Joe Savoldi Joseph Anthony " Joe " Savoldi , Jr . , more commonly known as Jumping Joe Savoldi ( March 5 , 1908 - January 25 , 1974 ) was an Italian - born American football player and professional wrestler . Biography . Savoldi was born in Castano Primo ( Italy ) and he spent his childhood in Castano Primo and Bergamo ( Milan , Italy ) . In 1920 the Savoldi family immigrated to America to settle in Three Oaks , Michigan . Giuseppe Savoldi anglicized his first name to " Joe " and became a star athlete in high school . After graduation from Three Oaks High , he enrolled at the University of Notre Dame , where beginning in 1928 he would play football for the legendary Fighting Irish teams coached by Knute Rockne . The All - American fullback was nicknamed " Galloping Joe " or " Jumping Joe " , earning the latter nickname for a play made in a 1929 game against Carnegie Tech when he scored a touchdown by jumping across the goal line , a novel move at the time . Other career highlights for Savoldi came on October 4 , 1930 when he scored the first ever Notre Dame touchdown at the newly - opened Notre Dame Stadium , and one week later when he scored three touchdowns against Navy . His career came to a sudden end on November 17 , 1930 when he withdrew from school after divorce papers were filed and his secret marriage became public knowledge . Upon Savoldi ' s expulsion from Notre Dame , he went professional , signing with the Chicago Bears of the NFL , for which the Bears were fined $ 1 , 000 for signing a player before his college class had graduated . The Bears started Savoldi at the halfback position opposite Red Grange , and in his first game ( only ten days after leaving Notre Dame ) he scored the only touchdown in a 6 - 0 victory over Ernie Nevers ' Cardinals . After helping the Bears win their final three games of the season , Savoldi was invited to re - join his fighting Irish team mates in a Notre Dame All - Star vs West / South All - Star game in the Los Angeles Coliseum . During the 20 - 7 victory , Savoldi scored three touchdown , was named the game ' s MVP , and caught the eye of two famous spectators — wrestling promoter Billy Sandow and former world champion Ed " Strangler " Lewis . Sandow and Lewis allegedly promised Savoldi more money in a single wrestling match than he would make during the entire following season with the Bears . As a wrestler , Savoldi became known for his finishing move , the flying dropkick ( the pro wrestling move known today as simply the " dropkick " ) . At the time Savoldi was often credited as having invented the move , but today that attribution is disputed between him and Abe Coleman . Interpromotional wars were raging at the time , and on April 7 , 1933 at Chicago Stadium , Savoldi was involved in a double cross on heavyweight champion Jim Londos . After a tangle by the ropes , referee Bob Managoff declared Savoldi the winner by pinfall and awarded him the title . Vigorous arguments were waged over whether Savoldi had truly won the match , and whether Londos ' title had even been on the line . As a result , Savoldi and Managoff were suspended in some territories and the title change was not universally recognized . Londos continued to bill himself as world champion , while Savoldi went to the New York area claiming the same , until he was defeated by Jim Browning on June 12 at Yankee Stadium . After peace was made between rival promotions , a Londos / Savoldi rematch was held at Chicago Stadium on January 31 , 1934 . Londos won the contest in front of 20 , 200 fans , one of the largest crowds to ever watch a wrestling match up to that time . Savoldi continued his wrestling career throughout the decade , touring New Zealand in 1936 , appearing in Hawaii and Australia in 1937 , and spending a lengthy time in Europe shortly before World War II . In 1941 , he attempted to bring a new soft drink to market , called Dropkick , The Drink For " All Americans " . The business venture quickly fizzled , however , after the United States entered the war , and the ensuing sugar rationing was too much for production to overcome . As the conflict continued , Savoldi was approached by the U . S . government about joining the war effort in an espionage role , owing to his fluency in multiple dialect s of Italian . Thus he became an OSS secret agent operating in and around Italy , where he passed easily for a local . Among the missions in which Savoldi participated was a series of secret meetings held behind enemy lines in July 1943 between an OSS team and members of the Italian Resistance . Savoldi resumed his wrestling career before war ' s end , but his ability to move around in the ring would begin to diminish due to the onset of arthritis . He tried promoting in the Chicago area for a while between 1946 and 1948 , and gave Bobo Brazil his start in the wrestling business . Savoldi returned to the ring for a couple more years , wrestling his final match in 1950 . He then went back to university to work towards earning his qualifications for a teacher ' s degree , and eventually came to teach science at Henderson County High School in Henderson , Kentucky . Joe Savoldi died in 1974 at the age of 65 , and is buried in Henderson . He is unrelated to the New Jersey - based professional wrestling family of the same last name , which includes Angelo Savoldi and son Joseph .