October 4, 1940: "Knute Rockne: All-American" Premieres

October 4, 1940: Knute Rockne: All-American premieres in South Bend, Indiana, just off the campus of the University of Notre Dame, where most of the film takes place.

At age 40, Pat O'Brien was way too old to play Rockne as a student at Notre Dame in 1913. However, because anybody alive today only knows him through black & white film, it's easy to forget that he was only 43 when he was killed in a plane crash in 1931.

At any rate, the film re-creates the 1913 upset of Army, in which Gus Dorais becomes the sport's 1st great passer, and Rockne its 1st great receiver; and the 1924 game against Army at the Polo Grounds, where the Fighting Irish backfield, known as the Four Horsemen, carry them to victory.

In this film, Dorais is played by Owen Davis Jr. As for the Horsemen: Harry Stuhldreher, who also served as a technical advisor on the film, was played by Nick Lukats; Jim Crowley by William Byrne; Don Miller by William Marshall; and Elmer Layden by Kane Richmond. University of Chicago coach Amos Alonzo Stagg, Stanford coach Glenn "Pop" Warner and USC coach Howard Jones all play themselves.

Of course, the film glamorizes Notre Dame back George Gipp, omits his bad behavior, and shows the story of Gipp's death in 1920 as Rockne told it to his players at halftime of the 1928 Army game at Yankee Stadium, with Gipp telling Rockne to tell the boys to go out and "win just one for the Gipper." And, of course, regardless of whether the story was true, Notre Dame won the game.

Gipp was played by Ronald Reagan, who had played guard at Eureka College, at what would now be called the Division III level. He became the Republican Party's ultimate icon, as Abraham Lincoln reminded too many of them of civil rights. Since Reagan left the Presidency in 1989, and even after his death in 2004, his legend has been invoked as Republicans have told other Republicans, "Win it for the Gipper." Had the truth about Gipp been known at the time, it might have tainted Reagan, and he might never have gotten elected to public office.

Knute Rockne: All-American remains the most ridiculous film ever made about Notre Dame football. And Rudy was released in 1993, so that's saying something.

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October 4, 1940 was a Friday. New York Rangers hockey legend Vic Hadfield was born on this day.

With some appropriateness, there were college football games played that night, 8 of them:

* George Washington University beat Manhattan College, 21-18 at the Polo Grounds. Manhattan dropped football after the 1942 season, and GWU did the same after 1966.

* Georgetown beat Temple, 14-0 at Temple Stadium in Philadelphia. Georgetown dropped football after the 1950 season, restarted as NCAA Division III in 1970, and have been Division I-AA/Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) since 1993.

* Miami beat Stetson University, 19-0 at Burdine Stadium in Miami. Burdine Stadium was renamed the Orange Bowl in 1959. Stetson, in DeLand, Florida, dropped football after the 1956 season, and returned at the FCS level in 2013.

* The University of Detroit -- coached by Rockne's former quarterback Gus Dorais, which means he probably was at this game, not at the premiere -- beat Catholic University, 13-0 at University of Detroit Stadium.

The University of Detroit dropped its football program after the 1964 season, and merged with the all-female Mercy College to become the University of Detroit Mercy in 1990. The Catholic University of America -- in Washington, D.C., and definitely not to be confused with Notre Dame, which thinks of itself as the Catholic university of America -- suspended its football program in 1942, due to World War II, and didn't restart it until 1977, at the NCAA Division III level.

* Saint Louis University and Missouri College of Mines played to a 0-0 tie at Walsh Stadium in St. Louis. Saint Louis (always written as spelled out, never abbreviated to "St. Louis") dropped its football program after the 1949 season. Missouri Mines became the University of Missouri at Rolla in 1964, and Missouri University of Science and Technology, a.k.a. Missouri S&T (never "Missouri Tech"), in 2008. For most of their history, they have competed in NCAA Division II.

* Emporia College beat Washburn University, 38-7 in Emporia, Kansas. Emporia College became Emporia State University in 1977. They now compete in NCAA Division II. So do Washburn, their arch-rivals, of Topeka, Kansas.

* New Mexico beat New Mexico Teachers College, 28-0 at Hilltop Stadium in Albuquerque. In 1949, New Mexico Teachers College, in Silver City, became New Mexico Western College. In 1963, it became Western New Mexico University. For most of their history, they have competed in NCAA Division II.

* And Santa Clara beat UCLA, 9-6 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

This was also the day that Game 3 of the 1940 World Series was played. The Detroit Tigers beat the Cincinnati Reds, 7-4 at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. Rudy York and Pinky Higgins hit home runs for the Tigers. But the Reds would win the Series in 7 games. In 1961, Briggs Stadium was renamed Tiger Stadium.