Economic Malaise Hurts: “Am I Alone?” (continued from first page)

     Another source of camaraderie can be an online discussion group within myNotreDame.  Would someone like to volunteer to run this discussion board?  Resources are available to establish a myNotreDame discussion board and/or a subgroup within the ND Alumni Group on LinkedIn for Seniors. 

     To those who are struggling I offer encouragement.  We hear you now, but please don’t let us forget you.  Please continue the fight.  Notre Dame wants to help – what can we do? Through this piece I seek ways to help.  Send me your thoughts at johnhoffman1971@yahoo.com.

Retirement Failure or Retirement Success

     As if the economic malaise wasn’t enough, a friend brought other disturbing news to me.  40% of all seniors fail at their retirement.  They have left the workplace, but find life no longer satisfying.  Nothing has taken the place of the sense of accomplishment, camaraderie, and significance that the work place can provide.  Their remaining days are spent in boredom and idleness.

     It is best to reflect on this reality before one retires.  NDSA’s inspirational first chaplain, Fr. Louis Putz, liked to speak of three stages to life: learning, earning, and returning.  Since its beginning, NDSA has been about service.  Even a quick look at our initiatives shows ways that we can serve one another.  But service is rarely done well when it is pushed down from above.  This is a personal decision we each have to make, and the best service is something that is personal and satisfying.  It isn’t necessary to touch hundreds or thousands.  Just touching one makes a difference.  If each of us engages with the world around us, even in a small way, think of the force for good that we would be.

     Countless self-help books have been written to guide us to the perfect retirement.  Countless more will appear in coming years.  I want to bring two to your attention that have helped me.

     The first is Your Retirement Quest, 10 secrets for creating and living a fulfilling retirement by Alan Spector and Keith Lawrence.  The other is Half Time, changing your game plan from success to significance by Bob Buford.  Both help readers willing to put in some time to work through their talents and interests and plan for a meaningful life after stepping back from our primary careers.  Start this planning process before retiring, not after.  While it is never too late, I write to encourage those nearing that date of separation to plan ahead to understand and define what will give you fulfillment, meaning, and happiness.

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The Last Game Rockne Coached (continued from first page)

     Rock was always interested in the “next big thing.”  If something could be done better, faster, bigger, he was in.

     When it came to technology, he saw early on how the development of radio in the early 1920s could greatly expand coverage of football.  Even more so, when the “talkies” took off in the late 20s, he welcomed film crews to campus. They taped Irish practices, even a re-created fiery “locker room speech” which exists to this day as a record of Rock’s oratory skills.

     A long-time devotee of train travel, Rockne logged countless thousands of miles criss-crossing the country – with his Notre Dame teams, and personally with his travels to “coaching schools” he put on literally coast to coast.  Yet, when the allure of air travel came along, he was quick to adapt and look for opportunities to get somewhere faster.

     So, it could be said, his last coaching gig was just another example of his motto that if something was worth doing, it was worth doing big.

     Call it community service writ large.

     This was just one year after the stock market crash, and the nation’s economy was in terrible shape.  Millions were out of work, and none had more unemployed than New York City. Mayor Jimmy Walker had started the Mayor’s Relief Committee to aid the “unemployed and needy.”  He put out an offer to college and professional teams in several sports to consider staging exhibition games in New York to benefit the fund.

     Rock had developed many deep connections among New York newspaper and radio men, performers, and politicians.  So it was natural for sportswriter Dan Daniel to approach Rockne during the season with an invitation to bring his Notre Dame team to the big city for an exhibition after the college campaign ended.

  Rockne looked at the proposed date – December 14 – and knew it be a stretch, coming just one week after the grueling trip to southern California for the USC game.  He proposed an alternative – he would muster a group of former Notre Dame stars to take on the opponent…. professional football’s New York Giants.

     The deal was struck, and in the closing weeks of the Irish season, commitments from various former Irish standouts – including The Four Horsemen and several of the Seven Mules, among others – came into Rock’s office.  The game was promoted as the “Notre Dame All Stars” vs. the Giants.

     When it came time to assemble the team in person, well, the euphoria of the USC triumph and the backgrounds of the “All-Stars” could only account for so much optimism.  In reality, it had been a while since many of the ex-Irish had suited up, or been in game condition. 

 The stars of the 1924 national champs, for instance, had mostly gone on to successful coaching careers – Harry Stuhldreher at Villanova, Elmer Layden at Duquesne, Jim Crowley at Michigan State and Fordham, star ‘Mule’ Adam Walsh at Santa Clara, Rip Miller at Navy and Noble Kizer at Purdue.

