From "Out of
Bounds"
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A former teammate
commented: "A coach's headache during the week, Gipp was a
coach's dream on the field." Here Gipp relaxed on the practice
field. |
This month's edition of Out of Bounds
will feature a humorous anecdote about George Gipp:
The repetitive nature of football practice irked George, so he seldom bothered
to attend, at least until late in the week. When he did show, Rockne would
bury him on the fourth team, where he'd stay until Saturday - when he would
always get boosted into the starting line-up. Rock was no dummy.
To get his star to make up for lost practice time, the coach resorted to
special tactics. The Irish were comfortably ahead of Kalamazoo in 1917 Rockne
called a referee to his side. "When Gipp makes a long run, I want you to
call a penalty on us, whether we've committed one or not," he instructed.
Refs were more accomodating in those days. Gipp made runs of eighty and
sixty-eight yards in the first half; both were nullified. In the second
period, the halfback grabbed a punt and cruised seventy yards untouched across
Kalamazoo's goal line. "Bring it back!" called the referee.
"Clipping, Notre Dame."
The Gipper had no fondness for frivolous exercise. He sauntered up to the
official who'd been calling the penalties and dropped the ball at his feet.
"Next time," he said, "give me one whistle to stop, and two to
keep going."
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