Angelo Bertelli Angelo Bortolo Bertelli ( June 18 , 1921 – June 26 , 1999 ) was an American football player . He won the Heisman Trophy in 1943 playing as a quarterback for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish . Early life . Bertelli born in West Springfield , Massachusetts on June 18 , 1921 to Italian immigrant parents . At Cathedral High School in Springfield , he won all - state honors in football , baseball and hockey and was senior class president . College career . When Bertelli entered Notre Dame in 1940 , he was 6 feet 1 inch and 173 pounds , a skinny but highly regarded tailback in the single - wing formation used by most college teams . When Coach Elmer Layden left to become commissioner of the National Football League , Notre Dame ' s new coach , Frank Leahy , immediately noticed Bertelli ' s passing talents . As a sophomore , Bertelli , still a single - wing tailback , led the nation with a 56 . 9 percent passing average , completing 70 of 123 attempts . In 1942 , Leahy switched to a modified T - formation , in which Bertelli would play under the center and take every snap . As he told his budding star , " Bert , you ' re the finest passer and the worst runner I ' ve ever coached . " That summer , preparing for his new role , Bertelli said he took " a thousand snaps . . . maybe a million . " Bertelli and the T - formation were an immediate success . He passed for 1 , 039 yards and 10 touchdowns . Celebrated sportswriter Grantland Rice referenced Bertelli as " the T - formation magician . " During his senior year in 1943 , the Marine Corps activated Bertelli after six games of Notre Dame ' s 10 - game season . In the six games Bertelli started in , he threw 36 passes , completing 25 with 10 touchdowns . Bertelli ' s six - game 1943 performance was enough to win the Heisman Trophy earning 648 votes . During Bertelli ' s three seasons , Notre Dame lost only three games . In 1943 , Notre Dame won 43 to 5 on average . Bertelli ' s collegiate career earned him multiple awards . He was named to the 1942 and 1943 All - American teams . In the Heisman voting for America ' s outstanding college football player , Bertelli finished second in 1941 and sixth in 1942 before capturing the trophy in 1943 . Though on active duty with the Marine Corps , the Boston Yanks selected Bertelli as their number one draft choice in 1944 . Bertelli was later inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1972 Military service . While at Notre Dame , Bertelli enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserves in 1942 prior to his activation to active duty in the fall of 1943 . In 1944 , Bertelli was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant , where he served as an infantry and recreation officer . After stops at Quantico , Camp Lejeune and Camp Pendleton , Bertelli embarked to participate in combat operations in the Pacific . After arriving from Guam in February 1945 , Bertelli fought in the Battle of Iwo Jima and was nearly killed when a Japanese mortar shell landed 15 feet away from his position . Bertelli returned to Guam in March and served in Sasebo , Japan , before returning to the states in March 1946 . After World War II , Bertelli entered the Marine Corps Reserves where he was promoted to the rank of captain and served until 1957 . Professional career . In 1946 , Bertelli signed with the Los Angeles Dons of the All - America Football Conference . Bertelli played for the Chicago Rockets between 1947 and 1948 . After several knee surgeries , he retired prior to the 1949 season . After his retirement from professional football , Bertelli moved to Clifton , New Jersey and operated several businesses . He was the color analyst for the Princeton University football games broadcast on radio station WVNJ , 620 AM and 100 . 3 FM in the 1950s and 60s . Death and family . On June 26 , 1999 , Angelo Bertelli died at the age of 78 after a losing battle with brain cancer was buried in Immaculate Conception Cemetery , Montclair . He is survived by his wife , the former Gilda Passerini and four children . Bertelli is the father of Robert Bertelli , better known as Bob Bert , a musician who played in Sonic Youth and other bands .