Friday, December 4, 1987/The Battalion/Page 9
a
Sports
Notre Dame on A&M’s tradition level
Horsemea the Gipper among Irish legends
By Anthony Wilson
Sports Writer
Tradition and folklore.
Notre Dame may be the only uni
versity in the nation that can rival
Texas A&M in those two categories.
The famed fa
bles of The 1
Four Horse- Viewpoint
men, Knute
Rockne, the
Gipper and Touchdown Jesus has
always fascinated and intrigued me.
So when Notre Dame alumnus and
author Robert Quakenbush sent a
copy of his 1985 book “The Gipper’s
Ghost” to The Battalion sports staff,
I snatched it up and read it.
“The Gipper’s Ghost” is a fictional
story set in the future. The once-
roud Fighting Irish football team
as been reduced to the laughing
stocks of college football, losing 22
straight games with no hope in sight.
The Catholic school’s “Number
One Fan,” God Almighty, who also
completed the first successful Hail
Mary, says enough is enough and
decides the time is right for a little
divine intervention.
The Big G sends down guardian
angels Knute Rockne, Notre Dame’s
greatest coach, and George Gipp,
Notre Dame’s greatest player, to sal
vage the hapless Irish. For the as
signment, Gipp is sent in from the
spiritual sideline known as Purga
tory, where he is temporarily staying
for spending too much time in South
Bend, Ind.’s pool halls instead of its
classrooms.
Back on campus, Rockne takes the
identity of Father Rock, the team’s
new chaplain. Gipp returns as a stu
dent and chooses the name Dutch
Reagan, in homage to Ronald Rea
gan who played Gipp in the 1940
Warner Bros, movie “Knute Rockne
— All American.”
Father Rock arranges for the
coach to discover Dutch playing in
an intramural game and the rest, as
they say, is history. The Irish win the
rest of their games, but have to win
their final regular season game with
out Dutch. God puts the whammy
on Dutch in the Penn State game
and lets a linebacker break his leg.
So the team has to look deep within
themselves after an inspiring speech
by Father Rock, a la Rockne. They
pull out the win against Southern
California, which is to Notre Dame
what t.u. is to A&M.
They lock up the national
championship when they beat Loui
siana State (WHOOP!) in the Sugar
Bowl.
It’s an amusing story, but the most
enjoyable parts of the book are the
true legendary Notre Dame tales.
The most famous player ever to
play at Notre Dame was tailback
George Gipp. Although he never
played high school football, between
1917-1920 Gipp rushed for 2,314
yards, a school record that stood for
58 years, and 21 touchdowns. He
lead the team in passing and rushing
all three years. In that era, players
had to play both ways, both offense
and defense. Gipp also excelled on
defense. Gipp never allowed a pass
to be completed in his area.
After his final game, he con
tracted strep throat, a serious disease
in the 1920s. The entire student
body kept vigil outside his hospital,
praying for his recovery. He died on
Dec. 14, 1920, two weeks after being
named Notre Dame’s first All-Amer
ican.
However, Gipp was far from be
ing finished having an impact on
Notre Dame football. In 1928, as
legend has it, Knute Rockne’s team
was playing an undefeated Army
team in front of a crowd of 90,000 at
Yankee Stadium in New York City.
The Irish had lost two games and
things looked grim. Before the game
in the locker room, Rockne stood up
in front of his team and gave his fa
mous “Win one for the Gipper”
speech:
“Boys, I’m going to tell you some
thing I’ve kept to myself for years.
None of you here knew George
Gipp. He was long before your time.
But you all do know what his tradi
tion stands for at Notre Dame.
“Well, the last thing he said to me
was, ‘Rock, sometime when the team
is up against it, when things are
wrong and the breaks are beating
the boys, tell them to go in there with
all they’ve got, and win just one for
the Gipper. I don’t know where I’ll
be then, Rock,’ he said. ‘But I’ll know
about it, and I’ll be happy.’ That’s all
boys.”
Supposedly by the time Rockne
finished speaking, a dry eye was not
to be found. When Notre Dame tail
back Jack Chevigny scored the Ir
ish’s first touchdown, he threw the
ball in the air and said, “That was
one for the Gipper.” The Irish went
on to beat the Cadets 12-6. The final
seconds ticked off the clock as Notre
Dame held Army on a goal line
stand.
In 13 seasons at Notre Dame,
from 1918 to 1930, Rockne estab
lished himself as the benchmark
against which all other college
coaches are measured. Rockne won
105 games, lost 12 and tied five. He
had five undefeated seasons and
three national championships.
He might have won a fourth
championship if he hadn’t been
killed in a tragic plane crash at the
age of 43. No coach, pro or college,
had ever surpassed his winning per
centage in major competition.
Perhaps the most famous football
backfield to ever lace up high tops
and strap on leather facemask-less
helmets was the Four Horsemen of
Notre Dame.
The backfield got its nickname
from sports writer Grantland Rice in
See Traditions, page 10
10 Commandments of Notre Dame and A&M
By Anthony Wilson
Sports Writer
Former Notre Dame head coach
Knute Rockne returns to South
Bend, Ind. from Heaven to help
uplift the Ir- _____________
ish’s sagging
football pro- Column
gram in Robert
Quakenbush’s
The Gipper’s Ghost.”
To aid in the effort, Notre Dame’s
"No. 1 Fan,” better known as God,
gives Rockne, who takes the name
Father Rock, two stone tablets with
some inscriptions to inspire the lads.
They are the TEN COMMAND
MENTS OF NOTRE DAME and go
something like this:
• The first commandment —
Thou shall not tarnish the image of
Notre Dame.
• The second commandment —
Thou shall always remember the im
portance of alumni contributions,
and score touchdowns accordingly.
