The Archives of The University of Notre Dame 607 Hesburgh Library Notre Dame, IN 46556 574-631-6448 [email protected] Notre Dame Archives: Alumnus May, 1931 THE NOTKE DAME ALUHNUS 289 tl tllltllltllltll*MlllllllilllUIMIMMMMI limtllMMUMI MMtlMIMIIIHIMIMHM*«IHtllttllllllltMIMMIMMQ COMMENT IN TtilS IJJUE Views of Rockne in Life and DeatK- .Frontispiece Rockne's Tragic Death Shocks Nations, by Thomas Coman; '25 291 How to make the point \vith- The Everlasting Arms, sermon by Rev. Charles L. out alibi-ing is puzzling the Ed­ O'Donnell, C.S.Cl :. 299 itor. Happy Landing, by Christy Walsh -301 Telegrams and Editorial Comment -^ -302 This issue of the ALUMNUS Views of Rockne's Life - -320 represents a 100% honest pur­ Poems of Rockne : -322 John F. Gushing Gives $300,000 Engineering Building_ -328 pose to pay a small tribute, on 1931 Commencement Program :: -331 the part of a group that has a The Alumni Clubs -337 distinct obligation, to Knute The Alumni , : -344 Rockne, alumnus of Notre Dame. The magazine is published monthly during the Bcholmstie year by the Alomni There have been obstacles, Association of the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame. Indianja. The subscription price is S3.00 a year; the price of ainsle copies is 25 cents. The the largest of which has been annual alumni dues of 95.00 include a year's subscription to THE AIJUHNUS. Entered as secondM:lass matter January 1, 1923, at the post office at Notre time. The scope and the quan­ Dame, Indiana, under the Act of March 3, 1879. All correspondence should tity of tributes paid to Rock by be addressed to The Notre Dame Alumnus. Box 81, Notre Dame. Indiana. the outside world have made MEMBER OF THE AMERICAN ALUMNI COUNCIL selection for a representative MEMBER OF THE NATIONAL CATHOUC ALUMNI FEDERATION display a matter of study and concentration. THE NOTRE DAME ALUMNUS Neither of these have been JAMES E. ARMSTRONG, '25, Editor possible to any extent for this May ALUMNUS. The issue therefore lays no THE ALUMNI ASSOCIATION claim to a presentation of all of the that is best. UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME It does claim to give alumni Alumni Headquarters, Main Floor Administration BIdg., a few of those many fine things Notre Dame, Indiana said about Rock which Notre JAMES E. ARMSTRONG, General Secretary Dame men of all times ^vill cherish. ALUMNI BOARD 'REV. JOHN CAVANAUGH, C.S.C, '90 Honorary President It attempts, in some measure, FRANK E. HERING, '98 President to portray the vast reaches of HON. WILLIAM J. GRANFIELD, '13 Vice-President JAMES E. ARMSTRONG, '25 Secretaiy Rockne's influence; to bring WALTER DUNCAN, '12 - - Treasurer home the national character of GEORGE M. MAYPOLE, '03 Director M. HARRY MILLER, '10 Director the man, \vith the resulting good T. PAUL MCGANNON, '07 Director to Notre Dame. JOHN W. EGGEMAN, '00 {ex officio) Director It attempts to treat the ob­ jects of the tribute as always Q • m a Notre Dame man, the man factors in Notice Dame, will ing planned in many instances whom Rockne knew, loved, understand as no outside per­ outside these pages. worked for, and, above all, was. sons could. They are continu­ This issue, with its many lim­ That the reports of Uni­ ing. They are in the morning itations, is the saga of Knute versal Notre Dame Night, the of achievement. Rockne, of whom we ask only Commencement program, the that prayer that closed the They are the brighter, re­ "Poem for George Gipp—" gift of the Engineering Build­ membering yesterday's sunset. ing, and a new high record in "Oh, Lady, you, have taken of our Class Secretarial achievement Mr. Cushing's splendid gift; best should have come in the same the Clubs; the Class of '28, will To make a playmate for the issue, brings to them a subordi­ receive more just consideration Seraphim; There on the unde, sweet campus nation that the Editor regrets in later issues, as their works of the blest exceedingly, but which' they, as unfold. Commencement is be- Be good to him." \ 290 THE NOTREDAME ALUMNUS Mail, 19J1 THE NOTRE DAME ALUMNUS Volume IX. MAY, 1931 No. 9 Rocknc^s Tragic Death Shocks Nation Notre Dame Shares Genius With Nation; Flood of Reaction Reveals Rockne in Unsuspected Roles of Greatness; Countless Thousands Mourn. (Editor's Note: FoUDwinff are the stories of the tragic c%'ents siir- The list of victims showed six passengers, including rouniiiti^ Rocline's death appearinK in the South Bend Ncini-Tinta^, Rockne, the pilot, co-pilot, and the steward. With the exception of the news story itself, the subsetiuent stories are by Thomas