Campus Life
Campus Life this month features an article written by Gipp teammate Dutch Bergman who tells about the personal side of George Gipp. Bergman Raclls George Gipp Dutch Bergman, one of Rockne's smartest pupils, blew into town this week for the Legion jamboree. Notre Dame grads will recall Dutch as the chunky halfback who played along side the famous George Gipp on the hell-for-leather 1919 team. Bergman is coaching Catholic University now in a manner that does Rock proud. His C.U. boys are usually tops in the middle-Atlantic league. Dutch's coal black hair is graying at the temples, but his hazel eyes have the old spark -a glint of humor that belies the rather grim set of his thin-lipped mouth. Nearly all the Rockne-taught coahces have inherited their boss's flair for after-dinner speaking and Dutch rates high in Notre Dame's list of witty reconteurs. "Well, here we are at the start of the annual autmn madness." Bergman chuckles, "and before you know it they'll be picking the all-teams again. I've got a fullback candidate named Irish Carroll, who is about as good as back come, but he won't be picked. Two years ago Irish gained 700 yards. We haven't got the team this year to show Irish off at his best. We lost seventeen men by graduation you know. What about Gipp? "Speaking of all star selections, I want to register a one-man kick against the popular custom of naming Jim Thorpe, Red Grange, Willie Heston and Walter Eckersall as the all-time All-American backfield. "Those chaps were marvels, right enough, but why ignore George Gipp? How could any back have been greater than the Gipper? I'll answer my own question. There never was and there will never be George Gipp's equal as a triple threat man. Wouldn't swap Gipp for a pair of Granges. George outclassed Red as a passer, kicker, plunger, blocker and defensive man, and was almost as ghost-like in the broken field as the Wheaton ice man. Unitl Sam Baugh came along, Gipp was the greatest long range passer of all time, and I'm not forgetting Oberlander, Wyman, Dorais, Friedman or Stinchcomb. You might call Gipp a combination of Baugh, Grange and Kipke. That gives you and idea! "Maybe I'm prejudiced because I roomed with Gipp at Notre Dame but just ask any jury of coaches and they'll tell you George can't be left off a a genuine all-time All-America backfield. The Human Side "You've heard plenty about Gipp's exploits on the gridiron so we'll skip them. Let me give you the human side of Gipp as I knew him. No man is a hero to his roommate, yet you couldn't help admiring George. "Gipp is a Notre Dame legend known for his genius for cards as well as athletics. Nobody around South Bend could beat him at faro, shooting craps, pool, billiards, poker or bridge. He studied the percentage in dice-rolling and could fade those bones in a way that had he professionals dizzy. At three-pocket pool he was the terror of the South Bend parlors. Helped the underdog "George was the soul of generosity, always sacrificing himself for down-and-outers. Though he came from a poor family, money meant nothing to Gipp. I've seen him win $500 in a crap game and then spend his winnings buying meals for destitute families. No wonder he was idolized by the South Bend townies. "Some men just aren't born to conform with copy book rules. Gipp, like Cornell's Chuck Barrett, chafed under trianing restrictions. He reported for practice only three days a week despite Rockne's protests but on Saturday's Gipp played like a man possessed. A shrewd student of human nature, Rockne gave Gipp a free rein and winked at his capers. Nobody but Gipp ever got away with what he did under Rock. "Hello Gipp, got the asthma today? Rockne would say when the prodigal son came out for a scrimmage drill. We players made a private rule that anybody caught sneaking a cigarette would get kicked in the pants. Gipp never waited to be caught; he'd come and tell us: 'Kick me hard boys, I just had a smoke.' We did. Law Unto Himself "Some blue-nosed Puritans will tell you that Gipp would have been an even greater player if he had trained. I must pretend to agree with them, but personally I think a genius like Gipp would have burned up if he hadn't let off steam. His amazing gift of relaxation between plays probably sprang from his lack of repressions. That's a dangerous doctrine for the average kid. George was the exception that proves the rule. "For all the headlines that came his way, Gipp remained modest and unassuming. Some broken field aces won't block, but Gipp did the dirty work of mopping up for other with gusto. "A coaches headache during the week, Gipp was a coach's dream on Saturday's.
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