Wake Up The Echoes: Frank Leahy and Leon Hart by Rev. Connell McHugh

Frank Leahy was born on August 27, 1908 in O’Neill, Nebraska and died June 21, 1973 in Portland, Oregon. He played tackle for his idol, Knute Rockne on Notre Dame teams in 1928, 1929, and 1930. The 1929 and 1930 teams were National Champions. After graduation, Frank Leahy became a line coach for Georgetown in 1931 and for Michigan State in 1932. From 1933 through 1938, Leahy was line coach for the excellent Jim Crowley Fordham teams. Their line was called the Blocks of Granite. The great Packer Coach, Vince Lombardi was a guard on the 1935 and 1936 Fordham teams. After being a successful line coach at Fordham, Leahy became the head coach of Boston College for the 1939 and 1940 seasons, guiding them to a 20-2 record. In 1940, Boston College defeated Tennessee 19-13 in the Sugar Bowl. In those years the National in 1943, 1946, 1947 and 1949. He had 6 undefeated seasons. His 1953 team was selected as number one by several polls. A controversial 114-14 tie with Iowa cost them the consensus National Championship. Notre Dame scored at the end of the first half and near the end of the game to earn the tie. Both times Notre Dame was out of time outs and both times a player faked an injury to stop the clock. Some writers referred to them as the “Fainting Irish”. Four Heisman Trophy winners played for Frank Leahy: Angelo Bertelli and Johnny Lujack, both quarterbacks, Leon Hart who excelled at offensive and defensive end and Johnny Lattner who was a halfback and punter for Leahy’s last team. In addition, Leahy also recruited another Heisman Trophy winner and NFL star, Paul Hornung. I can remember at the age of 7 watching the Highlights of Notre Dame’s 1953 team games on Sunday nights. I looked forward to each Sunday evening. I can, after all these years remember the starting backfield of this 9-0-1 team: quarterback Ralph Guglielmi, halfbacks Johnny Lattner and Joe Heap and fullback Neil Worden. The entire backfield made the NFL but none became stars. Leon Hart was born on November 2, 1928 and died September 24, 2002 in South Bend a little over a week after attending the Notre Dame/Michigan game of a perforated ulcer. Hart also had bypass surgery and cancer earlier in his life. Leon Hart is a great example of a winning player. He played football at Turtle Creek High School, a short distance from Pittsburgh. Hart’s team went undefeated in all his high school years. During his years at Notre Dame, 1946 through 1949, Hart’s team went 36-0-2. They won 3 National Championships. In 1949, Leon Hart won both the Heisman and Maxwell Trophies. Hart was the last lineman to win the Heisman. He is only one of four players to win a Heisman Trophy, a National Championship and be the 1st pick of the NFL draft.

At Notre Dame., Hart played both offensive and defensive end from 1946 through 1949 under “The Master” Frank Leahy. Leon Hart was a first team All-American in 1947, 1948 and 1949. He began playing for Notre Dame as a 17 year old in 1946. Hart was captain of the 1949 National Championship team that went 10-0 and outscored opponents 360-86. In 1949 Leon Hart was the Associated Press Athlete of the Year with 104 points outdistancing Jackie Robinson with 55 points. Hart was an excellent student and graduated in 1950 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. The Detroit Lions selected Hart as the Number 1 pick in the 1950 NFL Draft. He signed a 3-year contract for around $20,000 a year, big money for that time. Hart played his entire career for the Lions, 1950-1957. While he did not play on undefeated teams, he did play in the Golden Era of Detroit football. The Lions won the NFL in 1952, 1953 and 1957 with Bobby Layne at quarterback. Hart played 92 games for the Lions at both offensive and defensive end and a fullback. Leon Hart gained 3,111 yards from scrimmage and 2,499 passing yards with 32 career touchdowns.

In 1950, Hart married his high school Champion was selected before the Bowl Games and Tennessee was selected, but Boston College was viewed as National Champion since it went undefeated and beat Tennessee 19-13 in the Sugar Bowl.

Frank Leahy began coaching Notre Dame in 1941 and mentored the team in 1942 and 1943. When World War II escalated, Notre Dame, like many colleges suspended their Football Program. His career record at Notre Dame was 87-11-9, the second best percentage behind Knute Rockne. Overall he was 107-13-9. In 1970 Leahy was selected to the College Hall of Fame as a coach. Frank Leahy was Notre Dame’s Athletic Director from 1947 to 1949, but he gave that position up to concentrate on football. “Moose” Krause, the basketball coach succeeded him. Frank Leahy resigned as Football Coach of Notre Dame after the 1953 season for health reasons. He did serve as the General Manager of the L.A.Chargers in 1960, the inaugural year of the AFL. Leahy coached Notre Dame to National Championships girlfriend, Lois, in St. Coleman’s Roman Catholic Church. The couple remained married until his wife’s death in 1998. Leon and Lois had six children. Their son, Kevin played end on the 1977 National Championship Notre Dame team.

Sports Illustrated ranked the 4 year stretch of Notre Dame’s Football Team from 1946 through 1949 as the second best dynasty of any sport in the 20th Century, trailing only the Boston Celtic Teams from 1957 to 1969. That dynasty won 11 NBA titles. Sports Illustrated also ranked Leon Hart among the 50 greatest athletes from Pennsylvania.

When Leon Hart was the Heisman Trophy winner in 1949, the 2nd and 3rd players in the voting were future NFL stars: Charlie “Choo Choo” Justice and SMU’s Doak Walker who became a teammate of Hart for the Detroit Lions. Frank Leahy used to say to Hart, “Leon don’t get hurt because you gotta play anyway.” Hart, in addition to being a fine pass catcher, was also a great blocker on offense and an excellent pass rusher on defense. Leon Hart was a strong believer in two way players even in his later years.

Hart was a successful businessman after retiring from football. He ran his own business which manufactured parts for trucks. Leon Hart remained loyal to Notre Dame throughout his life and was active in the school’s affairs. He also worked very hard to see that NFL players from 1959 and earlier received proper pensions. Leon Hart is in the College Football Hall of Fame and is still regarded as one of the greatest ends in the history of college football.

Hart appears on Bowman Football cards from 1950 through 1955 and on Topps Cards in 1956 and 1957. The Bowman cards from 1950 to 1953 run $20 to $50 depending on condition. The 1954 and 1955 Bowman cards and the 1956 and 1957 Topps cards cost approximately $10 to $15 in nice condition. The rare and most expensive card of Hart costs upward of $300 and was manufactured by Leaf in 1948. Frank Leahy cards appear in Notre Dame produced sets and in Trading Cards manufactured by the Collegiate Collection Inc. out of Louisville, Kentucky.