Sports History
The Irish Connection
By Anne Madarasz

Since 1934, there has been a pipeline from South Bend to Pittsburgh, funneling college talent from the blue and gold to the black and gold. Norm Greeney was the first Notre Dame player to make his way east, stopping in Green Bay where he spent the 1933 season, before coming to the then Pittsburgh Pirates (now Steelers) in 1934. The most noted of the Fighting Irish alumni to make names for themselves in Pittsburgh are Super Bowl winners Rocky Bleier and Jerome Bettis.

The pipeline has also run the other direction - carrying some of this region's most promising high school talent west. Connellsville native John Lujack became the first western Pennsylvanian to achieve at a top level while at Notre Dame. He quarterbacked the Irish in 1943, and then served three years in the Navy during the war. After returning to South Bend, he led Notre Dame to a 17-0-1 record and national championships in 1946 and '47. Lujack, who lettered in four sports, was named the Associated Press athlete of the year in 1947 and won the Heisman Trophy. After turning pro, Lujack played for the Chicago Bears.

Lujack's teammate, Leon Hart, crafted his own story of success. A native of Turtle Creek, Hart co-captained the national champion Notre Dame team in 1949. Only the second lineman to win the Heisman, he is considered by some to be the all-time All-American end. A runaway winner in Heisman voting, Hart was also a three-time All-American and the AP male athlete of the year in 1949. After college, Hart played eight seasons for the Detroit Lions, winning three world championships.

Three high schoolers, reared in this region's cradle of quarterbacks, also made their mark in South Bend. Butler's Terry Hanratty started from 1966-68 and was named a consensus All-American in his final year. He finished third in the Heisman voting in 1968 (he was sixth in 1966 and ninth in 1967) and amassed a number of personal and career records. Drafted in the second round in 1969, Hanratty played for the Steelers from 1969-75. Canevin High's Tom Clements also guided the Fighting Irish and in his senior year was named an All-American and finished fourth in Heisman voting. He then spent 12 years in the CFL earning a number of awards, including the Rookie of the Year. Hall of Famer Joe Montana is perhaps the best known native to play for Notre Dame. Montana gave fans a taste of what to expect from him in the pros during the 1979 Cotton Bowl when he returned to play after being sidelined with the flu and led the Irish back from a 22 point deficit to defeat Houston.

Anne Madarasz is the Director of the Western PA Sports Museum which features the story of high school and college football.