     But despite the distance in time from their prime playing days, the former Irish stars answered the call from the beloved coach to do something to benefit others.

     Here is how Rockne described the trip in his official statement for the game program:

     “Notre Dame teams consider New York City as their second home,” wrote Rockne. “It is now almost ten years since the Army-Notre Dame game outgrew West Point and was moved to New York.  Ever since then, our players have been received with the warm friendliness that the big town would usually reserve for its own.

  “Consequently, it is our privilege and pleasure to contribute our services in this game to swell Mayor James Walker’s Fund for the needy unemployed.”

     The unlikely group gathered in South Bend, and after just a couple of workouts, headed to New York. On the morning of Saturday, December 13, Rockne and the “All-Stars” attended a ceremony at City Hall where the mayor and other dignitaries honored their participation in the charity game.  Next, they made a quick visit to the Polo Grounds for a final practice.

     The Giants, on the other hand, were a well-honed group of pro athletes in the midst of a battle for the NFL championship.  Led by quarterback Bennie Friedman and tackle Steve Owen, they had reeled off eight straights wins to booster their record to 10-1 by early November.

     Then, it was said, after the charity match against Rockne was set, their head coach Leroy Andrews got a little full of himself. "He just got himself all worked up thinking about this great meeting with Rockne," said Friedman. "He thought he had to be tougher with us and pretty soon he lost control of himself completely."

     The Giants lost three of their next four games and Andrews lost his job.  The Giants owner, Tim Mara, hadn’t been pleased with Andrews for a while, and this was a good time for a change.  He handed the reigns to now player-coach Friedman, assisted by Owen.

     Friedman, the former star Michigan quarterback, led the Giants to victories on Dec. 6 and 7 to close out the pro season.  He took the following week’s charity game seriously, wanting to show how far the pro game had come since its founding just a decade earlier.

     By the time kickoff came on Sunday afternoon, December 14, in a chilly Polo Grounds, it was obvious to almost everyone – the two sides were in for a mismatch.

     But it was New York, and the show would go on.  50,000 fans paid their way into the stadium, which was decked out in red and blue bunting for the Giants, blue and gold for Notre Dame. Bands from New York University, the NYPD and an American Legion post created a festive atmosphere.

     It was said that, when Rockne and Friedman met prior to kickoff, Rock asked for some concessions from the Giants leader.

     "Free substitutions?" Rock asked.

     "Fine," said Friedman.

     "Ten minute quarters?" asked Rockne.

     "Twelve and a half minutes," said Friedman impishly as they shook hands again. "Anything else?"

     "Yes, one thing," said Rockne. "For Pete's sake, take it easy.”

     But the on-field result wasn’t pretty for Rock and his charges.  As the billboards had advertised, he started the Four Horsemen and all the Mules he could muster.  But they were unable to move the ball, and Crowley left the game early with an injury.

     They were replaced by more recent backs such as Carideo, Jack Elder and Bucky O’Connor, but with similar results.  For the game, the ND “All-Stars” managed just one first down, 34 yards rushing, and never crossed midfield.  Friedman, meanwhile, led a strong Giants attack that marched up and down the field en route to a convincing 22-0 win.

     The greatest victory, though, was the tremendous haul of money raised for the unemployed.  Gate receipts for the event totaled $115,153 – almost $1.5 million in today’s dollars!  There was some back-and-forth over Notre Dame’s travel expenses, but in the end Mara covered those himself.  He and Friedman visited Mayor Walker’s office four days later and presented a check for the entire amount of the receipts.

Jim Lefebvre is an award-winning author and journalist with an affinity for college football history, and especially that of Notre Dame.  He is the author of  Loyal Sons: The Story of The Four Horsemen and Notre Dame Football’s 1924 Champions, which has been honored by three national book awards programs for excellence.  Jim is the founder and editor of the website Forever Irish which celebrates the heritage of Notre Dame football, and edits the e-newsletter Irish Echoes, distributed weekly during the football season.  Both his daughters are alums of ND and its Marching Band – Kerry (2007) and Liz (2009). Jim is currently researching what is planned as the most thorough, detailed biography of Coach Rockne ever published.  He is looking for any stories of campus life in the era that Knute Rockne was a student (1910-14), assistant coach (1914-1918) or head coach (1918-31) of the Fighting Irish.  If earlier generations of your family attended Notre Dame, especially between 1910 and 1931, and passed down stories to you, feel free to contact Jim at 952-922-2886, or Jim@NDFootballHistory.com.

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