Knute Rockne: All-American Catholic

Knute Rockne did more than anyone to put Notre Dame football in the map. He and his buddy Gus Dorais made the forward pass a major part of offensive schemes in 1913. He went on to be the head football coach at Notre Dame from 1918 through his tragic death in 1931. During that stretch he compiled a record of 105-12-5, with five perfect seasons and three national championships. He still holds the highest winning percentage of a major college coach. He was born in Norway in 1888. His father was a carriage maker who came to the United States in 1891 to show his innovations at the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago. The rest of the family came over after the fair in 1893 when Knute was 5. He played football with friends, but only one season in high school, only getting into one game. He joined the team and played tight end at the University of Notre Dame when he enrolled there in 1910. While there, he and his buddy, Charlie "Gus" Dorais, who played quarterback, developed plays that featured the forward pass — which was only recently legal in organized football, but was hardly used by offenses. Their success with deep throws in their November 1, 1913 upset win over Army changed football forever. Rockne was born and raised Lutheran, but the witness of his players going to Mass, of their own volition,  and what he saw as the strength their faith brought them, brought him to become Catholic in 1925. One of those players was Clem Crowe, who was team captain in 1925, and who is a great grand-uncle to our co-host, Tom Crowe. The picture in our show art is of Rockne and Crowe standing together observing practice. Rockne died tragically in a plane crash in 1931.