Knute (pronounced "kah-noot") ("noot" is the anglicized nickname) Kenneth Rockne (March 4, 1888 – March 31, 1931) was an American football player and is regarded as one of the greatest coaches in college football history. For the coaching strategy game see NFL Head Coach. A head coach is a professional who is responsible for the overall actions of The University of Notre Dame du Lac (or simply Notre Dame) (ˌnoʊtɚˈdeɪm is a private Roman Catholic Research university located in The College Football Hall of Fame, located in South Bend Indiana, USA is a hall of fame and museum devoted to College football. Athletics Marathon International Races March 6 &mdash Pan American Games Marathon, Buenos Aires Events 51 - Nero, later to become Roman Emperor, is given the title Princeps iuventutis (head of the youth Year 1888 ( MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Events 307 - After divorcing his wife Minervina, Constantine marries Fausta, the daughter of the retired Roman Emperor Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive Team sport known for mixing strategy with Coach (baseball|Coach (basketball|Coach (ice hockeyIn Sports a coach or manager is an individual involved in the direction instruction and training of the operations College football is American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, Colleges and military academies ^[1] His biography at the College Football Hall of Fame calls him "American football's most-renowned coach. A biography (from the Greek words bíos (βίος meaning "life" and gráphein (γράφειν meaning "to write" is an account The College Football Hall of Fame, located in South Bend Indiana, USA is a hall of fame and museum devoted to College football. " He was a native Norwegian, and was trained as a chemist at Notre Dame. He is considered to be the father of the forward pass in football.

Early life

Knute Rockne was born Knute Kenneth Rockne in Voss, Norway, and emigrated while still a child to Chicago. is a municipality in Hordaland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Voss Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. He grew up in the Logan Square area of Chicago, on the northwest side of the city. Churches Logan Square has many churches along its boulevards including the historic Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church ( Minnekirken) located on the public square and Learned to play football in his neighborhood and later played end in a local group called the Logan Square Tigers. He attended North West Division High School in Chicago playing football and also running track.

After Rockne finished high school, he took a job as a mail dispatcher with the Chicago Post Office for four years. When he was 22, he had saved enough money to continue his education. Knute Rockne headed to South Bend, Indiana, to finish his schooling. South Bend is a city on the St Joseph river and a twin city of Mishawaka Indiana. He was the laboratory assistant to noted polymer chemist Julius Arthur Nieuwland at Notre Dame, but rejected further work in chemistry after receiving an offer to coach football. Polymer chemistry or macromolecular chemistry is a multidisciplinary Science that deals with the Chemical synthesis and chemical properties of Reverend Julius Arthur Nieuwland, CSC PhD, (February 14 1878&ndashJune 11 1936 was a Belgian -born Holy Cross Priest and professor Chemistry (from Egyptian kēme (chem meaning "earth") is the Science concerned with the composition structure and properties

Notre Dame coach

Portions of this section are adapted from Murray Sperber's book Shake Down The Thunder: The Creation of Notre Dame Football

As head coach of the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana from 1918 to 1930, he set the greatest all-time winning percentage of 88. Murray Sperber taught at Indiana University, Bloomington from 1971-2004 and is now a Professor Emeritus of English and American studies of the school For the coaching strategy game see NFL Head Coach. A head coach is a professional who is responsible for the overall actions of The University of Notre Dame du Lac (or simply Notre Dame) (ˌnoʊtɚˈdeɪm is a private Roman Catholic Research university located in South Bend is a city on the St Joseph river and a twin city of Mishawaka Indiana. 1%, since eclipsed but still the best percentage in Division I-A. During 13 years as head coach, he oversaw 105 victories, 12 losses, 5 ties, and 6 national championships, including 5 undefeated seasons without a tie. His players included George 'Gipper' Gipp and the "Four Horsemen" (Harry Stuhldreher, Don Miller, Jim Crowley, and Elmer Layden), and Frank Leahy. George "The Gipper" Gipp ( February 18, 1895 &ndash December 14, 1920) was a famous College football player who played The Four Horsemen of Notre Dame comprised a winning group of football players at the University of Notre Dame under coach Knute Rockne. Harry Augustus Stuhldreher ( October 14, 1901 — January 26, 1965) was a three-time All-American Quarterback and member of Don Miller ( May 30, 1902 - July 28, 1979) was an American football player and coach James H "Jim" Crowley ( September 10 1902 – January 15 1986) American Football player and coach born in Chicago Elmer Francis Layden ( May 4, 1903 &ndash June 30, 1973) served as Commissioner of the National Football League and as head Francis William Leahy (August 27 1908&ndashJune 21 1973 was an American collegiate football coach

