Bernard Kirk Bernard " Bernie " C . Kirk ( c . 1900 - December 23 , 1922 ) was an American football player who played for Notre Dame in 1919 and for Michigan from 1921 - 1922 . He was selected as an All - American at the end position in both 1921 and 1922 . In December 1922 , shortly after being named an All - American and while at the height of his popularity , Kirk suffered a fractured skull in an automobile accident , and died several days later at a hospital in Ypsilanti , Michigan . His funeral was attended by the Governor of Michigan and many other dignitaries , and was reported in newspapers across the United States . Youth in Ypsilanti . Kirk was raised in Ypsilanti , Michigan and played football for three years for Ypsilanti High School . He was the only son of Gen . John P . Kirk , a prominent Ypsilanti attorney and former general in the Michigan National Guard . Notre Dame . After graduating from high school , Kirk enrolled at Notre Dame . As a sophomore in 1919 , he was a starter for the Notre Dame football team coached by the legendary Knute Rockne . He played end for the undefeated 1919 Fighting Irish team that also featured another Michiganian , George Gipp . The passing combination of Gipp at left halfback to Kirk at left end became one of Notre Dame ' s greatest offensive weapons in 1919 . In October 1919 , " The Fort Wayne News and Sentinel " praised " the ability of Kirk in receiving passes and breaking away for long runs . " In early November 1919 , Kirk drew attention for his work in Notre Dame ' s win over Indiana . The " Indianapolis Star " praised the team ' s end play : " The Irish wing men are wonderful performers . Either Kirk or Anderson can snag the ball out of the air on forward passes with great skill . Both are fast and wonderful defensive men . It was seldom in Saturday ' s game that either was boxed . They broke up what little interference Indiana displayed and got through to their man time after time . " In late November , Notre Dame defeated Purdue 33 - 13 , and the " Indiana Star " reported that the Boilermakers would have finished on top had it not been for the passing attack of Gipp and Kirk . Kirk scored two touchdowns against Purdue , and the " Star " noted : " Some of the passes completed by Gipp and Kirk were of the sensational order . Two touchdowns resulted from passes , Gipp to Kirk . . . " At the end of the 1919 season , the " Indianapolis Sunday Star " named Gipp and Kirk to its All - Indiana team , two of the four Notre Dame players to be so honored in 1919 . The " Star " wrote of Kirk : " In every game the Irish have competed in this season , Kirk has been a star . His uncanny ability to camp under forward passes gives him a call on the eleven . Not only that , but he was down the field fast under punts and played a great defensive game . " Kirk was also selected by critics for the All - Western team in 1919 . Michigan . Transfer from Notre Dame . In September 1920 , Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne expressed concern when his two Michiganian stars , Gipp and Kirk , failed to report for the team ' s fall practice . While Gipp returned to South Bend , Kirk transferred to the University of Michigan . Rockne later recalled that Kirk and Gipp had been " practically inseparable " and reflected on his disappointment in losing the talented Kirk . Rockne said of Kirk : " He was the apple of my eye . Kirk played with Notre Dame a couple of seasons before he entered Michigan and not one was more sorry to see him go to the Wolverines than I was . He played with Notre Dame when Gipp was at his best and the forward pass combination from Gipp to Kirk could not be beaten on any team . " Kirk starred on Michigan ' s freshman team in 1920 , but was ineligible to play on Michigan ' s varsity team in his first year after transferring . 1921 season . In 1921 , Kirk was a starter at the end position in six of Michigan ' s seven games . However , he was unable to play in the season ' s final game against Minnesota due to an ankle injury sustained in the game against Wisconsin . At the end of the 1921 season , Kirk was selected as a first - team end on the All Western football team . He was also the only Michigan player selected as a first - team player on the Harp ' s All - American Team . Walter Camp picked Kirk for " Honorable Mention " honors on his 1921 All - American team . 