FITCHBURG, Mass.—Every good act deserves another.
After being inducted into the Fitchburg State University Athletic Hall-of-Fame in track, lightning struck again a second time for Armen Harootian.
Now he has a soccer star beside his name.
Given one prestigious nod for any athlete is rare, let alone two. Both honors befell Harootian in back-to-back years, making him one of the most celebrated athletes in college history.
“It’s certainly a tribute to be chosen by the school I so loved and respected,” said Harootian. “You don’t go looking for such recognition. Just being able to compete for Fitchburg was an honor. The education I received here as a young man proved indispensible.”
Harootian was part of a soccer team in 1960 that completed an undefeated season (10-0), and was also the New England Teachers College Conference Champion that year.
His team was then selected to represent New England at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletic (NAIA) playoffs in Philadelphia, only to lose in double overtime.
Harootian was among 14 players who scored 48 goals that season while giving up just 3 and recording 7 shutouts over the campaign.
According to Gene Cassasa, coach, this proved a dominant team but also one with the ideal combination of highly skilled players on both offense and defense. Harootian was a sophomore that year, playing with seven seniors.
Newspaper accounts of this success story made prominent headlines in the Fitchburg Sentinel with one sour twist: Harootian and his teammates were forced to decline an opportunity to contend for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) title due to a fund shortage.
“We didn’t have the money to finance the trip,” Harootian, now 75, recalled.
In track, after being told he wasn’t college material, Harootian was high scorer in every meet he entered all four years, setting records in the high jump, 440 and 880. Academically, he secured a degree in industrial vocational education while maintaining solid grades.
Harootian continued his exploits in the AYF Olympics representing Worcester, adding further pride to his vast resume. He piled up 122.5 points in the senior games, which ranked sixth all-time.
In 1974, he was crowned an Olympic King, joined by Lucy (Oulohojian) Almasian as Queen, another formidable Worcester athlete.
“We have AYF athletes solely, and then we have AYF athletes who’ve excelled in high school and college,” said best friend Harry Derderian. “Armen’s in the Hall-of-Fame for two sports and proved his talents on an AYF track. How many have been chosen with that achievement? He has to be classified as our best in many respects.”
In between all this, Harootian served with the U.S. Coast Guard Search and Rescue Team—a stint that extended eight years working out of a lifeboat station off Cape Ann.
The athletic talent was diligently passed down to his children. Son Peter was a gifted distance runner for Reading High, which ranked among the best programs in the state, and proceeded to rack up his share of AYF points for Lowell and Boston.
Daughter Amy wound up as the third best cross-country runner in California as a member of Loyola Marymount College. The mile record she set at Reading High held for 15 years. Another daughter, Patti-Ann, wound up giving notice as a productive gymnast and just finished a book on the Armenian Genocide.
Armen and his wife Pauline have reached the golden anniversary mark while making their home in Reading. Aside from their three children, they enjoy the company of five active grandchildren.
Retirement isn’t quite in Harootian’s book of ethics. Though he’s cut his hours, he still commutes 130 miles daily both ways to a jobsite in Smithfield, R.I. The corporate world has been kind to him, carving a respectable niche in real estate management and development.
“It’s not always about winning,” he tells you. “It’s not about the medals around your neck or the trophies you may earn. The bigger picture is using these experiences to your advantage.”
Tom Vartabedian
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