Rockne introduced the "shift", with the backfield lining up in a T formation and then quickly shifting into a box formation to the left or right just as the ball was snapped. It remained a staple in the Notre Dame playbook until it was discarded by Frank Leahy in 1942 in favor of the T. Francis William Leahy (August 27 1908&ndashJune 21 1973 was an American collegiate football coach Rockne is also credited with popularizing the forward pass, a seldom used play at the time. ^[2]

Rockne was also shrewd enough to recognize that intercollegiate sports had a show business aspect to it and so he worked hard promoting Notre Dame football so as to make it financially successful. He used his considerable charm to actively court favor from the media, which then consisted of newspapers, wire services and radio stations and networks, so as to obtain free advertising for his Notre Dame football product. He was very successful as an advertising pitchman, for South Bend based Studebaker and other products. South Bend is a city on the St Joseph river and a twin city of Mishawaka Indiana. Studebaker Corporation, or simply Studebaker, was a United States Wagon and Automobile manufacturer based in

For all his success, Rockne made what an Associated Press writer called "one of the greatest coaching blunders in history. The Associated Press ( AP) is an American News agency. The AP is a Cooperative owned by its contributing Newspapers radio "^[3] Instead of coaching his 1926 team against Carnegie Tech, Rockne traveled to Chicago for the Army-Navy Game in order to "write newspaper articles about it, as well as select an All-America football team. This article is about a center of higher learning For the foundation which supports scientific research refer to the Carnegie Institution of Washington. "The Army-Navy Game" redirects here For the episode of M*A*S*H, see The Army-Navy Game (M*A*S*H episode. "^[3] Carnegie Tech used the coach's absence as motivation for a 19–0 win; the upset likely cost the Irish a shot at the national title. An upset occurs in a Competition, frequently in electoral Politics or Sports, when the party popularly expected to win (the favourite ^[3]

Raised as a Protestant, Rockne converted to Catholicism later in his life.

