Description:
How good a coach was Knute Rockne? It hardly matters. Killed in a plane crash at the height of his fame, his 1931 death was dubbed "a national disaster" by President Hoover, and his fable was forever set as a leader of men and the father of the Fighting Irish. Still, this son of Norwegian immigrants was good enough to have deserved most of the legend he so carefully and systematically constructed around himself. In 12 years at Notre Dame, he transformed a regional Catholic college into a football powerhouse of national interest. His teams marched through a stunning five seasons without a loss. When the famed "Four Horsemen" in his backfield flagged, he had the memory of George "Win one for the Gipper!" Gipp, a true reprobate who in no way resembles the sappy deathbed myth Rockne perpetuated, to wave for inspiration. The Rock's knowledge of the game and talent as a coach wasn't nearly as important or lasting as his unabashed ability to promote and market his school, his players, his program, and, ultimately, himself. A solid sports biographer, Ray Robinson has previously parsed the lives of Lou Gehrig and Christy Mathewson. Here, he takes the stone statue that has come down to us of St. Knute and dusts it off until the cracks are visible. Despite that, Robinson's respect for Rockne and his accomplishments come through clearly both on the field and off. In one telling incident early in his coaching career, Rockne, still several years from embracing Catholicism, stands up staunchly to the anti-Catholic sentiments of an Indiana senator and the KKK. "The more Rockne was exposed to prejudice around him," writes Robinson, "the more he was attracted to the religiosity of his surroundings." Which, in the end, made Notre Dame football not just his job, but his mission. --Jeff Silverman
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