Hall of Fame
Amid the gentle silence and serenity of a South Bend, Indiana
cemetery, one finds a quiet grave site with the most modest of
headstones. "Knute Rockne - Father", reads the inscription.
Beneath the Indiana soil rests the remains of Knute Kenneth
Rockne, a Norwegian immigrant who was, without question,
American football's most-renowned coach. This man would
instill unparalleled spirit and enthusiasm in a team. From 1918
to 1930, Rockne's Notre Dame elevens were the toast of
national gridirons, running to a 105-12-5 record. Rockne's
electric personality and the stylish play of his teams captured
public imagination during the "Golden Age" of sports in the
Roaring Twenties. Five times, his clubs went undefeated as he
perfected such maneuvers as the Notre Dame Shift and guided
legendary athletes George Gipp, Hunk Anderson, Rip Miller,
and of course, the Four Horsemen - Harry Stuhldreher, Jim
Crowley, Don Miller and Elmer Layden. Then, on March 31,
1931, America and the world mourned the news -Knute
Rockne had died in a plane crash at Bazaar, Kansas... a hero,
fallen, but never forgotten. Will Rogers paid this tribute:
"Notre Dame was Knute Rockne's address, but every gridiron
in America was his home."
