Notre Dame's Greatest Backfield
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CoQQege CJbotbaQQ C(jJfgtOftiCaQ gociety VOL. XXII, NO. IllI AUGUST 2009 NOTRE DAME'S GREATEST BACKFIELD By Dr. Bernie Kish University ofKansas Stuhldreher, Miller, Crowley and Layden. The Four Horsemen. The most storied and recognizable backfield in the history ofcollege football. And most people would argue, Notre Dame's best quartet of backs. The Irish, however, have had other outstanding backfields. Knute Rockne's final team, his 1930 national champions, featured Frank Carideo, Marchy Schwartz, Marty Brill and Joe Savoldi. Frank Leahy's powerhouses ofthe 1940s produced the 1943 group ofAngelo Bertelli, Creighton Miller, Julie Rykovich and Jim Mello - and the 1947 aggregation ofJohnny Lujack, Terry Brennan, Emil Sitko and Pep Panelli. What about Ara Parseghian's 1966 national championship quartet ofTerry Hanratty, Nick Eddy, Rocky Bleier and Larry Conjar? And, finally, Lou Holtz supporters might point to the 1992 threesome of Rick Mirer, Jerome Bettis and Reggie Brooks. These five backfields produced 12 ft.Jl-Amencans and six College Football Hall ofFamers - Carideo, Schwartz, Bertelli, Miller, Lujack and Sitko. Most serious students of the game, however, will tell you that Notre Dame's best backfield came from Leahy's last team, his 1953 squad - quarterback Ralph Guglielmi, halfbacks Joe Heap and Johnny Lattner, and fullback Neil Worden. In fact, one ofthe Horsemen, Harry Stuhldreher, told Joe Doyle, the dean ofNotre Dame football historians, during the 1953 season: "This is without a doubt, Notre Dame's best backfield - much better than we (the Horsemen) were." All four players were great all-around athletes. Guglielmi not only was a superb passer, but an excellent runner and top-notch defensive back. Heap, the fastest ofthe group, excelled not only as a runner, but also as a pass receiver and a kick returner. Lattner did everything - ran, passed, caught passes, punted, returned kicks and intercepted passes. Worden, nicknamed "The Bull" for his 19-inch neck, was "one of the toughest guys ever to wear a Notre Dame uniform" according to Doyle. Guglielmi and Heap were juniors in 1953 and Lattner and Worden were seniors. They played together as a unit the entire 1952 season and often during the 1951 campaign. During those three seasons, Leahy's team had a sterling 23-4-3 record and the Irish were ranked third in 1952 and second in 1953. The only blemish on the 1953 record was a 14-14 tie with Iowa, which cost the Irish the national championship. Leahy called the 1953 team his "greatest ever." Not only was the backfield of all-star caliber, but the line was a stellar group as well. Dan Shannon, Frank Varrichione, Ray Lemek, Jim Schrader, Minnie Mavraides, Art Hunter and team captain Don Penza rank with the best lines in Notre Dame's illustrious history. Heap, recalling his teammates, said, "They were beautiful. They made it easy for us." The greatness ofLeahy's backfield quartet was clearly visible in the honors earned. Lattner, a two-time PAGE 2 All-American, won the Heisman Trophy in 1953 and the Maxwell Award in 1952 and 1953. A year later, Guglielmi was named All-America and finished fourth in the Heisman voting. Both Lattner and Guglielmi are enshrined in the College Football Hall of Fame. All four players were National Football League first round draft picks - Lattner with Pittsburgh and Worden with Philadelphia in 1954, then Guglielmi and Heap, a year later, by Washington and the New York Giants. The always modest Lattner commented, "Any of the four of us could have won the Heisman Trophy." Lattner, in fact, did not lead the Irish in rushing, scoring, passing or receiving that year. Worden, Guglielmi and Heap earned those honors. Let's take a closer look at each of these four unforgettable players. Guglielmi, an outstanding high school athlete from Columbus, Ohio, was all-city in both football and basketball and had his choice of many schools. Woody Hayes wanted him to stay home and play for the Buckeyes. Paul "Bear" Bryant offered him a scholarship at Kentucky. However, as "Gugs" noted, "Once Frank Leahy visited and talked with my mother, there was no question where 1 was going ... Notre Dame." As an 18-year-old freshman, the 6-0, 185-pound Guglielmi., far down.. on ,th~,.depth chart behind John Mazur and Tom Carey, was thinking about returning to Columbus. "1 wasn't playing much and was a bit homesick - my girlfriend was back there - so 1 decided to talk with coach Leahy. 