F. Coman. a Notre Dame Kratluate of the Class of 1925. The ship was enroute to Wichita, Kansas, and had left Mr. Coman was for several years a sports writer on the campus, and Kansas City at 9:15 o'clock Tuesday morning. Bazaar is as such knew Mr. Uockne ver>- personally. The stories received wide­ 30 miles from here. spread commendation. The stories express four important pha-ses of Persons who reached the wreckage and flashed back Hockne's influence in splendid styk—journalistic, civic, personal, and the fellowship of Notre Dame. Probably no other accounts could do so the reports of the tragedy said that the entire passenger much so well.) and crew list was dead. The plane left Kansas City 15 minutes late, held up By United Press by the delayed arrival of mail. BAZAAE, Kansas, Jlarch 31.—Knute Rockne, noted Rockne was enroute to Los .A.ngeles, Calif., to confer Notre Dame football coach, and eight other men were there on business matters pertaining to his motion picture killed in an airplane interests. crash near here to­ The first flash to day. Emporia that Rock­ The plane, operat­ ne was among the ed by the Transcon­ dead shocked the en­ tinental and Wes­ tire world and busi­ tern .A.ir Express, ness and industry Inc., was enroute halted while all from Kansas City to sources of communi­ Los -A.ngeles. cation were placed Rockne was listed into service to de­ as a passenger on termine the truth of the plane when it the report. left Kansas City Knute Rockne earlier in the day. broke into the coach­ Edward Baker, a ing game under farmer, was feeding Jesse Harper at stock on the Stewait Notre Dame in 1916 Baker farm, and after having played was watching the a star game at end plane as it flew over. for three years on Suddenly, he said, the teams of 1911- there was an explo­ 12-13. sion and the ship Voss, NORWAY—ROCKNE'S BIRTHPLACE Rugaed, Clean .A.fter taking his fell to the earth. degree from Notre Tlie plane was flying at a low altitude because of the Dame in science, he turned to the teaching of chemistry. cloudy weather. During 191G and 1917, he helped Harper build the pre­ First check of the debris showed there were nine bodies war teams, and then took over the head coaching reins in the plane. in 1918. Members of the Baker household heard the explosion His success in these years was unusual, yet still in its and rushed to the scene, half a mile away. infancy. The fonvard pass was coming into greater play, The passenger list of the plane which is reported to and Rockne added to its development each year. have crashed near Emporia, Kansas, was given out at the His success quickened in the 14 years, bringing Notre headquarters of the T. A. T. here as follows: Dame to the pinnacle of fame in the football work with light, fast teams, whose power, speed and deception were KNUTE ROCKNE unmatched in the history of sport. J. H. CHRISTEN Rockne came to Notre Dame in 1910 from Chicago, S. GOLDTHWAITE with only a few hundred dollars and a wealth of ambition C. A. ROBRECHT and resourcefulness. He had played football and baseball -A.n unidentified Chicago passenger. and ran in ti-ack meets on the sand lots of Chicago. The There were two pilots on the plane, one of whom was achievements of Walter Eckersall inspired him. He Robert Fi-ye, of Kansas City, it was stated at the T. .A.. T. thought once of going to Illinois, but friends persuaded headquarters here. him to go to Notre Dame and play football because he 292 THE NOTKE DAME ALUMNUS May, 1931 would have a chance to work his way through school at danger, inspired that Notre Dame squad to a victory which the South Bend institution. might have been impossible without the presence of their Rockne's big flash on the football horizon was in 1913 coach. Avhen Notre Dame beat the Army at New York, 35 to 13. Bockne made one other trip that season, to the South- This was the debut of the forward pass in the East at the em California game in Soldier field, but finally was forced time of its most advanced development. Dorais threw the to let his assistants handle his team for the remainder passes to Eockne and Knute, at end, raced over the goal of the games. When the Irish played the Anny in New- line. York, the final game of the season, which crowned Notre In his boyhood days, Eockne became familiar with the Dame champion for 1929, the Notre Dame coach again game of hard knocks. He had to work night and day to received reports by telephone of the progress of the game. earn the money which he was to spend on his college At the close of the season, he went immediately to education.