Head coaching record

Plane crash

Main article: TWA Flight 599

Rockne was only 43 when he died in a plane crash in Kansas on March 31, 1931, while en route to participate in the production of the film The Spirit of Notre Dame. Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, United States The 1922 college football season had a number of unbeaten and untied teams and no clear-cut champion The 1923 college football season saw several teams finish their seasons unbeaten and untied The 1924 college football season was the year of the Four Horsemen as the Notre Dame team coached by Knute Rockne, won all of its games including the The 1925 Rose Bowl was a College football Bowl game. It was the 11th Rose Bowl Game. The 1925 college football season ended with the University of Alabama's recognition as a football powerhouse The 1926 college football season was the first to attempt recognition of a national champion The 1927 college football season ended with the Illini of the University of Illinois (7-0-1 being recognized as champion under the Dickinson system The 1928 college football season had the USC Trojans recognized as champions under the Dickinson system but the Rose Bowl was contested between the #2 and #3 teams California and Georgia The 1929 college football season saw a number of unbeaten and untied teams The 1930 college football season saw Notre Dame repeat as national champion under the Dickinson system and a post-season Rose Bowl matchup between two unbeaten (9-0-0 teams Transcontinental and Western Air Flight 599 was a Fokker F10 Trimotor en route from Kansas City Missouri, to Los Angeles California, on March 31 Kansas ( is a Midwestern state in the central region of the United States of America, an area often referred to as the American " Shortly after taking off from Kansas City, where he had stopped to visit his two sons, Bill and Knute Jr. , who were in boarding school there at the Pembroke-Country Day School, one of the Fokker Trimotor aircraft's wings separated in flight. The Pembroke Hill School (commonly known as Pembroke Hill) is a Nonsectarian, Coeducational private preparatory school in WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Authorities and aviation journalists at first speculated that the plane came apart after penetrating a thunderstorm and experiencing strong turbulence and icing, which, it was suspected, blocked the venturi tube that provided suction to drive the flight instruments. The Venturi effect is the fluid pressure that results when an incompressible fluid flows through a constricted section of pipe That was thought to have resulted in a graveyard spiral under instrument flight conditions and structural failure from excessive load. But this hypothesis was not backed up by meteorological records and observations; there was no isolated thunderstorm cell or other notable buildup in the area. Also, the failure involved the sturdy wing, not the tail surfaces. A long, thorough and well publicized investigation concluded that the Fokker, operated by a company of the newly-formed TWA, broke up in clear weather due to fatigue cracks in its famous cantilever stressed plywood wing, around where one of the engine mounting struts joined. Trans World Airlines ( TWA) renamed TWA Airlines LLC in 2001 was a major U

The Fokker Super Universal fleet was inspected and grounded after similar cracks were found in many examples, ruining the manufacturer's American reputation (the Dutch designer Anthony Fokker was then in business in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey). WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Hasbrouck Heights is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. This resulted in a complete overhaul of standards for new transport aircraft and led to the use of all-metal construction in commercial aircraft such as the Boeing 247 and Douglas DC-2. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout The Douglas DC-2 was a 14 seat twin-propeller Airliner produced by the Douglas Aircraft Corporation starting in 1934. The Rockne crash dominated the news for a while and was thus a tragic catalyst in the progress of civil aviation. The plane crashed into a wheat field near Bazaar, Kansas, killing a total of eight individuals including Rockne. Bazaar is an unincorporated community of about 80 people in Chase County, Kansas, United States. ^[4] President Herbert Hoover called Rockne's death "a national loss. Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10 1874 &ndash October 20 1964 was the thirty-first President of the United States (1929–1933 "^[5]

The wreckage of a Fokker F10A Trimotor in which Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne was killed near Bazaar, Kansas.

On the spot where the plane crashed, a memorial dedicated to the victims stands surrounded by a wire fence with wooden posts. The memorial was maintained for many years by James Easter Heathman, who, at age thirteen in 1931, was one of the first people to arrive at the site of the tragedy. James Easter Heathman, also known as J E Heathman, ( April 7, 1917 - January 29, 2008) was an American former Farmer ^[5] In 2006, he was given an honorary monogram by the University of Notre Dame for his dedication to remembering the life of Rockne. A monogram is a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other Graphemes to form one Symbol. ^[5] Mr. Heathman passed away on January 29, 2008, at age 90 following a bout with pneumonia. Events 904 - Sergius III comes out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed Antipope Christopher. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common ^[6][5]

Rockne was buried in Highland Cemetery in South Bend, and a student gymnasium building on campus is named in his honor, as well as a street in South Bend, and a travel plaza on the Indiana Toll Road. South Bend is a city on the St Joseph river and a twin city of Mishawaka Indiana. The Indiana Toll Road, officially the Indiana East-West Toll Road, is a tolled Highway running east-west across the northernmost part of Indiana In addition to these tributes, the town of Rockne, Texas was named to honor him. The Matfield Green travel plaza on the Kansas Turnpike, near Bazaar, contains a memorial to him. Matfield Green is a city in Chase County, Kansas, United States. The Kansas Turnpike is a 236-mile (380-km Freeway -standard Toll road that lies entirely within the U