1922 season . Kirk ' s greatest success came in the 1922 football season , and his biggest play came in a 24 - 0 win over Illinois . At the start of the third quarter , Kirk ran a kickoff back 80 yards for a touchdown . Syndicated columnist Billy Evans wrote that Kirk ' s 80 - yard run " through the entire Illinois team " was " the most spectacular play performed by a Michigan player this year , " and " one of the most brilliant feats of the year . " Kirk also recovered a fumbled punt in the second quarter at the Illinois 18 - yard - line that led to another Michigan touchdown . Columnist Evans wrote that Kirk was " directly and indirectly responsible " for all 24 points scored by Michigan against Illinois . After the Illinois game , Kirk reportedly left the stadium before the crowd and spent several hours hunting in the woods outside of Ann Arbor . Another columnist , writing under the name " Roundy , " wrote that Kirk gave him " an eye full , " turning plays " so fast that the thing is looked up in the stands as a joke . " Roundy continued in his praise of Kirk as follows : " As soon as Kirk grabs a pass he becomes a halfback with his speed and trick running . His run on the kickoff through the whole Illinois team proved that , for an end , he is all over the field and has a nose for fumbles , is strong and tricky . There is no such thing as boxing this bird . Kirk , and his tackling of receivers of punts is a beautiful thing to see . So the ends are the strongest spot on the team . These two birds can play on my team any time , any place , anywhere , and at any price . " All - American selections . At the end of the 1922 season , Kirk was selected as a first - team end on several All - Western and All - American teams . Harold Johnson of the " Chicago American " wrote that Kirk " stands out " among the ends : " Virtually every coach , critic and student of the pastime is agreed upon the choice of Bernie Kirk , left end of the undefeated Michigan machine . Yost ' s star was good in every respect that a flanker could be . Not only was he one of the most deadly tacklers in the circuit , but he was shifty and fleet in streaking down the field to nail the receivers of forward passes or punts . He shone , too , at stopping end plays directed at him and was without a superior at spearing aerial shots from his comrades . " " The Capital Times " from Wisconsin picked Kirk as the best end in the west and noted , " The Wolverine flank protected by Kirk is one of the strongest in the country . Little has been gained around him , while on the offense his backs have had plenty of success - - thanks to Kirk who helps pave the way . " The " Iowa City Press - Citizen " wrote that Kirk " seems to stand out by himself " among the ends , noting that he " attracted most attention for his receiving of passes and his deadly spilling of interference . " Billy Evans picked Kirk for his 1922 " National Honor Roll , " and credited Kirk ' s performance to physical conditioning : " Bernie Kirk of Michigan was the leading end of the west this year . . . . Condition made Kirk a star . He lacked condition in 1921 . At that time he was just as able , otherwise as this year . But nobody mentioned him and he did nothing much to help his team . Kirk realized why he failed in 1921 and immediately began preparing for the season of 1922 . Careful diet , regular hours and well - planned exercise brought him into remarkable condition . Kirk was fit when the training season started . Kirk played every minute of every game he started this year . He never had time taken out . He was really a physical marvel , considering how hard he played . " Kirk was acclaimed as a first - team All - American at the end position by the " New York Tribune " and by noted sports writers , including Walter Eckersall of the " Chicago Tribune " and Fred Hayner of the " Chicago Daily News " . When the dean of football critics , Walter Camp , named Kirk to his second team and selected little known end Taylor of Navy to his first team , charges of Eastern bias were leveled at Camp . An Illinois newspaper wrote the following about Camp ' s omission of Kirk : " The fact that eastern football did not demonstrate any great superiority over the other sections of the country is not going to help justify the selection of seven eastern men . The failure of Kirk to win a place will come as a great surprise . Kirk is one of the best ends the ' Big Ten ' has produced in years . It was felt certain that he would be selected . Most of the critics picked Kirk and Muller as the ends . Camp gives Taylor of Annapolis the preference over Kirk . " One Ohio columnist wrote that his paper printed Camp ' s All - American selections " with apologies " and called Camp ' s favoritism of eastern players " a positive travesty . " None of the other major All - American selectors chose Taylor as a first - team All - American , and one California newspaper referred to Kirk as one of the greatest ends ever turned out in the Middle West : " Kirk ' s remarkable showing with Michigan this season stamped him as one of the greatest ends ever turned out in the Middle West . He was named by a majority of sports writers throughout the country as All - America end . Walter Camp , however , placed Taylor of the Navy at end instead of Kirk , on his first team . Kirk was placed on the second team . " Billy Evans echoed the same sentiment : " Kirk was unquestionably the best end the west , if not the country , has produced in years . As a defensive player , he was without a peer . He also was very proficient in handling the forward pass . Kirk starred in every game that Michigan played during the 1922 season . No one player meant more to the success of Yost ' s