1 told him 1 felt 1 could help the team by playing more. So coach said, ,All right, you will quarterback the twos and fours against the ones and threes in scrimmage tomorrow.' Fortunately 1 played pretty well - we beat the first team." The next game was against North Carolina and during pregame warm-ups, Leahy told Guglielmi he was starting at quarterback. It was the beginning ofa Hall ofFame career. Guglielmi earned four monograms at Notre Dame, playing in 40 games, starting 34 ofthem and leading the Irish to a 27-4-3 record. He broke into the national limelight in the fmal game of the 1951 season against the Trojans of Southern California by leading the Irish to a come-back 19-12 win. Guglielmi's position coach his sophomore and junior years was the legendary Lujack. Lujack praised Guglielmi's all-around skills as a passer and runner but noted he "was without peer in handling the ball on the option, the essence ofSplit-T football." At the conclusion of his Notre Dame career, Guglielmi set the record for the most consecutive games completing a pass - 34; broke Bertelli's career passing record with 3,073 yards; broke Bob Williams' career completion record with 209 completions and ranked second to George Gipp in career offensive yardage with 3,285. PAGE 3 Heap came to Notre Dame from Abita Springs, LA. An outstanding high school athlete at Holy Cross High School in New Orleans, he won four letters in football and three in track and field and earned all state honors as a fullback. Heap remembered he had many opportunities for college, but "my dad wanted me to go to a Catholic school. I thought about Loyola in New Orleans where I could have run track, but I wanted to play football. And, Notre Dame, ofcourse was the top football school in the country." Heap had many outstanding games, but one that popped into mind first when discussing his Notre Dame career was the 28-21 win over Oklahoma in Norman in the 1953 season opener. "It was a hard fought game...a team win...and I felt good that I helped by catching two passes from Guglielmi for touchdowns." Heap, like his three backfield mates, was a terrific all-around player. He led the team in pass receiving for three years and finished his career as the leading Irish receiver with 78 catches. His 94-yard punt return against USC in the Coliseum in 1953 and the 92-yarder versus Pitt in 1952 remain as Notre Dame highlight film material. Commenting on Heap, Leahy once said: "Joe Heap could run, pass, kick, receive passes and run back kickoffs better than anyone I ever coached." Lattner was another outstanding Chicago prep player vvh.Q" matriculatecl.. to :No..!re Dame. Just like his thtee backfield mates, Lattner was a multi-sport high school athlete. He captained the Fenwick High basketball team and led it in scoring, won several track meets in the 100 and 220-yard dashes and earned all-state honors in football twice. Leahy called Lattner the "best all-around player we have had since Johnny Lujack." Others compared his skills to those of the legendary Gipp. The rangy 6-1, 190-pound Chicagoan played in 30 games as a three-year starter, averaged more than 40 minutes a game, gained more than 1,700 yards rushing, scored 20 touchdowns and had 13 interceptions. Lattner, although a model of consistency, saved his best for big games. None were bigger than Notre Dame's back-to-back wins over Bud Wilkinson's Oklahomajuggemaughts of 1952 and 1953. The '52 Sooners featured the best backfield in their storied history: Eddie Crowder, Buddy Leake, Buck McPhail and '52 Heisman winner Billy Vessels. The Irish prevailed 27-20 in the 1952 game in South Bend. Recalling that contest, Lattner said, "Oklahoma was an outstanding team. If we played them 10 times, they probably would have won nine. Their backfield taught us a lot about running the Split-T that we applied for the rest of 1952 and all of 1953." In the 1953 season opener in Norman, Lattner's interception ofa Leake aerial at the Irish 32 yard line with less than two minutes to play preserved a 28 21 win over the Sooners. Neil Worden's brilliant Notre Dame career began in grand style. The hard-running sophomore fullback PAGE 4 from Milwaukee, Wis., scored four touchdowns - all in the second quarter - in the 1951 opening game 48-6 rout of Indiana. Worden started every game for the next three years. "The Bull" left Notre Dame as its all-time scoring leader with 29 touchdowns, and more than 2,000 yards rushing. According to Doyle, Worden never played a subpar game. His senior year, however, was particularly outstanding. He led the Irish in rushing with 859 yards (a 5.9-yard average) and in scoring with 11 touchdowns, three ofthem in the season finale against SMU. He returned eight kickoffs for 164 yards and turned in a strong performance at linebacker. Not surprisingly, Worden excelled as a blocker, leading the way for the slashing Lattner and the speedy Heap.