Blue and Gold Illustrated

June-July 2022

Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football

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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM JUNE/JULY 2022 45 1924 contract with Notre Dame, the watch Rockne was wearing at the time of the 1931 plane crash that took his life and a series of telegrams sent to Bonnie Rockne on the day of the fatal accident. "I enjoy and appreciate the special his- tory around the early football years at Notre Dame and Rockne himself," Nickle said. "Both were major contributors to Notre Dame's evolution from a strug- gling Midwest Catholic school to the very highly and nationally respected university it is today. I find that story and the people behind it fascinating and significant." Nickle's collection includes special pieces highlighting Irish stars through the years, including an autographed pho- tograph of George Gipp; Johnny Lujack's All-American sweater; Angelo Bertelli's letter sweater; a Jack Landry game-used jersey from the 1949 national champi- onship year and the game ball from the iconic 1980 win over Michigan on Harry Oliver's game-ending field goal. Mike Navarro '93 grew up in rural Texas watching ND games with his fa- ther on a TV with a rabbit ears antenna. As a student, he worked in ND Sports Information as well as for NBC Sports and "had access to all things ND football and basketball." He knew Irish athletes as "friends and classmates instead of larger-than-life sporting idols." Only later did he start a collection that now includes an authenticated au- tographed photo of Gipp. "To know that the Gipper himself held it and signed it … the nostalgia and history in that one photo is inspiring to me," Navarro said. Photos signed by Rockne, the Four Horsemen and various signed items from each of t h e n a t i o n a l championship teams round o u t Nava r ro 's eve r- growing collection at his Texas home. A more recent alum, Joshua Ham- mack ('08, ND Law '12) of Alexandria, Va., had a personal reason for some of the first items he collected — two game balls from the 2012 Navy game in Ire- land, which he attended on his hon- eymoon. He followed that with a few autographs, pennants and magazines. "After law school, it's been non-stop," Hammack said. "Game-used stuff, Rockne-era memorabilia, old programs pictures and — my favorite of all — orig- inal art. I like to think I have the most extensive collection of ND art there is, 150 or so original works." That includes the original art of Leahy by Ernest Hamlin Baker for the 1946 cover of Time magazine; the original leprechauns by Ted Drake; the original five-foot long work by Tim Cortes for the program covers in 2012; original Heisman portraits by Ted Watts; to various works by current ND artist Kathleen Keifer. "I enjoy the search and a thrill of a good find," he said. "I like being sur- rounded by all this cool ND stuff. It helps preserve all the great stories con- nected to Notre Dame football." Like all things Notre Dame, collecting is hardly limited to ND alumni. Fans like Californian Rick Massa have extensive collections of unique items. Massa grew up in a military family, which came into the sphere of Col. Jack Stephens, long- time associate athletic director. "We started coming to games, ending up on the sidelines, getting to know players and staff," Massa said. "People like football secretary Jan Blazi were so good to us." Massa owns pieces including a letter accepting Gipp to Notre Dame, which includes writing in Gipp's hand; the orig- inal plans for building Notre Dame Sta- dium; and a 1929 Football Review signed by every member of that national cham- pionship team, along with coach Rockne. "They're unique and special; I'm not interested in selling them, ever," Massa said. It's fascinating to think about what stories all these pieces would tell if they were in one location, open to the public. But for now, the panoply of Notre Dame football history exists in offices, base- ments and other special places where they are treasured by Fighting Irish fans. And, of course, at Augie's Locker Room. ✦ Jim Lefebvre is an award-winning Notre Dame author and leads the Knute Rockne Memorial Society. He can be reached at: jlefebvre@blueandgold.com For Your Summer Reading – Take A Step Back Into The Formative Decades Of The 20th Century Coach For A Na on: The Life and Times of Knute Rockne Is "the defini ve piece on this American hero." — COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME Order your autographed, inscribed copy and support the Knute Rockne Memorial Society. Visit www.RockneSociety.org/Shop or call 612-242-3581. Knute Rockne ephemera is highly prized, includ- ing his last telegram home in 1931 and an auto- graphed photo from his final season in 1930. PHOTOS COURTESY ANDY NICKLE (L) AND MIKE NAVARRO COLLECTIONS

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