George Gipp: The Gipper from Laurium

One of the most famous lines in American sports is “win one for the Gipper.” It traces back to a young man from Laurium. That is a small town on the Keweenaw Peninsula in the Upper Peninsula. George Gipp grew up there a gifted all-around athlete. He loved baseball most of all. He went to Notre Dame intending to play it. Then coach Knute Rockne reportedly spotted him casually kicking a football. Rockne pulled him onto the gridiron.

Gipp became Notre Dame’s first All-American. He led the team in both rushing and passing in each of his final three seasons. Then tragedy struck. Reports described his illness as tonsillitis, pneumonia, strep throat, or some combination of them. Gipp died at 25 in December 1920. The legend says that on his deathbed he asked Rockne a favor: someday, tell the team to “win one for the Gipper.” But Notre Dame’s account says there is no evidence he made that request, and Rockne did not tell the story publicly until a famous 1928 pep talk. The phrase stuck anyway, helped by the 1940 film in which a future U.S. president, Ronald Reagan, played Gipp.