This month's edition of Out of Bounds features an account of Leon Hart's first play.

Leon Hart's first play in a Notre Dame uniform, in the 1946 Illinois game, was a breath-taking mixture of raw power and cat quickness. Displaying the ability that later made him a consensus AII-American and Heisman Trophy winner, he drove forward with his head down and flattened the man in front of him. Unfortunately, the man in front of him was a teammate, Bob Livingstone, best described after his encounter with Leon as the unconscious Bob Livingstone.

Summoned midway through the game by Leahy, Hart had pranced eagerly forward from the bench and listened while the coach warned him against the mistakes of youth. Then, excited at being sent into the fray, the freshman end wheeled and headed full throttle for the huddle. He hardly broke stride as he steamrolled Livingstone, who was trotting off the field when the hit-and-run occurred.

Several minutes later, Livingstone came to. "Whew, " he whistled, rubbing the back of his neck, "I've never been hit that hard before. That kid's going to be all right."

"Yeah," piped trainer Hughie Burns, "but first we've gotta teach him whose side he's on."