George Gipp

Most football fans and historians know of the famous 1941 film from Hollywood titled "Knute Rockne: All-American." The film had a segment in it where Coach Rockne inspired his Fighting Irish players to comeback at halftime in a game against Army in 1928. The rousing speech had the legendary coach firing up the juices of the players by telling them to "Win one for the Gipper!" But just who was the Gipper and why did the men respond so well to his memory?

Most football fans and historians know of the famous 1941 film from Hollywood titled "Knute Rockne: All-American." The film had a segment in it where Coach Rockne inspired his Fighting Irish players to comeback at halftime in a game against Army in 1928. The rousing speech had the legendary coach firing up the juices of the players by telling them to "Win one for the Gipper!" The Gipper was a former player of the squad that passed away a few years earlier with Rockne at his bedside. In the movie, Gipp was prtrayed by a young, future President of the United States, Ronald Reagan.

To many that line of win one for the Gipper is the only reference they have to Gipp. So who was George Gipp, and why did the great coach want his players to remember him and rally in his honor? Those are the questions we hope to answer here.

George Gipp was born on February 18, 1895 near the mining town of Laurium, Michigan. His father was a local minister, and young George was an exceptional all-around high school athlete. He was a fullback at the University of Notre Dame. The National Football Foundation’s website tells us that in four varsity years Gipp rushed for 2,341 yards. This was a school record that lasted until 1978. He also completed 93 passes for 1,769 yards, punted, and returned kicks. He scored 156 points, counting touchdowns, extra points, and field goals.

Gipp though prior to meeting Rockne and attending Notre Dame had no interest in playing the game of football. He attended the school in South Bend on scholarships for baseball, track, and basketball. He had never played organozed ball on the gridiron. One afternoon in late summer, just as school was starting, Gipp was out on the grounds of Notre Dame with some of his buddies doing what young men do, goofing around tossing the old pigskin around. Knute Rockne happened to be walking by during the recreational activity and his attention was fully drawn to the youngster Gipp, when the lad booted a darn near perfect drop-kick that traveled so sixty-odd yards in the air. The best part is that Gipp was wearing street clothes and merely kicked the ball to entertain himself. It was right then that Rockne, a great influencer and salesman of football, talked Gipp into coming out for the football team at Notre Dame.

It was the start to a wonderful relationship between player and coach. They handed him an old uniform in 1916, and he entred the first game against the Western Normals and he ended up scoring on a 63-yard drop-kick field goal. Then the balance of his collegiate gridiron debut went a bit poorly for Gipp as he suffered a broken leg. Season number two Gipp left the team and school to join the U.S. miliatary to fight in World War I. Soon after the fighting in Europe was over though Gipp returned to campus and resume his gridiron career. He was an unbelievable player. Standing just 6 foot tall and weighing 175 pounds, the athletic George Gipp proved to be a formidable force in college football. He was unmatched as a player by anyome of the time as he could throw, was fast, could drop-kick, and cut-back on a dime while running the ball, leaving many a defender in the dust. His leg though was a true weapon as he was known to nail drop-kick field goals from some 65 yards out. Gipp was a phenom at football once rushing for 332 yards in a single game.

Gipp though was a young man. With that he had a sense of adventure and wanted to experience the most out of life. George found himself partaking of many questionable escapades off of the field with this zest for life. A couple of them put him into some pretty precarious situations that Rockne had to rescue him from. Gipp would repay his guardian angel coach with some of the greatest feats the gridiron had ever seen. One of these was in Gipp's final collegiate game in November of 1920.

It was cold and snowy day and the Irish were up against what possibly could be their biggest test of the season when they faced off against the undefeated Northwestern Wildcats from nearby Chicago. Gipp was a bit under the weather that day, suffering from a severe cold. Rockne told him to stay home and get better, but Gipp showed up and suited up anyway. The wise coach played along with it, and intended to keep his star player on the bench all game. The game was close all day, and with just minutes remaining Notre Dame got the ball back trailing by a score. The Irish needd to capitalize on this drive a score a touchdown to go ahead. The crowd was going crazy calling for Gipp to enter the game. Many could see him on the sidelines all game but couldn't figure out why Rockne was not playing him. Gipp was inspied by the cheers and pleaeded with his coach to let him in on this series. Finally after much resistance, Rockne reluntantly sent Gipp in as a substitute. It was only a couple of plays, but the final one was spectacular.

24 Nov 1920, Wed The Birmingham News (Birmingham, Alabama) Newspapers.com

Gipp took the hand-off and used the interference of his blockers to perfection, He zigged and zagged, broke tackles, and scored on one of the most unbeleivable broken field runs of his career. Quite a way to end one's football career than to score an unexpected TD after sitting all day ill and winnign the game on the play.  The play and Gipp being at the frigid miserable weather game took it toll though. Gipps was hospitalized in critical condition only days later with a streptococcal throat infection and pneumonia. The entire student body of the South Bend school knelt in vigilance outside his hospital window in the snow as the young fullback laid dying. Knute Rockne as stated before was at Gipp's bedside.

It was no wonder that with a talent such as George Gipp that legendary Notre Dame Coach Knute Rockne would remember Gipps last words to him as Gipp laid in a hospital bed dying. Gipp had said. "Someday, Rock, when the team is up against it, when things are going bad and breaks are beating the boys - tell them to go on in there with all they've got and win just one for The Gipper. I don't know where I'll be then, Rock, but I'll know about it, and I'll be happy." Knute used those words some 8 years after Gipps death in a 1928 game against Army. The Irish were down by six in the halftime locker room but Rockne’s plea from the dear departed Gipp roused the Irish into a 12-6 comeback victory that may never be forgotten.

For years later, even after Rockne's untimely death the Fighting Irish were said to rally from certain defeat many times, in the spirit of George Gipp's final message to the team he played for. He was said to be the ghostly 12th man that helped guide the Irish to many a victory.

The National Football Foundation selected George Gipp for entrance into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951.

The banner photo is of an early sketch of Cartier Field, home of the Notre Dame Football Program from 1900 to 1928, drawn by unknown sketch artist.

A Very Special thanks to information obtained from the following brilliant internet sites: On This Day Sports, Newspapers.com, the book 100 Greatest Football Heroes by Mac avis, the Sports Reference's family of website databases & Stathead.com