Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/573499
Top Dozen Notre Dame Players From Massachusetts 1t. Quarterback Angelo Bertelli (Spring‑ field, 1941‑43) — The first of Notre Dame's seven Heisman Trophy winners (1943), he was the first at the school to pass for more than 1,000 yards in a season, as a 1941 sophomore, thus inspiring head coach Frank Leahy to install the then revolutionary T-formation. Bertelli completed an unheard of 69.4 percent of his passes during the 1943 national title march before getting called into World War II service after the sixth game. 1t. Tight end Ken MacAfee (Brockton, 1974‑77) — Featured in last week's edition of Blue & Gold Illustrated, MacAfee was named to numerous college football All- 20th Century teams in 2000. He stepped in as the starting tight end midway through his freshman year — succeeding All-American Dave Casper — and earned first-team All- America honors each of his last three sea- sons while grabbing 137 passes (including bowls). Now an esteemed oral surgeon, he earned the Walter Camp Award for the 1977 national champs and placed third in the Heisman Trophy balloting. 3. End Wayne Millner (Salem, 1933‑35) — The first of six Notre Dame players ever en- shrined in both the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame (joining George Connor, Paul Hornung, Alan Page, Dave Casper and Tim Brown), Miller had his signature moment with a 19-yard touchdown catch with 32 seconds left in the epic 18-13 comeback win at Ohio State in 1935. 4. Linebacker Nick Buoniconti (Springfield, 1959‑61) — He joins Rocky Bleier as one of the greatest underdog success stories in pro football history, going from undrafted to the NFL Hall of Fame after a brilliant 15-year career. At Notre Dame, he started at both guard and linebacker, finishing second in tackles (71) in 1960 and first (74) in 1961 en route to first-team All-America honors from Football News and second-team accolades from three other outlets. Springfield, Mass., native Angelo Bertelli was the first quarterback in school history to pass for more than 1,000 yards in a season as a sophomore in 1941, and in 1943 he became the first Irish player to win the Heisman Trophy. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS