Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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44 DECEMBER 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED IRISH ECHOES JIM LEFEBVRE BY JIM LEFEBVRE A live crowd at the Center at Cathe- dral Plaza in downtown Los Ange- les and an international livestream audience enjoyed the sixth annual Knute Rockne Spirit of Sports Awards Celebration Nov. 25. The event celebrated the nearly century-long history of Notre Dame football in the area, beginning with the 27-10 Irish victory over Stanford in the Jan. 1, 1925 Rose Bowl to clinch the school's first consensus national championship. The annual series with Southern Cal began on Dec. 4, 1926 with a 13-12 Notre Dame victory at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The 2022 Rockne Award winners: LEGACY AWARD Family of Glen "Judge" Carberry (Class of 1923) Carberry was one of five brothers from an Iowa farm family to star in col- lege football. He came to Notre Dame after serving in the infantry in the Great War and being injured in France. Like Rockne, he played left end for the Irish and was a stalwart on defense, displaying the same toughness he had on the battlefield. He achieved the ul- timate level of respect from his team- mates when he was voted captain of the 1922 Irish. LEGACY AWARD Family of Tom Lieb (Class of 1923) Lieb was drawn to Notre Dame and Rockne at least as much by track and field, Rock's first love, as by football. Under Rockne's guidance, Lieb became a world-class discus thrower, win- ning two NCAA and two AAU national championships, then the bronze medal in the 1924 Paris Olympics. He had two stints as assistant football coach to Rockne, stepping in as act- ing head coach several times during the 1929 national championship season. His other coaching stops included a suc- cessful run at Loyola of Los Angeles. LIVING LEGEND AWARD John Huarte '65 Huarte came to Notre Dame after starring at Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, Calif., in 1961 and was a re- serve quarterback before Ara Parseghian arrived as head coach in 1964. Ara saw something special in Huarte and ele- vated him to starter. Huarte responded by leading the Irish to a magnificent 9-1 season, with just a narrow loss to USC keeping them from a likely national championship. He was named the school's sixth win- ner of the Heisman Memorial Trophy. Huarte went on to a highly successful career in business and service and cen- ters his life around his faith and his fam- ily — wife, Eileen, five children and 14 grandchildren. COMMUNICATOR AWARD Bill Dwyre '66 Dwyre is an award-winning sports journalist, who began a long tenure with the Los Angeles Times in 1981, earning a plethora of honors for his work guid- ing one of the top sports sections in the nation. He served as sports editor from 1981- 2005, then as a columnist from 2006- 15. Among his honors is the 1996 Red Smith Award, named for the former leg- endary writer from Notre Dame. CHAMPION AWARD John Carney '87 Carney had an illustrious 23-year professional football career and is fondly remembered by teammates and fans as one of the most prolific place- kickers in the history of the NFL, rank- ing fifth all time in scoring. Today, he is a mentor and coach for the rising gen- eration of kickers and punters. His insight and passion have been in- strumental in opening doors for spe- cialists to compete at the highest levels of high school, college and professional football. Former Irish linebacker and captain Kory Minor serves as a Los Angeles area trainer for the Play Like a Champion Today Educational Series, while coaching high school football and operating a training and development business. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS 2022 Rockne Awards Honor Notre Dame History, Standouts From Southern California