The Waterbury Democrat., 1936-11-03
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by Harry |GraysOn
YOUNG ROCKNE LEARNING FOOTBALL LESSONS ON ROCK-STREWN FIELD AS ONE OF SQUAD
 OF l4.


 football the hard way--on Q rock- strewn field as member of a squad of IA.
 The youngster with the most fac nous name in football says that ho will not be awfully disappointed if he doesn't crash the Notre Dame varsity in 1938
 "1'd like to make the team, of course," says the yellow-haired Knute Rockne of today. Who wouldn't2 But when you weigh only 145 and there are dozens just as fast and a darned sight bigger, you can't expect the coach to pay much ate tention to you"
 Jack Bell, my favorite Florida op- erative, passes this story of young Knute Rockne on to me. Young Knute is back with the Miami Military Academy team.
 with only IA of us out, we haven'b had much chance to scrimmage," ex. plains young Knute. TWO of the IA come out only when they don't want to go swimmin.' We scrimmaged an. other team the other day. It was pretty bad. You see, if we scrirn- mage much on this field we get all bruised by the rocks. And if somes one gets hurt we'll not have enough boys to make up a team." Recognizes Talent
 Like His Father
 Like his illustrious father, young Knute recognizes Q football player when he sees one.
 "We's got one boy who's going to make the folks take look," he ass serts. "He's long legged kid named Rossiter."
 Young Knute's array has just three substitutes, including two boys who'd rather 90 swimming, and Q Cuban lad who doesn't know what it's all about and isn't quite sure whether he wants to play.
 At Notre Dame, the institution made famous in football by tho other Knute Rockne, 185 young men attempted to make the team this fall. No less than Il of them appears ed in @ single contest-against Wis., consin.
 But things were not always ike that at Notre Dame. After Gus Dorais and Rockne popularized the forward pass as players, Rockne had something of Q struggle as coach oS his alma mater. Rockne served aa his own trainer for several yearss and sold tickets, too.
 The immortal George Qipp. the Four Horsemen, and the rest helped to sweep Rockne to the pinnacle of his profession and keep him there until his untimely death, but tho great Dane paved the way for thera' Young Rockne's
 Early Lessons
 1T remember how dad used tA have somebody from the team--sevs eral of them-at the house for sups per nearly every night" young Knute reminisces. My brother Bill and I couldn't butt into the con. versation, but we'd sit around and listen. They always talked football. We'd eat and then they would start talkin' about that weeks game.
 Dad never told us kids we had to play. He wanted us to, all right, but he always said 1t was up to us to do what we wanted to do. He never tried to teach us any football You'll get enough of that from your coaches when you start td school he'd say, and maybe your coach won't teach 1t the same way l do.'
 Young Knutc rolls around on the rocks this autumn, doing his best.
 T guess can stay on this team all right" he grins. Tn fact, l can't get of unless am hurt. But next fall I'll be out among the Notre Dame freshmen-one player among 200 or more."
 Young Knute Rockne looks into the football future, there to learn the game as his father taught 1t to the boys of old Notre Dame, and as it is still being taught by his dads disciples to thousands of boys and young men throughout the union.