• The third commandment —Re
member to always keep protected
thy quarterback.
• The fourth commandment —
Honor thy coach.
• The fifth commandment —
Thou shall not fumble.
• The sixth commandment —
Thou shall not get caught in the act
of committing a needless penalty.
• The seventh commandment —
Thou shall not sell thy Notre Dame
football tickets above their actual
face value.
• The eighth commandment —
Thou shall not be a hot dog.
• The ninth commandment —
Thou shall not covet thy opponent’s
cheerleaders. (The Aggies shouldn’t
have to worry about the Irish doing
that. I seriously doubt Timmy
Brown will be trying to set up a date
with a yell leader after the game in
Dallas)
• The tenth commandment —
Thou shall never lose to USC.
Not to be outdone by Quaken
bush and the Irish, the sports staff
here at The Battalion has devised its
own set of words to live by for the
A&M football team. Here are our
TEN COMMANDMENTS OF
TEXAS A&M:
• The first commandment —
Thou shall not sit, wear hats or boo
the quarterback during a game.
• The second commandment —
Thou shall always remember the
megabucks Old Ags contribute
(AMEN, BROTHER!), and make
yearly trips to Dallas on Jan. 1
accordingly.
• The third commandment —
Thou shall remember the second
commandment.
• The fourth commandment —
Thou shall not have a Mr. Potato
Head lookalike (under the guise of
Old Sarge) terrorizing little children
on the sidelines while masquerading
as a mascot.
• The fifth commandment —
Thou shall not let the kicker make
tackles on kickoff returns.
• The sixth commandment —
Thou shall extend a friendly invita
tion to bands whose schools’ football
teams have been caught screwing up
big time.
• The seventh commandment —
When the Ags score, so wilt thou.
• The eighth commandment —
Thou shall not wiggle in the end
zone and stand with arms crossed af
ter scoring a touchdown.
• The ninth commandment —
Thou shall not doubt Jackie, who in
his infinite wisdom, finds a way to
win.
• The 10th commandment —
Thou shall never lose to t.u. (Not
that we ever lose to anyone. We just
get, uh . . . outscored.)
Of course penance can be made if
any of these commandments are
broken. They can be bought in the
form of Cotton Bowl tickets which
go on sale for $25 at 7 a.m. Monday
at the ticket offices of G. Rollie
White Coliseum. The normal proce
dure for buying tickets, with seniors
and graduate students obtaining
tickets on Monday, will be in effect.
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
The State Department of Highways and Public Transportation
will hold a Public Hearing concerning the proposed highway con
struction on State Highway 21 from the Little Brazos River east to
the Texas A&M Annex; State Highway 47 from the Texas A&M
Annex south to Farm to Market Road 60; Farm to Market Road
60 from Farm to Market Road 2818 west to the Brazos River; and
Farm to Market Road 1688 from the end of existing Farm to mar
ket Road 1688 south and west to Farm to Market Road 60. The
meeting will be held in Assembly Room No. 2 at the Brazos Center
at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, December 15, 1987. Maps and other draw
ings showing the proposed locations and designs will be displayed
at the public hearing together with environmental assessments on
each project. The State Relocation Assistance Program, the bene
fits and services for displacees, and information concerning the
relocation assistapce office will be discussed. Tentative schedules
for right of way acquisition and construction will also be discussed.
All interested citizens are invited to attend this public hearing.
Verbal and written comments from the public regarding the pro
jects are requested. Comments may be presented either at the
hearing or may be submitted to Mr. Carol D. Zeigler, District En
gineer, at
P.O. Box 3249, Bryan, Texas 77805, but must be received no later
than 5:00 p.m. December 28, 1987.
Call and ask us about N.R.G.
—Provides a tremendous lift.
-Aids mental alertness.
—Reduces feelings of fatigue.
N o n - a d d i t: i v e .
- Doctor approved.
- $13.75 for 60 tablets
SHARON 764-3939 or LAURA 260-3908
sam -m§F aBm
DIAMONDS
Largest Stock in Area
ROUND
Our Price
Our Price
2.87
$8275
.78
$1095
2.05
$7280
.75
$950
2.04
$4850
.75
$1145
2.03
$4785
.73
$1175
2.02
$7650
.72
$1145
2.01
$5675
.71
$1045
1.83
$2900
.71
$895
1.55
$3675
.70
$775
1.26
$2525
.69
$760
1.17
$1395
.67
$815
1.16
$1345
.65
$975
1.10
$2250
.63
$715
1.08
$1975
.62
$775
1.06
$2375
.61
$715
1.02
$2685
.59
$930
1.00
$1950
.57
$695
1.00
$1345
.55
$865
.96
$896
.54
$695
.87
$1275
.50
$795
.84
$1025
.48
$695
.80
$995
.20
$165
.10
$63
.05
$35
This is only a partial listing.
30 DAY MONEY BACK GUARANTEE {exciucHitg lay-a-ways, labor &
mounting)
We have a wide selection of fine jewelry.
I •:
C7,
404 University Dr. East • College Station • 846-8905
Since 1958 one of Texas' oldest Rare Coin Dealers
Store Hours: Mon-Frt 9ain-5^0 pm > Set 9*3 jmS*
BOWL
$49.00
per room + tax
★ Closest Hotel to Cotton Bowl
★ Transportation Available to Game
★ Complimentary Parking
★ Indoor Heated Pool
★ Skyview Cafe & Lounge
★ Make your reservations now while
rooms are still available
(214) 421-1083
1011 S. Akard, Dallas, Texas 75215
1-800-492-9510 1-800-527-7606
in Texas out of Texas
Call Battalion Classified 845-2611