I never realized before that Ronald Reagan's trademark phrase, "Win one for the Gipper," is perfect for him.
Ever since the 29-year-old Reagan portrayed George Gipp in the 1940 movie, "Knute Rockne: All American," he closely identified himself with the 25-year-old Gipp. This is not the first film figure that Reagan psychologically merged with his own, but in Reagan's second career, it has become the best-known.Throughout Reagan's election campaigns, he used the phrase as if it were his own. The last time he used the phrase was during the 1988 presidential campaign when he indirectly endorsed George Bush. As a result most voters undoubtedly came to think that Reagan WAS the Gipper.
Instead, George Gipp was a gridiron star, dating back to the 1920s, who had one of history's finest college football careers at Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind.
Unfortunately, after the "Fighting Irish" had completed their second consecutive undefeated year of football, Gipp left a celebration dinner suffering from strep throat. In the days that followed the dinner, Gipp's illness worsened, developed into pneumonia, and before long, "Rockne's Golden Boy" had passed from this world into American folklore.
The now-legendary account was originally told in 1928 by Rockne to a 5-4 Irish team about to battle their arch-rival, Army, a 4-to-1 favorite. Rockne said, "You've all heard of George Gipp." Rockne explained that he had been at Gipp's bedside when the athlete died, and then the coach recounted the dying player's last request: "Rock, some time when the team is up against it, when things are wrong and the breaks are beating the boys - tell them to go in there and win just one for me."
After repeating that statement, Rockne continued, "Well, I've never used Gipp's request until now. This is the time. It's up to you. Let's get one for the Gipper!"
Skeptics have doubted that Gipp ever uttered those words, but Rockne always insisted that he did. Gipp's teammate Hunk Anderson also claimed that Rockne tearfully recounted the final request only minutes after Gipp died.
Rockne's underdog squad was in fact fired up by the request. The team played inspired football, and when halfback Jack Chevigny tied the score with a touchdown, he yelled the now-immortal line, "There's one for the Gipper!"
George Gipp was a well-built six-footer, weighing 180 pounds, who had run the hundred-yard dash in 10.2 seconds. Routinely, he drop-kicked field goals of 50-plus yards, and nobody ever completed a pass against him.
His greatest game was against Army at West Point on Oct. 20, 1920. He ran for 150 yards, passed for another 123 and returned punts and kickoffs for 207 more as Notre Dame won, 27-17. Gipp demonstrated once and for all that Notre Dame was no upstart Hoosier school and would be included from then on among the college football elite.
Actually, Gipp's career was checkered. He was a known gambler and had been expelled from school early in 1920 for cutting class and shooting pool. Rockne tended to be forgiving of his star player. He recalled:
"I came to know a lot - and yet little - about George Gipp. He lived quietly, had no single close buddy, nor even a circle of good friends. . . . And, to our disappointment, he skipped study room more than Coach Jesse Harper and I liked. Yet it was impossible for anyone not to like him and enjoy every moment spent with him. He was pleasant - but never cheerful. Friendly, but never overtly congenial."
Vintage Reagan. He and Gipp were practically alter egoes.
It is tempting to be highly critical of Reagan for co-opting Gipp's life as his own. At worst it was dishonest, and at best it demonstrated Reagan's frightening penchant for reliving one of his movies as if it were real life.
On the other hand, Reagan was a late-blooming politician, an average actor whose record hardly qualified him for political life. Yet he re-invented the presidency and restored to it the prestige lost during Nixon's Watergate corruption. In truth, he bore a striking resemblance to Gipp. Athletic but not studious, optimistic, cheerful and likable to a fault, the kind of amiable man who always cheered others on to victory, Reagan not only deserved the Gipp legend, he gave it the same new life he gave the presidency.
The Gipper lives on.