Legacy

Actor Pat O'Brien portrayed Rockne in the 1940 Warner Brothers film Knute Rockne, All American. Pat O'Brien ( November 11, 1899 – October 15, 1983) was an American movie actor with over 100 screen credits Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Warner Bros Entertainment Inc (or Warner Bros, Warner Bros Pictures) is one of the world's largest producers of Film and Knute Rockne All American is a 1940 biographical film which tells the story of Knute Rockne, perhaps the most famous of all of the football

Rockne was not the first coach to use the forward pass, but he helped popularize it, especially on the East Coast. In several forms of Football a forward pass is when the ball is thrown in the direction of the opponent's end line Most football historians agree that a few schools, notably Saint Louis University, Michigan, and Minnesota, had passing attacks in place well before Rockne arrived at Notre Dame. Saint Louis University (also known as SLU) is a private co-educational Jesuit University in the United States of America located in Few of the major Eastern teams used the pass, however. In the summer of 1913, while he was a life guard on the beach at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio, Rockne and his college teammate and roommate Gus Dorais worked on passing techniques. Cedar Point is a 364 acre (15 km² Amusement park located in Sandusky, Ohio, U Sandusky is a city in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Erie County. Charles Emile "Gus" Dorais ( July 2, 1891 in Chippewa Falls WI – January 3, 1954 in Birmingham MI) was That fall, Notre Dame upset heavily favored Army, 35-13, at West Point thanks to a barrage of Dorais-to-Rockne passes. The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. "USMA" redirects here For other uses see USMA (disambiguation The United States Military Academy (also known as USMA, The game played an important role in displaying the potency of the forward pass and "open offense" and convinced many coaches to consider adding a few pass plays to their play books. The game is dramatized in the movie, "The Long Gray Line. The Long Gray Line is a 1955 Drama film directed by John Ford. "

In 1988, the United States Postal Service honored Rockne with a postage stamp. President Ronald Reagan, who played George Gipp in the movie "Knute Rockne, All American," gave an address at the Athletic & Convocation Center at the University of Notre Dame on March 9, 1988, and officially unveiled the Rockne stamp. George "The Gipper" Gipp ( February 18, 1895 &ndash December 14, 1920) was a famous College football player who played Knute Rockne All American is a 1940 biographical film which tells the story of Knute Rockne, perhaps the most famous of all of the football Events 590 - Bahram Chobin is crowned as king Barham VI of Persia. Year 1988 ( MCMLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link displays 1988 Gregorian calendar)

A biographical musical of Rockne's life is to premiere at the Theatre at the Center in Munster, IN, on April 3, 2008. Munster is a town in North Township, Lake County, in northwestern Indiana in the United States. The musical is based on a play and mini-series by Buddy Farmer. ^[7]

Rockne was enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951 as a charter member and in the Indiana Football Hall of Fame. The College Football Hall of Fame, located in South Bend Indiana, USA is a hall of fame and museum devoted to College football. The Indiana Football Hall of Fame is a sports museum and hall of fame in Richmond Indiana.

Taylorville, Illinois, dedicated the street next to the football field as "Knute Rockne Road". Taylorville is a city in Christian County, Illinois, United States.

Personal

Rockne was married to Bonnie Skiles. They had four children.

References

• Knute Rockne - All American – A biographical movie portraying the life of Knute Rockne. Knute Rockne All American is a 1940 biographical film which tells the story of Knute Rockne, perhaps the most famous of all of the football

• Murray Sperber, Shake Down the Thunder: The Creation of Notre Dame Football

External links

• The Official Knute Rockne Web Site – Hosted by CMG Worldwide, and endorsed by Rockne grandson Nils Rockne
• The Unofficial Homepage Of Knute Rockne – By Rockne relative Birger Rokne of Voss, Norway
• ESPN.com article about the site of Rockne's fatal crash – By Ivan Maisel
• Knute Rockne at Find A Grave