Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/421584
UNDER THE DOME TOM REGNER: 1944-2014 Tom Regner, a consensus All-American offensive guard on the 1966 University of Notre Dame football squad that finished 9-0-1 and claimed the consensus national championship, died Nov. 13 in a Reno, Nevada, hospital due to complications from diabetes. He was 70. Regner was part of maybe the greatest line class in school history, assembled in 1963 by head coach Joe Kuharich and Hugh Devore, who took over as the interim coach when Ku- harich resigned that spring. Regner was one of four line- men from that harvest who would become future first- round picks in the NFL Draft, joining end Alan Page and tackle Kevin Hardy, plus of- fensive tackle Paul Seiler. Also from this class, center George "Mr. Clean" Goeddeke, Tom Rhoads, Don Gmitter and Dick Swatland were all starters for the 1966 national champs, and College Football Hall of Fame inductee and linebacker Jim Lynch also was in that same class. They enrolled at the ideal time. Back then players weren't eligible for varsity play until they were sophomores, which in their case was in 1964, the year Ara Parseghian arrived. He started an all-sophomore defensive line with Page and Gmitter at end and Hardy and Regner at tackle. Regner made 68 tackles to lead all Irish defensive linemen in '64 be- fore the move to guard in '65 to make room for Pete Duranko, injured the previous year. But when Hardy suffered a season-ending injury in '65, Regner and Dick Arrington were two-way players on both lines. Notre Dame was 25-3-2 in Regner's three seasons, with the consen- sus national title in 1966 and receiving the MacArthur Bowl in 1964, emblematic of a share of the title. As a junior ,Regner earned second-team All-America recognition from Newspaper Enterprise Association. As a senior in 1966, he received first-team honors from the Associated Press, United Press International, the American Football Coaches Association and Sporting News, among others. 2015 Notre Dame Football Packages Sept. 5 Texas Sept. 19 Georgia Tech Sept. 26 UMass Oct. 10 Navy Oct. 17 USC Nov. 14 Wake Forest A Notre Dame trip makes A GREAT GIFT: Birthday, Father's Day, Graduation, Christmas, Retirement All details at diamondtravel.com or call 602-870-9197 DIAMOND TRAVEL 27 years in business ND Golf BaG Blue & Gold Illustrated PO Box 2331 • Durham, NC 27702 1-800-421-7751 www.BlueGoldOnline.com Please add sales tax if shipping to: NC (7.5%), MI (6%), or IN (7%) Free dIVot tool set W/PURCHASE oF BaG! $21.95 Value! Item #6483 VICtORy CARt BAG New Item! $ 249 95 FREE S&H Regner, a lineman who played on both sides of the ball for the Irish from 1964-66, was a consensus All- American offensive guard in 1966. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS