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ROCKNE'S LAST GAME
By John Daye
After completing his national championship 10-0-0 season with a decisive 27-0 victory over
Southern California in December of 1930, Knute Rockne and a band of current and former Notre
Damers made their way to New York City for what proved to be Rockne's final game as a head
football coach. The players were officially called the "Notre Dame All-Stars," and they were
pitted against the professional New York Giants of the National Football League in a charity
game scheduled for Sunday, December 14, 1930 at the Polo Grounds. Mayor James J. Walker had
organized and promoted the charity event to benefit the unemployment fund for thousands of
New York City workers. With good weather forecast for
the Sunday afternoon kickoff, Mayor Walker and his
committeemen were expecting over 50,000 fans paying
more than $100,000 to the unemployment fund.
Much of the pre-game hype centered on the return of the
vaunted "Four Horsemen" of Notre Dame to the city of
their origination. True to his vast theatrical sense, Rockne
planned to start Harry Stuhldreher, Jim Crowley, Don
Miller, and Elmer Layden, even though each of the famed
foursome were five seasons removed from football-playing
c o m p e t i t i o n . T h e m a t c h u p t h a t was most e a g e r l y
anticipated was between Benny Friedman of the Giants
and Frank Carideo of the Irish at quarterback Rockne also
was planning to start the "Seven Mules" from the same
1924 team, and then bring in the players of the late
twenties and the 1930 seniors to compete with the wellconditioned professionals. After only two practice sessions
in South Bend with the highly unusual mixture of players
and coaches alike, there was some well-founded concern
over their ability to compete successfully with the Giants.
When the Irish All-Stars arrived in New York on Saturday
morning, December 13, they were honored in a ceremony
at city hall by the mayor and other dignitaries. They were
then whisked off to the Polo Grounds for an hour and a
half practice session, only their third workout as a team.
On the other hand, Friedman and tackle Steve Owen,
serving as co-head coaches for the Giants, had been
practicing with a purpose -- to prove that organized pro
football, only eleven years young, was here to stay.
On that bleak, frost-bitten 1930 Sunday afternoon at the Polo Grounds, the Giants of the fledgling
National Football League completely dominated the Notre Dame All-Stars, both statistically and
scoring-wise, with a convincing 22-0 victory. Quarterback Friedman was the catalyst for the
Giants, running for two touchdowns while completing seven passes for 94 yards. But the real
story of the game was the Giants' defense that held the Irish to just one first down, 34 rushing
yards, and no pass completions. Neither the legendary "Four Horsemen" and the "Seven Mules,"
nor the current backs and linemen of Notre Dame's 1929 and 1930 campaigns could move the ball
against the seasoned pros. The "Horsemen," except for Crowley who was injured in the first
quarter, played through the first quarter with little success and were replaced by All-America
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quarterback Carideo, and running backs Jack Elder and Bucky O'Connor, but to no avail.
Other than a seven-yard run by Elder and a 12-yard jaunt by Rex Enright, the All-Star offense
was basically non-existent. Friedman's passes to Red Badgro, along with his relentless running,
gave the Giants all the offense needed with 20 points in the second and third quarters.
Combining the Friedman-led offense with an impregnable defense led by Badgro and Steve
Owen's brother Bill, gave the Giants the victory, even though the All-Star defense was
respectable in defeat. Both teams played their
reserves during the scoreless fourth quarter with
almost no offense being generated by either team.
The most telling statistic of the game was that
NOTRE DAME ALL-STARS
the closest the Irish advanced toward the Giants'
CLASS
POS
NAME
goal line was their own 49 yard line.
Glen Carberry
Joe Bach
Hunk Anderson
Adam Walsh
Noble Kizer
Rip Miller
Ed Hunsinger
Harry Stuhldreher
Jim Crowley
Don Miller
Elmer Layden
Jack Cannon
Frank Carideo
Jack Chevigny
Chuck Collins
Doc Connell
Charlie Crowley
Jack Elder
Rex Enright
Al Gebert
Bill Jones
John Law
Joe Maxwell
John McManmon
Tim Moynihan
Joe Nash
Bucky O'Connor
Ted Twomey
Manny Vezie
Ike Voedisch
Chili Walsh
Elmer Wynne
E
T
G
C
G
T
E
QB
HB
HB
FB
G
QB
HB
E
HB
E
HB
FB
QB
G
G
E
T
C
C
HB
T
E
E
E
FB
1923
1925
1922
1925
1925
1925
1925
1925
1925
1925
1925
1930
1931
1929
1925
1925
1920
1930
1926
1930
1929
1930
1927
1927
1930
1930
1931
1930
1930
1928
1928
1928
Attendance for the charity affair was over 50,000
with the relief fund receiving $115,153 from the
receipts for the game. There was some conjecture
as to the disbursement of the game receipts, but
in the end, Mayor Walker gave the entire amount
to the unemployment fund. All expenses for the
game were donated, from the use of the Polo
Grounds by Charles A. Stoneham, to the
officiating crew that included Lou Little, the
current head coach at Columbia.
In the end, Rockne's aura and the immense respect
that his players held for him was never more
evident than for this game. With over half of the
All-Stars already holding full-time coaching
positions, and not having played competitively for
several years, they risked serious injury to play a
game for the man whom they idolized. Rockne
h i m s e l f was not in good h e a l t h , as he had
r e t u r n e d t o S o u t h Bend just t h e p r e v i o u s
Wednesday after completing the grueling 1930
season in Los A n g e l e s a g a i n s t USC. Y e t he
immediately conducted the two practices in South
Bend and then traveled to New Y o r k for the
weekend festivities and game. Afterwards he
publicly complimented his players for their
courage and loyalty, even though their lack of
time to properly prepare probably was the reason
for the poor performance on the field.
L a t e r on, in January of 1931, Rockne went to
F l o r i d a t o v a c a t i o n w i t h his f a m i l y before
departing for Hollywood to make a movie. Leaving
for California on the fateful flight in March,
Rockne's plane went down near Bazaar, Kansas, tragically ending the life of the great coach. At
his funeral service in South Bend, Father Charles O'Donnell, president of Notre Dame, said the
final prayer for Rockne: "Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon
him." Football had lost one of the greatest personalities in its storied history.