Bobby Pope: George Gipp remains a Notre Dame great
It has been almost 100 years since the legendary George Gipp played football at Notre Dame, but there are still people who consider him to be the best to ever play for the Fighting Irish. I have never have been a Notre Dame fan but discovered a book recently entitled “The Gipper” by Jack Cavanaugh, which was written about five years ago, and learned a lot about the program’s first Walter Camp All-American and also a lot about their iconic coach Knute Rockne.
The most I previously knew about Gipp was what I gleaned from the 1940 movie “Knute Rockne, All American” starring Pat O’Brien as Rockne and future President Ronald Reagan as Gipp.
Gipp arrived at Notre Dame from Laurium, Michigan, as a 21-year old freshman to play baseball. He had never played organized football in high school and actually had not graduated from high school, which was also the case with Rockne. Rockne, as an assistant coach for the Irish, discovered Gipp while the star was punting and drop-kicking footballs on a recreation field and encouraged him to try out for football the team. Gipp immediately proved his worth drop-kicking a 63-yard field goal in a freshman game against Western State Normal (now Western Michigan) that gave Notre Dame a 10-7 victory.
Drop-kicking, which is now a lost art in football, was a Gipp specialty. Prior to most Notre Dame games, he would go to midfield and drop-kick 50-yard field goals to both ends of the field.
Reagan’s portrayal of Gipp in the movie made him out to be a choir boy, but according to Cavanaugh’s book, that was far from the truth. Gipp was a street-wise hustler who won big money while at Notre Dame playing poker, shooting pool and betting on Irish games, which apparently was not against the rules at the time. At halftime during the 1920 game against Army, Rockne chastised Gipp for poor play in the first half, reportedly telling him, “I guess you don’t have any interest in this game.” Gipp shot back, “Look Rock, I’ve got $400 bucks bet on this game, and I am not about to blow it.”
According to the book, it was not unusual for the entire team to be involved in bets on games, and one year the squad had $4,200 bet against Army. Gipp’s gambling success enabled him to live in the downtown South Bend Hotel Oliver during the majority of his time at Notre Dame.
Even though very intelligent, Gipp was not much of a student and was expelled from Notre Dame for poor grades and for not posting any grades for some two years. He was, however, reinstated before the start of the next season. Talent and toughness were not issues for Gipp. He could do it all: run, punt, pass and kick. He is still prominent in the Notre Dame record book, holding the season average of 8.1 yards rushing per carry as well, as several other marks.
As for toughness, in his final game at Notre Dame against Northwestern he completed 5-of-6 passes for 129 yards and two touchdowns while playing with a dislocated collarbone, a broken shoulder and a 104-degree temperature. The temperature was caused by tonsillitis, which resulted into a streptococcus infection that led to pneumonia, which caused his death at the age of just 25. His “Win one for the Gipper” proclamation, according to Rockne came on his death bed: “Sometimes when things are going wrong, when the breaks are beating the boys, tell them to go out and win over for the Gipper. I don’t know where I’ll be then Rock, but I’ll know about it, and I’ll be happy.”
Rockne, who delivered inspiring motivational speeches to his team, used the “Win one of the Gipper” speech against unbeaten Army in a 12-6 win in 1929. The only issue with the famous line is that Rockne was the only person to hear the plea from Gipp, and in general, no one referred to him as the Gipper.
Rockne reportedly had a penchant for embellishing stories for his benefit, and it is likely he did so for the Army game. Against Georgia Tech in 1925, Rockne read a telegram from his son Billy, who was supposedly sick and in a hospital, saying “Please win this game for my Daddy, It’s very important to him.” The next day when the team returned to South Bend after beating Georgia Tech 13-0, Billy, who was regarded as the team mascot, was jumping up and down at the train station, welcoming the players home. One player said he had never seen a healthier kid in his life.
Gipp never played against Georgia Tech. The teams played for the first time during the 1922 season, two years after his death. The Yellow Jackets and Irish renew the series in South Bend this weekend. Notre Dame holds a commanding 27-6-1 record in the rivalry.
Contact Bobby Pope at bobbypope428@gmail.com
This story was originally published September 14, 2015 at 5:01 PM with the headline "Bobby Pope: George Gipp remains a Notre Dame great ."