In a rather well documented story from his youth, just after Jack Harbaugh had accepted a job at Iowa State as an assistant coach, his boys Jim and John were crossing the street to play with some friends when Jim was struck by a mail truck. The accident left Jim in a cast for about six months, he recalls.
Harbaugh recounted the story on his radio show back in November, here it is from the Detroit Free Press:
“John and I had gone to school, our first day at Roosevelt Elementary,” Harbaugh recalled of his brother. “First day we’d move there, found some kids to play with after school.
“It was getting dark. John said, ‘We gotta go.’ So we picked up our stuff and we’re running. I was trying to put my jacket on over my head all at once. And I was just following after him, and he crossed the street. Busy street there. The next thing I know, I woke up in a hospital bed. I’d got hit by a mail truck. Broke my leg in two places. Had a cast on for about six months. I was in the first grade. Second half of first grade.”
Well yesterday, almost 47 years after that incident, while recruiting in Iowa, as fate would have it, Jim ran into the driver of that mail truck on that fateful day, Dan McGivern.
Of course, the two shared Harbaugh's favorite beverage (some milk, of course), and Jim provided McGivern with a nice little plug for his job selling insurance.
What a truly unique story, and credit Harbaugh for having the frame of mind to take it Twitter to share it. His personal endorsement to his 1.31 million followers might lead to a nice uptick in business for McGivern, all this stemming from a fateful moment 47 years ago.