Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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THE FIFTH QUARTER LOU SOMOGYI F ive days before the assassination of John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963, former Notre Dame Heisman Trophy winner John Lattner per- formed his great- est heroic feat. Driving home from work at his restaurant in the wee hours of a Chicago morn- ing, he noticed a fire in an apart- m e n t b u i l d i n g and called the fire department. Then he took action himself by rous- ing more than two-dozen resi- dents from one of the buildings and carrying a 5-year- old girl to safety. One of the icons in Notre Dame l o r e , L a t t n e r passed away this F e b ru a r y f ro m mesothelioma at age 83. He was the second-oldest liv- ing Heisman recipient, with Fighting Irish quarterback John Lujack, who turned 91 on Jan. 4, remaining the re- gal elder statesman. Humility, affability and generosity were the hallmarks of Lattner more than any bronze statue. He lent his Heisman — with daughter Maggie Skiver in charge o f i t s w h e r e - abouts — to raise money for chari- ties and routinely refused money while speaking at other charity events. " I n e v e r e x - p e c t e d a n y - thing," Lattner replied a decade ago when I asked him where his d o w n - t o - e a r t h demeanor ema- nated. "My am- b i t i o n i n h i g h s c h o o l w a s t o m a y b e g e t a scholarship to a small school like Loras College or St. Benedict. To get a chance to go to Notre Dame … I didn't think I had all this in me, to be frank. I'm surprised I've had all these accolades thrown this way." In the days before Heisman hy- perbole, Lattner received notice that he won the award via a phone call A Memorable Run, On And Off The Field Despite his status as one of the all-time greats at Notre Dame, John Lattner remained down to earth. PHOTO COURTESY BORROR STUDIO