- Rudy Ruettiger
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Rudy Ruettiger 
Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger dressed in his #45 for the Georgia Tech gameNotre Dame Fighting Irish — No. 45 Defensive End 1976 Major: Sociology Date of birth: August 23, 1948 Place of birth: Joliet, Illinois, USA Height: 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Weight: 165 lb (75 kg; 11 st 11 lb) Career history High school: Joliet Catholic High School College(s):
Bowl games Career highlights and awards The first of only two players to have been carried off the field at Notre Dame. Daniel Eugene "Rudy" Ruettiger (born August 23, 1948) is a motivational speaker and former collegiate football player for the University of Notre Dame, who is best known as the inspiration for the motion picture Rudy.
Contents
Early life and college career
Daniel Ruettiger (nicknamed "Rudy") had a hard time in school because he was dyslexic--a condition that was not well understood at the time. He was the third of fourteen children. He attended Joliet Catholic High School, where he played for locally famous coach Gordie Gillespie. Ruettiger joined the United States Navy after high school, serving as a yeoman on a communications command ship for two years; then he worked in a power plant for two years. He applied to Notre Dame, but due to his marginal grades he had to do his early college work at nearby Holy Cross College.
After two years at Holy Cross, Ruettiger was accepted as a student at Notre Dame on his fourth try, in the fall of 1974. It was during his time studying at Holy Cross that Ruettiger discovered he had dyslexia.
Ruettiger harbored a dream to play for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, despite being merely 5'6" and 165 pounds--an undersized player even by 1970s collegiate standards.[1] Head coach Ara Parseghian encouraged walk-on players from the student body. For example, Notre Dame's 1969 starting center, Mike Oriard, was a walk-on who eventually won a Rhodes Scholarship and an NFL contract with the Kansas City Chiefs.[2]
Ruettiger earned a place on the Notre Dame scout team, a practice squad that helps the varsity team practice for games. Merv Johnson was the coach who was instrumental in keeping Rudy on as a scout-team player.
After Parseghian stepped down after the 1974 season, Dan Devine was named head coach. In Ruettiger's last opportunity to play for Notre Dame at home, Devine put him into a game as defensive end against Georgia Tech on November 8, 1975. In the movie Rudy, Devine is given a somewhat antagonistic role, not wanting Rudy to dress for his last game. However, in actuality, it was Devine who came up with the idea to dress Rudy. In the final play of Ruettiger's senior season with the Fighting Irish, he recorded a sack,[3] which is all his Notre Dame stat line has ever shown. Ruettiger actually played for two plays.[3] The first time he was unable to get to the quarterback,[3] but on the second play he sacked[3] Georgia Tech quarterback, Rudy Allen.[4] Ruettiger was carried off the field by his teammates following the game.
Ruettiger was the first of only two players in Notre Dame history ever to be carried off the field by his teammates. The other is Marc Edwards.[5][6]
After college
In 1997 Ruettiger and his wife Cheryl founded the Rudy Foundation. The Rudy Foundation created the Rudy Award Program to benefit children's advocacy programs.[7] The inaugural 2007 College Football Rudy Award was held on 8 January 2008 at the OpryLand Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee.[8] The College Football Rudy Award was created by the Rudy Foundation and honors Division I football players who demonstrate what Ruettiger refers to as "The Four C's": character, courage, contribution and commitment as a member of their team.[9] The 2007 award was presented to Terry Clayton of the University of Kentucky Wildcats and the 2008 award was presented to Drew Combs of the Texas Christian University Horned Frogs.
Ruettiger signs autographs after speaking at Ohio University in January, 2010.
On October 14, 2005, Ruettiger was the master of ceremonies at a pep rally for Notre Dame Football. The Fighting Irish were about to play rival and then #1-ranked University of Southern California (USC) the following day and Head Coach Charlie Weis asked some Notre Dame legends, including Tim Brown and Joe Montana, to come back and speak at the rally. Ruettiger came out of the tunnel at Notre Dame Stadium to a loud ovation.[10] Notre Dame ultimately lost the game.
In July 2009, Ruettiger was initiated into the Kappa Sigma Fraternity at the National Convention in San Antonio, Texas.[11]
In September 2009, Trusted Sports and Rudy launched the High School Football 'Rudy' Awards, which aims to uncover the "Rudy" on every High School football team in America. The award is presented to the most inspirational High School football player who personifies what Rudy calls "The Four C's": Courage, Character, Commitment and Contribution. Inspired by the College Football Rudy Awards, three finalists were announced on February 3, 2010. The winner, Calob Leindecker of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, received a college scholarship totalling $10,000. Two runners-up, Kyle Weafer of Kansas and Justin Ray Duke of Texas each received $5,000 scholarships.
Ruettiger's story was told in the 1993 film Rudy, which starred actor Sean Astin in the title role as Rudy. The film was written by Angelo Pizzo, directed by David Anspaugh and produced by Rob Fried, both of whom were involved in Hoosiers. Ruettiger appeared in a cameo as a fan behind Rudy's father and brother during the final scene.[12]
Publications
- Rudy's Insights for Winning in Life ISBN 9780965811910
- Rudy's Lessons for Young Champions ISBN 9780965811903
- Rudy & Friends ISBN 9781880692394
- Dream Power (audio cassette)
Awards
- Honorary Doctorate Degree from Our Lady of Holy Cross College
- The key to numerous cities across the nation along with special proclamations for his inspiration, commitment, and human spirit
- Honorary assist to the Attorney General of Louisiana
- Recognition from President George W. Bush
- Recognition at the White House
- Recognition from the House of Representatives in the state of Texas
- A Proclamation from the Governor of Nevada granting an Official Rudy Award Day
Notes
- ^ Ruettiger's stats on his official website.
- ^ It's Not All Fun and Games: college athletics, Notre Dame Magazine Online, summer 2002
- ^ a b c d Youtube of final three plays
- ^ Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger recording the final sack for Notre Dame against Georgia Tech on November 8th, 1975 on YouTube
- ^ Rudy Chasing the Frog
- ^ Dick Weiss, SLIGHTING IRISH HURTS ALLEGED USC TAUNTS INSPIRE NOTRE DAME
- ^ The Mission of the Rudy Foundation
- ^ 2007 Rudy Award winner
- ^ The Rudy Award
- ^ "One for the ages: USC edges Notre Dame: Leinart pulls trickery with 3 seconds left, Bush scores 3 TDs in 34-31 win"; msnbc.com
- ^ 67th Grand Conclave – Kappa Zeta For Outstanding Year 2008 – 2009
- ^ "Rudy (1993) – Full Cast and Crew"; imdb.com
References
- Pagna, Tom, "Notre Dame's Era of Ara", Diamond Communications, Inc., 1976, ISBN 0-912083-74-3, pp 182–183, regarding Parseghian's use of walk-ons.
External links
Categories:- 1948 births
- Living people
- American motivational speakers
- American Roman Catholics
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players
- Players of American football from Illinois
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