- Messages
- 44,569
- Reaction score
- 20,018
Looks like some at Indiana wanted Rockne, but the new coach Childs didn't. What a mistake.
What if … Knute Rockne had ended up on the Indiana sidelines?
Clarence Childs had been a track and field star at Yale and was named to the 1912 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team that would compete in Stockholm, Sweden. Childs took home the bronze medal in the hammer throw, which had been his specialty at Yale.
Following his Olympic success and the conclusion of his amateur career, Childs was named head football coach (he lettered in the sport at Yale as well) at The College of Wooster in the spring of 1913. Following a 2-3-2 record in 1913, Childs was approached about the vacant Indiana football coaching job after the resignation of Jimmy Sheldon, who had been IU’s football coach since 1905.
After officially accepting the Indiana job in the summer of 1914, Childs began to seek out a supporting cast. We are not aware who may have suggested the name to Childs to fill the assistant coach position, but a recommendation was made of a 22-year old recent graduate of the University of Notre Dame named Knute Larsen Rockne.
Rockne had excelled as a football player for the Fighting Irish from 1910-1913, and he had graduated with a degree in chemistry from Notre Dame in the spring of 1914.
In a letter penned to IU President William Lowe Bryan, Childs dismissed the idea of Rockne as an assistant. He stated that his goal was “to interest the Alumni as far as possible this coming season, and I am sure that the methods of Notre Dame are quite different than those of Indiana or Yale.”
A letter dated June 28, 1914 from IU football coach Clarence Childs to Indiana University President William Lowe Bryan discusses Knute Rockne’s candidacy for an assistant coaching position. Courtesy: Indiana University Archives
Regardless of what Childs’ motivation may have been, Rockne was not considered for the position and remained in South Bend. Following graduation, Rockne passed on medical school and pursued a professional football career while also assisting the Notre Dame team under head coach Jesse Harper.
When Harper announced his retirement as head coach following the conclusion of the 1917 season, Rockne was named his successor. Rockne’s head coaching career from 1918-1930 included three national championships and a 105-12-5 total record (the second highest winning percentage all time in NCAA football history).
His College Football Hall of Fame biography states that Rockne is “without question, American football’s most renowned coach.”
And he could have been on the Indiana sidelines.
What if … Knute Rockne had ended up on the Indiana sidelines?
Clarence Childs had been a track and field star at Yale and was named to the 1912 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team that would compete in Stockholm, Sweden. Childs took home the bronze medal in the hammer throw, which had been his specialty at Yale.
Following his Olympic success and the conclusion of his amateur career, Childs was named head football coach (he lettered in the sport at Yale as well) at The College of Wooster in the spring of 1913. Following a 2-3-2 record in 1913, Childs was approached about the vacant Indiana football coaching job after the resignation of Jimmy Sheldon, who had been IU’s football coach since 1905.
After officially accepting the Indiana job in the summer of 1914, Childs began to seek out a supporting cast. We are not aware who may have suggested the name to Childs to fill the assistant coach position, but a recommendation was made of a 22-year old recent graduate of the University of Notre Dame named Knute Larsen Rockne.
Rockne had excelled as a football player for the Fighting Irish from 1910-1913, and he had graduated with a degree in chemistry from Notre Dame in the spring of 1914.
In a letter penned to IU President William Lowe Bryan, Childs dismissed the idea of Rockne as an assistant. He stated that his goal was “to interest the Alumni as far as possible this coming season, and I am sure that the methods of Notre Dame are quite different than those of Indiana or Yale.”
A letter dated June 28, 1914 from IU football coach Clarence Childs to Indiana University President William Lowe Bryan discusses Knute Rockne’s candidacy for an assistant coaching position. Courtesy: Indiana University Archives
Regardless of what Childs’ motivation may have been, Rockne was not considered for the position and remained in South Bend. Following graduation, Rockne passed on medical school and pursued a professional football career while also assisting the Notre Dame team under head coach Jesse Harper.
When Harper announced his retirement as head coach following the conclusion of the 1917 season, Rockne was named his successor. Rockne’s head coaching career from 1918-1930 included three national championships and a 105-12-5 total record (the second highest winning percentage all time in NCAA football history).
His College Football Hall of Fame biography states that Rockne is “without question, American football’s most renowned coach.”
And he could have been on the Indiana sidelines.
