership, including two trips to the Sweet 16. Fusci had also helped in getting former USC baseball coach Sarge Frye, for whom the old baseball field was named, hired at USC. Fusci was a longtime season ticket holder, cheering the Gamecocks on at every game.
"He was just always here for all of the athletes," Donna Fusci said. "There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for them. He was like a father or an uncle. A lot of people still [called] him Uncle Dom."
Donna Fusci recalls that her father's favorite song was "My Way" by Frank Sinatra, which she admits is fitting for his personality. In an old photo, Fusci is smiling in front of a painting of faces in Safran's store; Safran commented that Fusci is not another face in the crowd.
"He broke the mold when they made him," Donna Fusci said.
The funeral service will be at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at St. Joseph's on Devine Street with a reception to follow. The Fusci family requests that in lieu of flowers, any donations should go to St. Jospeh's Catholic Church in Columbia or Pawmetto Lifeline.