great eleven than Kirk . Every critic in the west selected Kirk on either the ' Big Ten ' or middle west all - star teams . A great majority of the critics of the country placed him on their All - American elevens . " Death from injuries sustained in automobile accident . In the early morning hours of Sunday , December 17 , 1922 , Kirk sustained a fractured skull and internal injuries in an automobile accident . Kirk and four others were returning to Ann Arbor after a night in Detroit when the car in which Kirk was a passenger slid off the icy road and crashed into a telephone pole . The other four members of the party , including fellow Michigan football player Eddie Usher , were either uninjured or sustained only minor injuries . Kirk was taken to Beyer Memorial Hospital in Ypsilanti unconscious and in critical condition . Over the next week , newspapers across the country followed the daily changes in Kirk ' s condition . On Sunday evening , Kirk remained unconscious and doctors expressed fear for his recovery . Early in the week , Kirk ' s condition was much improved , and Kirk ' s father reported that physicians had told him that his son would recover . Doctors also reported that Kirk ' s right eye had been badly injured , but it was thought that his sight would not be impaired . The press also reported closely on the investigation into the cause of the crash . Initial reports indicated that the automobile , owned by Harold Covert but being driven by Cyrenus Darling , was speeding on the icy road . But after an investigation , Ypsilanti Police Chief John F . Connor reported that the accident was " unavoidable " and caused by the icy condition of the road . Chief Connor said the vehicle was not being driven at an unlawful speed , and witnesses told him it was moving at 30 to 35 miles per hour . Kirk suffered what was reported as a " slight relapse " on Wednesday . The United Press reported that Kirk ' s pulse was down , and doctors expressed fears that meningitis might develop and described his condition as " not so good . " Doctors hoped that Kirk ' s " fine physical condition will pull him through , " and his condition improved again on Thursday . After an up - and - down week , meningitis set in , and Kirk died on Saturday morning , December 23 , 1922 . On learning of Kirk ' s passing , Kirk ' s teammate Harry Kipke told reporters , " Bernie Kirk was one of the best liked boys that ever wore a Michigan uniform . He was one of the greatest ends the University ever had , and he was a real fellow in every respect . " Hundreds of telegrams of condolence were sent to the family " from all parts of the world , " including one from Walter Camp , which read : " Deepest regrets and sympathy . We shall not soon forget the remarkable play on the gridiron of Bernard Kirk , a star indeed and one of those indefatigable performers combining both brain and physique with speed and judgment , a fine example of real football players . " Many newspapers noted the coincidence that Kirk and George Gipp , former teammates and close friends , had both died even before all of the All - American teams had been announced ( Gipp had died in December 1920 ) . Notre Dame Coach Rockne recalled that Gipp and Kirk had been " great pals " and " practically inseparable . " A Wisconsin newspaper made the following observation : " [ Kirk ] had played end on the Notre Dame eleven before coming to Michigan , and the death of Kirk marks the passing of that ill fated but brilliant Notre Dame combination of Gipp to Kirk . Like Kirk , George Gipp , died in the height of his stardom , just after the close of a season in which he was picked by most critics for the all - American . As a member of the Notre Dame team Kirk played end and received most of the passes hurled by Gipp . " Funeral . Kirk ' s funeral , held in Ypsilanti , was covered by newspapers across the United States . " The New York Times " reported : " High officials of the State and the educational world , as well as gridiron stars of this and other years , gathered here today to pay the last honors to Bernard Kirk , star football player of the University of Michigan , whose death resulted Saturday from an automobile accident . " A requiem mass was held at St . John ' s Catholic Church , which " could not accommodate a tenth of those attending the services . " Kirk ' s honorary pallbearers included University of Michigan President Marion Leroy Burton , Michigan Governor Alex Groesbeck , University of Michigan Coach Fielding H . Yost , and two U . S . Congressmen . His casket was carried to the grave by eight of his Michigan teammates , including Harry Kipke , Paul G . Goebel , Irwin Uteritz , and Franklin Cappon . One account described the emotion of the funeral : " As the casket bearing the body of the former University of Michigan football star was slowly lowered into his last resting place , husky athletes who battled with him on the football fields for the glory and honor of Michigan sobbed unashamed . " That last resting place is St . John Cemetery in Ypsilanti .