Knute Rockne - the Fighting Viking Quiz

Answer: Voss, Norway

Rockne was born in Voss, Norway as Knut Larsen Rokne. His parents emigrated from Norway to Chicago when he was five years old, and he adopted the name Knute Kenneth Rockne. He grew up in the northwest area of Chicago and played football and ran track during his high school years.

Voss is a relatively small town in western Norway with a population of around 15,000 people. During World War II it became a center of resistance of the Norwegian army against the Nazis and the city center was bombed by the Germans.

Answer: Chicago post office

Rockne worked in the Chicago post office for four years as a mail dispatcher before saving enough money to enroll in college. He was 22 years old, four years older than the typical first-year student, when he began college.

Although delayed entry to college is rarer today, it provided the framework for the movie "Rudy", the story of Daniel (Rudy) Ruettiger. Rudy had dreamt of enrolling and playing football at Notre Dame, but he spent time in the US Navy and time working at a power plant before entering college.

Answer: Proximity to his home and its cost

By a process of elimination, proximity and cost is the correct answer.

The future Bonnie Rockne wasn't attending Notre Dame, which was an all-male school until 1972. They would meet later one summer when Rockne was working as a lifeguard during his college years.

Notre Dame was a relatively unknown football team and nowhere near a national power at that time, let alone being a national champion.

Rockne was a Lutheran and obviously wasn't studying to become a Roman Catholic priest, although he would eventually become a Catholic.

Answer: End (receiver)

The Notre Dame football team first gained national attention on November 1, 1913 in a game against national power Army at West Point, New York.

American football began as an offshoot of rugby. One of the differences was football allowed the ball to be passed forward.

In the summer before the future game against Army, Notre Dame quarterback Gus Dorais and wide receiver Knute Rockne practiced the forward pass on the beach. During the game the unheralded Irish used the forward pass at opportune times to win the game by a score of 35-13 in a stunning upset.

The Army versus Notre Dame game established the Irish as a national power, becoming the favorite team of many Americans who were known as "The Subway Alumni". The use of the forward pass also transformed the game of football, making it a much more common play.

Answer: Graduated with a degree in pharmacy

Rockne was an excellent student, who studied chemistry and graduated with a degree in pharmacy. He had given thought to becoming a doctor, but accepted an offer by Father Julius Nieuwland to become a chemistry instructor. (Father Nieuwland's research was important to invention of synthetic rubber and neoprene.)

Rockne accepted the position with the understanding he would be allowed to assist with the football team. While an assistant, he and his former teammate Gus Dorais played for the Akron Indians and the Massillon (Ohio) Tigers of leagues preceding the National Football League.

Answer: Studebaker

About 30,000 Rockne automobiles were produced by Studebaker during its two year run of 1932 and 1933. Rockne had begun discussions with Studebaker, which was situated in nearby South Bend, in 1928. He was appointed sales manager for the Rockne brand in 1931, 12 days before his death in an airplane crash. Versions of the automobile were built in Detroit and South Bend.

The launch of the Rockne occurred during the height of the Depression, and Studebaker ceased production due to financial problems that forced it into receivership. An organization that tracks Rockne cars stated that there were about 230 Rocknes that were still in complete shape in 2016.

Answer: Army at Yankee Stadium

The US Military Academy (Army) was a national football power through the late 1950s. Four of Notre Dame's most iconic games were played against Army:

1913 Rockne and Dorais defeat ARmy 35-13 with extensive use of the forward pass
1924 Four Horsemen defeat Army
1928 Win one for the Gipper in a 12-6 victory
1946 0-0 tie when Notre Dame players return from WWII to play Army

Grantland Rice penned one of the most famous lines in US Sports reporting about the game starting:

"Outlined against a blue-gray October sky the Four Horsemen rode again. In dramatic lore they are known as famine, pestilence, destruction and death. These are only aliases. Their real names are: Stuhldreher, Miller, Crowley and Layden. They formed the crest of the South Bend cyclone before which another fighting Army team was swept over the precipice at the Polo Grounds this afternoon as 55,000 spectators peered down upon the bewildering panorama spread out upon the green plain below".

The four running backs were city boys, but the publicity manager at the school arranged a photo session with them sitting uncomfortably on four horses in a memorable picture. The backs (Elmer Layden, Don Miller, Harry Stuhldreher, and Jim Crowley) subsequently had successful careers that included coaching, a judgeship, and a US Steel executive position. Not to be outdone, the offensive linemen on the team labeled themselves "The Seven Mules"

Answer: He missed the game to watch Army versus Navy

The shrewd businessman Rockne made a monumental blunder when he accepted a commission to attend the Army versus Navy game in Chicago to write a story and select an All-American team. This occurred when the Notre Dame was playing against a weak Carnegie Tech team, which used Rockne's absence as motivation in a major upset that may have cost Rockne a national championship.

Answer: Pat O'Brien

Ronald Reagan is associated with the movie "Knute Rockne All American", in which the played the role of George Gipp. Gipp was an extremely talented halfback for one of Rockne's earlier teams and died of strep throat after his final game. Supposedly (and very questionably knowing Rockne) he told Rockne on his deathbed to have the team win one for the Gipper when the team needed inspiration.

The role of Rockne went to Pat O'Brien, who was able to mimic some of Rockne's memorable speeches. Both he and President Reagan received honorary degrees from Notre Dame in 1981. O'Brien would often attend pep rallies before Notre Dame football games and give his Rockne speeches. One of his final acts was to tape a pep rally talk before the 1983 Notre Dame versus archrival Southern California game.

The choice you didn't recognize was my grandfather.

Answer: Kansas

Rockne was flying to California to participate in the production of a film "The Spirit of Notre Dame". The plane stopped in Kansas City so that he could visit his two sons, who were attending prep school there. One hour after resuming his trip a wing of the airplane broke, and the plane crashed near Bazaar, Kansas.

A young man, Easter Heathman, witnessed the crash and raced to the scene. He would later maintain the site until his death in 2008, conducting free tours at the site for Notre Dame fans who made it a pilgrimage site. For his service Notre Dame awarded him a monogram (also known as a varsity letter). The death of Rockne shocked the nation and was one of the factors in imposing stricter rules on airplane travel.