Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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where have you gone? winner Leon Hart, who went on to become an All-Pro on both sides of the ball for the Detroit Lions, famously said in a team questionnaire under "offseason activities" that he played football. Hart, also a successful engineer at the time, was just one example of how many Notre Dame alumni didn't necessarily need professional football. In fact, it is believed that for quite some time NFL coaches and personnel didn't think Irish players were as hungry to compete at the next level because of their educational pedigree. Dampeer, who was never mistaken for someone lacking an intense, competitive nature, doesn't disagree with that theory. "The thing that's changed, and this is a radical change, is the income," said Dampeer, whose thick white hair is the only noticeable physical reminder that four decades have passed since he last took the field. "When I was drafted, it didn't pay much more than a good college degree could earn. It was a good job, but it wasn't like it is now. "Football is such a passionate game that if you didn't absolutely love it like it was the most important thing in the world, you couldn't play it. It was the most important thing in the world up until the time I was a senior. At that point I had met [my wife] and I had a good degree [sociology]. It was still important, but it wasn't like it was. To me it was the single most important thing there was in high school and my first two or three years in college." However, the son of John Dampeer Sr., a Harvard-educated surgeon, placed a premium on education from an early age. Dampeer also learned to value other experiences outside the sidelines. A broken ankle suffered during a scrimmage leading up to the 1969 season (when he was still playing guard) cost him his sophomore year. In hindsight, he says, the injury was extremely beneficial for a variety of reasons. "It was the single luckiest thing that ever happened to me," Dampeer explained. "I got away from football for a year, so I found out there were other things in life. That started that transition. I wouldn't have started that year. I would have never been captain. I was able to play for three years and it was just a timing thing. Our class was really, really strong." As was Dampeer, whose talent for heaving the discus for the Kermit men's track and field team cost him a face-to-face meeting with Parseghian during the recruiting process. "Ara did not go out to kids; you had to come to him," Dampeer said. "I was dedicated to track down in Texas, and I had only one weekend without a meet, and Ara was at a coaching convention that weekend. I am one of the very few players that came [to Notre Dame] without that interview with Ara. It's unusual. "He said, 'You could go to Oklahoma and probably play; you could go to Texas and probably play, but you'll always wonder if you could have played at Notre Dame.' " Dampeer took the bait, though it wasn't the easiest decision. Just like today, the spirit-stomping winters in