The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-04-03
He-Men!
RoCkne'S Aim as Coach
Was to Build Charac-
ter, Culture and Cour-
age in His Players.
Following is the third of a series Of
BY GEORGE KIRKSEY
United Press staff Correspondent


U MUTE ROCKNE'S aim as a
H football coach was to turn out
men Of culture, character and
courage"
In building great football teams,
he did not overlook the more i'm
portant business Of equipping young
men for the problems of life.
Football teaches a boy re-
sponsibility," Rockne once said.
Responsibility as a representative
of his college; responsibility to his
teammates and responsibility in
controlling his passions, fear,
hatred. jealousy and rashness.
Football brings out the best there
is in one"
Rockne possessed dislike border
ing almost on to hate for lounge
lizards" drugstore cowboys"
"mezzanine-fl high hurdlers," as
he termed boys of the sissy" type.
ONE Of Rockne's classics was his
~ satire on the tendency to-
ward social life in colleges as OPP
posed to athletics. 1t was the
description of a football game in
1885 between Notre Dame and
Northwestern. Some of the lines
from the speech follow:
1.-THE Notre Dame team pre-
sented a striking appearance with
their green shirtwaists and their
healdgear resembling a woodsman's
toque. Giving a neat appearance
without being at all gaudy was the
fact that their hip-pads we're
trimmed with georgette. Hanging
about their necks were pendants
of the lavalliere type.
Kicking off for Notre Dame was
T. Fitzpatrick Murphy, better known
as Two Lunps,' as he always took
two Jumps Of sugar in his orange
Pekoe tea.
''As a result of the clever defen-
siye tagging of the two teams,
neither team gained an adva-ltage
in the first half. Between halves
the teams had tea.
up until five minutes of the end
Of the fourth period it looked like
a, tie game. Suddenly out Of a
rhythnical gavotte, a sort Of hid
den ball evolution, old NJ Bieker-
dash Pix III of,slae, famous North
Shore family went streaking to-
ward Notre Danes gcal The
Mort laqrrncfor--a j
with pandenoniurn. and it looked
like sure defeat for Notre Dame.
But they failed to reckon with
the resourcefulness of old Two
Lunlps. Did Two Lunps get pan
icky when he saw Bickerdash fly
ing toward the goal? Not old Two
Lunps. With a savoire faire, fol
which he was justly famous, he
cupped his hands and said:
IT say, Bickerdash, old thing,
there's a terrible run in your stock
ing"
Imagine the intense embarrass-
ment and modification OF old Bick-
erdash. What could he do but drop
the ball and run for the clubhouse,
and the game was saved"
ID OCKNE liked boys with ideals,
N boys with courage, boys who
had character. He liked to see his
players wear corduroy pants and
sweaters.
mo raccoon coats on the cam
pus," was one of his notices, I'VE
want school of masculine democ-
racy."
The three most important requi-
sites Rockne demanded from his
players were brains. speed and
courage. AS for physical qualities
he liked players with big hands.
Rockne's football teams were
true expressions of the man him
self. Football was Rockne's life,
his love, his all. No artist ever put
more Of his soul on canvas. No
musician ever put more feeling
into symphony than Rockne did
into that strange conglomeration
of humanity-boys of all racial
strainS-which he welded into
super-football teams.
THERE has been much said
L about the "Rockne system"
Most of this is a fallacy. The
Rockne system was Rockne him
self. Rockne's teams stressed speed
above everything else. The basis
of his offensive was the Napole-
onic axiom: Get to the point OF
attack first"
Rockne relied on the shift play
to accomplish this. His teams per-
fected The shift to such an extent
that the rules had to be changed.
But Rockne had no set formula for
developing football teams. He built
his plays and his teams around his
players. He proved that with his
-Four Horsemen" -Harry Stuhl-
dreller. quarter back; Don Miller
and Jimmy Crowley. half backs.
and Elmer Layden, full back. None
OF them had shown any especial
promise in football until they came
under Rockne's guidance in 1922.