Post by Pakachoag Phreek on Jul 14, 2019 10:11:00 GMT -5
Excerpted from an extremely long article on the 1919 football season, in which the author examines who were the best teams in the land. (T^his is the year that Harvard went to the Rose Bowl. Harvard and HC did not play that year.)
tiptop25.com/champ1919.html
But he [Gipp] was probably the greatest "all-round player" in Notre Dame history. He led the team in passing and rushing 3 straight years, accumulating a career total of 1789 passing yards and 2341 rushing, the latter a school record that stood until 1978, and he averaged 8.1 yards per carry. Defense? Allegedly, no pass was ever completed against him.
Like Centre's Bo McMillin, Gipp was a talented and prolific gambler when he wasn't playing football, and he had no use for academics. Unlike McMillin, he was a drinker who spent a lot of time in bars, and who only showed up for practice when he felt like it, which was about half the time. He passed just 1 class in the Fall of 1919, and was not attending classes in the Spring of 1920, so he was expelled, though Gipp biographer Patrick Chelland claims that the real reason was because Gipp had been spotted coming out of a banned nightclub. In any case, South Bend was thrown into full panic, and 86 prominent businessmen signed a petition to Notre Dame for Gipp's reinstatement. Dependent on the money that flowed in from those businessmen, Notre Dame had little choice but to accede to their wishes and reinstate Gipp.
But the drama was not quite over, because Michigan and Detroit were recruiting Gipp, as well as other Notre Dame players, to transfer. Gipp came very close to transferring to Detroit, who assured him that he would not have to attend classes at all, but Rockne was able to re-recruit him (likely with the help of a few prominent businessmen). Other players from the 1919 team, however, were successfully recruited away from Notre Dame by both Michigan and Detroit.
Like Centre's Bo McMillin, Gipp was a talented and prolific gambler when he wasn't playing football, and he had no use for academics. Unlike McMillin, he was a drinker who spent a lot of time in bars, and who only showed up for practice when he felt like it, which was about half the time. He passed just 1 class in the Fall of 1919, and was not attending classes in the Spring of 1920, so he was expelled, though Gipp biographer Patrick Chelland claims that the real reason was because Gipp had been spotted coming out of a banned nightclub. In any case, South Bend was thrown into full panic, and 86 prominent businessmen signed a petition to Notre Dame for Gipp's reinstatement. Dependent on the money that flowed in from those businessmen, Notre Dame had little choice but to accede to their wishes and reinstate Gipp.
But the drama was not quite over, because Michigan and Detroit were recruiting Gipp, as well as other Notre Dame players, to transfer. Gipp came very close to transferring to Detroit, who assured him that he would not have to attend classes at all, but Rockne was able to re-recruit him (likely with the help of a few prominent businessmen). Other players from the 1919 team, however, were successfully recruited away from Notre Dame by both Michigan and Detroit.
