George Gipp

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Memorial to George Gipp in his hometown of Laurium

George Gipp (born  February 18, 1895 in Laurium , Michigan , †  December 14, 1920 in South Bend , Indiana ) was an American American football player . He played college football for the University of Notre Dame team from 1917 to 1920 , and was voted the first All-American in the history of Notre Dame Fighting Irish in 1920. Due to his early death and a legend passed down through his trainer Knute Rockne about the words "win just one for the Gipper", which were supposedly uttered as a last wish, the memory of George Gipp is part of the sporting traditions of the University of Notre Dame to this day.

Life

The grave of George Gipp in Lake View Cemetery in Calumet, Michigan

George Gipp was born in Laurium , Michigan , in 1895 and began studying at the University of Notre Dame in 1917 . After he had planned to play baseball at the university , he switched to the football team of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish under the influence of Knute Rocknes , the football coach at the University of Notre Dame . He then played in various positions, including halfback , quarterback and punter , and is still considered one of the most versatile players in the history of college football to this day .

George Gipp achieved a total of 21 touchdowns , 2,341 yards in running plays and 1,789 yards through passes, and was the team's best player in both categories in 1918, 1919 and 1920. He died in 1920 at the age of 25 in a hospital in South Bend at a pneumonia due to streptococcal infection . At the time, this could not be treated effectively because effective antibiotics were not yet known.

Legend

Eight years after the death of George Gipp, Knute Rockne motivated the team of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during a game against the team of the United States Military Academy ( Army ) on November 10, 1928 at half-time by pointing out that Gipp was dying would have asked to tell the players in a particularly difficult game that they should win that game for him. However, it is not certain that he actually made such a request before his death. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish won the game 12-6.

The words of George Gipp handed down by Knute Rockne - "win just one for the Gipper" - were used by the then US President Ronald Reagan during the Republican National Convention in 1988 to motivate his successor candidate George HW Bush to campaign. Ronald Reagan was an actor prior to his political career and played the role of George Gipp in the 1940 film Knute Rockne, All American .

Awards

George Gipp was voted the first All-American in sports history at the University of Notre Dame by football coach and sports journalist Walter Camp two weeks before his death . In December 1951, he was posthumously inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame . Sports broadcaster ESPN put him at number 22 on a list of the 25 best college football players of all time in 2008.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Edward J. Rielly: Football: An Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln 2009, ISBN 0-8032-9012-8 , p. 137
  2. ↑ College Football Hall of Fame ( Memento June 10, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ ESPN: 25 Greatest Players In College Football Published January 2, 2008 (last accessed August 4, 2012)

literature

  • Gipp, George (the Gipper) (1895-1920). In: Edward J. Rielly: Football: An Encyclopedia of Popular Culture. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln 2009, ISBN 0-8032-9012-8 , pp. 137/138
  • Gipp, George. Michael R. Steele: The Fighting Irish Football Encyclopedia. Sports Publishing LLC, Champaign 2002, ISBN 1-58261-286-2 , pp. 380/381
  • George Gipp. In: Rafer Johnson: Great Athletes: Football. Salem Press, Pasadena 2009, ISBN 1-58765-474-1 , Volume 1, p. 159

Further publications

  • Patrick Chelland: One for the Gipper: George Gipp, Knute Rockne and Notre Dame. Panoply Publications, North Hollywood 1973, ISBN 0-9818391-0-X
  • Jack Cavanaugh: The Gipper: George Gipp, Knute Rockne, and the Dramatic Rise of Notre Dame Football. Skyhorse Publishers, New York 2010, ISBN 1-61608-110-4

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Gipp, George
ALTERNATIVE NAMES The Gipper (nickname)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American football player
DATE OF BIRTH February 18, 1895
PLACE OF BIRTH Laurium , Michigan , United States
DATE OF DEATH December 14, 1920
Place of death South Bend , Indiana , United States