Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com PRESEASON 2021 65 The Knute Rockne Memorial Society Invites you to a end the 2021 Knute Rockne Spirit of Sports Awards Celebra on Friday, Sept. 24 Chicago Sports Museum 7 th level, Water Tower Place 835 N. Michigan Avenue The day before the Figh ng Irish take on Wisconsin at Soldier Field, we'll gather to celebrate some of the great people and events that connect the Windy City with the Golden Dome, recognizing an outstanding slate of ND/Chicago honorees. For more details, visit: www.RockneSociety.org Hunk Anderson, starting at left tackle in 1932 and 1933, and earn- ing All-America honors. He found even more success on the basketball court, where he was a three-time All- American. He would become the face and spirit of Notre Dame athletics for de- cades, serving as director of athletics from 1949-81. THE CITY'S GREATEST Krause succeeded Frank Leahy as Notre Dame's athletic director when Leahy stepped down from the post to focus solely on coaching football. Leahy had coached some outstand- ing players from Chicago, including lineman George Connor from DeLa- Salle, a captain of the 1947 national champions, two-time consensus All- American and first-round pick of the Chicago Bears, for whom he was a four-time All-Pro. Leahy's final season of 1953 brought the crowning glory for Notre Dame players from Chicago, when senior halfback Johnny Lattner, who had prepped at Fenwick High School in Oak Park, won the Heisman Tro- phy. He led the Irish to a 9-0-1 re- cord, barely missing another national championship and finishing second in national rankings. After a brief NFL career, Lattner went on to become a Chicago restau- rateur and businessman. Staying close to his roots, he made his Heisman Trophy available to numerous local charities for fundraising purposes. "People are fascinated by it," said Lattner, who died in 2016. "They want to touch it, have their picture taken with it." OF FOOTBALL AND MUSIC In the decades since then, more football stars from Chicagoland have played pivotal roles for the Irish. Most notably, Chris Zorich came out of Vocational High School to become a national champion (1988), consen- sus All-American (1989-90) and Lom- bardi Award winner (1990) before playing for the Bears. Offensive lineman Tom Thayer went on to an eight-year career with the Bears and is now the team's broadcast analyst. Safety and kick returner Tom Zbikowski was a fan favorite and played several NFL seasons. Linebacker Darius Fleming was a Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots. A walk-on backup defensive line- man from Chicago's St. Ignatius High School, Peter Schivarelli, went on to become the longtime manager of the iconic band Chicago. Schiva- relli is a major philanthropist, sup- porting Notre Dame, the Notre Dame Band and numerous charities. 2021 ANNUAL ROCKNE AWARDS The fifth annual Knute Rockne Spirit of Sports Awards Celebration will take place on Friday, Sept. 24 in Chicago. It will honor the lives of Lattner, Bachman, Barry and Krause, with their families present. Schivar- elli will receive the Rockne Persever- ance Award and Fleming the Rockne Champion Award. More information is available at www.RockneSociety.org. ✦ Jim Lefebvre is an award-winning Notre Dame author and leads the Knute Rockne Memorial Society. He can be reached at: jlefebvre@blueandgold.com