what's a gipper?
Dear Yahoo!:
Who is the Gipper from the saying, "one for the Gipper?"
Gayle
Quesnel, Canada
Dear Gayle:
Ronald Reagan was the Gipper.
But that was just in the movies. In real life, George Gipp was the Gipper. Born in 1895, George was a varsity athlete at the University of Notre Dame from 1917 to 1920. While planning to pursue a career in baseball, he was convinced by legendary college coach Knute Rockne to play football as well. He led the Fighting Irish to a 27-2-3 record, playing both offense and defense. Several of his records still stand today. We learned most of this at The Official Web Site of George "the Gipper" Gipp.
So how did the saying come about? Well, there's the sad part of the story. It seems that Gipp caught a throat infection during one of his final football games at Notre Dame. He died a few weeks later at the age of 25. Just before his death, he told Coach Rockne, "Some time, Rock, when the team is up against it, when things are wrong and the breaks are beating the boys - tell them to go in there with all they've got and win just one for the Gipper. I don't know where I'll be then, Rock. But I'll know about it, and I'll be happy."
This deathbed request and the legendary pep talk it provided eight years later is chronicled in the motion picture, Knute Rockne: All American. That's where Ronald Reagan comes in. He played the Gipper in the 1940 film.
The actually phrase, "That one was for the Gipper," was supposedly uttered by halfback Jack Chevigny immediately after he vaulted for a one-yard touchdown in the 1928 Notre Dame victory inspired by Rockne's recounting of Gipp's request.
To pay your respects to a great athlete who passed away much too soon, visit the Grave Site of George Gipp. >>>
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg...e=gr&GRid=1595