 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1906-08-14)August 14, 1906 Dyer, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | February 19, 1945(1945-02-19) (aged 38) Iwo Jima, Japan |
| Playing career | |
| 1926–1928 | Notre Dame |
| Position | Halfback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1929–1931 | Notre Dame (assistant) |
| 1932 | Chicago Cardinals |
| 1933 | St. Edwards |
| 1934–1936 | Texas |
| 1943 | Camp Lejeune |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 26–16–3 (college) 2–6–2 (NFL) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1Texas Conference (1933) | |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 1943–1945 |
| Rank |  First Lieutenant |
| Unit | 27th Marine Regiment,5th Marine Division,V Amphibious Corps |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | Purple Heart Medal Combat Action Ribbon |
John Edward Chevigny (August 14, 1906 – February 19, 1945) was an Americanfootball player, coach, lawyer, andUnited States Marine Corps officer who waskilled in action on the first day of theBattle of Iwo Jima inWorld War II. He is best known for scoring the famous "that's one for Gipper" touchdown for Notre Dame on November 10, 1928, versus Army atYankee Stadium. One of theGreat Depression-era football stars, he was one of the best blocking backs forKnute Rockne'sNotre Dame football team in the 1920s. Chevigny later served as the head coach of theChicago Cardinals of theNational Football League in 1932 and the head football coach at theUniversity of Texas from 1934 to 1936.
On August 18, 1979, Chevigny was inducted posthumously into theIndiana Football Hall of Fame.[1] He is also a member of the St. Edwards University Athletics Hall of Fame.[2]
Chevigny was born inDyer, Indiana, the son of Julius Chevigny, a physician originally from the Canadian province ofQuebec who had served in theU.S. Army, stationed in New York, duringWorld War I, and Rose Ann Chevigny.[3] He attendedCatholicgrade school in Dyer before moving toHammond, Indiana, where he attendedHammond High School and played football at, and graduated president of his class in 1924. He had two brothers and two sisters.[4]
Part of the legend of Notre Dame football history was that Chevigny, who played three seasons asright halfback from 1926 to 1928, scored the winning touchdown againstArmy on November 10, 1928 (the 153rd birthday of theUnited States Marine Corps) in Yankee Stadium after Knute Rockne’s famous "Win one for the Gipper" halftime speech (in memory of Notre Dame football greatGeorge Gipp) with Chevigny yelling,"That's one for the Gipper" as he crossed the goal line.
Knute Rockne had related the details about the famous game in an autobiography published in Collier's magazine in 1930. Actually, Chevigny scored the tying touchdown during the third quarter against undefeated Army (then 6–0), to even the score 6–6, and Johnny O'Brien, also inspired by Rockne's speech, ran for the 12–6 game-winning touchdown.[5][6] However, it was because of that game and Chevigny's touchdown during that game, that the legend of "the Gipper" was born.
Chevigny became an assistant football coach under Rockne in 1929, and Notre Dame went undefeated that season and the next season winning two National Championships. Chevigny who received his Notre Dame law degree in 1931, left Notre Dame football after Rockne's death in an airplane crash March 31, 1931 and the 1931 football season.
He coached theChicago Cardinals of the NFL to a 2–6–2 record in 1932, and left that position to become head coach atSt. Edwards University, a sister school of Notre Dame, inAustin, Texas.
When theUniversity of Texas began looking for a new coach in 1934, Chevigny was chosen for that position. He directed a 7–6 victory over his alma mater, Notre Dame, during the second game played inSouth Bend, Indiana. TheTexas Longhorns finished the season at 7–2–1. The 1935 team didn't play as well and Chevigny finished his coaching career at the University of Texas with a 13–14–2 record in three seasons and was the only University of Texas head coach to have an overall losing record (a feat later matched byCharlie Strong).
In 1937, Chevigny resigned his Texas Longhorns coaching position and was appointedDeputy Attorney General of Texas. Following that, he worked in the oil industry in Texas.[4]
In March 1943, Chevigny (then 36 years old) wasdrafted into theU.S. Army after trying to enlist and being rejected because of a football knee injury he received while playing at Notre Dame. He completed basic training atFort Benjamin Harrison inLawrence, Indiana. He was assigned afterwards toFort Lawton inSeattle, Washington, a training and staging base. Acorporal, he had requested and was granted service in theU.S. Marine Corps. He received anhonorable discharge from the U.S. Army on June 10, 1943, in order to be released for service in theMarine Corps Reserve.[4]
Chevigny was directlycommissioned a Marine Corpsfirst lieutenant, going on active duty in the Marine Corps Reserve on June 11, 1943, in Seattle. The Marine Corps District Headquarters Induction and Recruitment Station in Seattle immediately used him in a public-relations enlistment poster photo wearing his summer officersservice uniform. Afterwards, he was transferred to Officer Indoctrination and Physical Training schools atCamp Pendleton, California.
In September 1943, Chevigny was assigned toCamp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina, as a physical training instructor, athletic officer, and assistant coach of the Camp Lejeune football team. He soon became head coach, renaming the team (then 0–2–1) which was named the " Camp Lejeune All-Stars", to the "Camp Lejeune Leathernecks" (they finished 6–2–1). In late 1943, he requested an overseas combat assignment.[4]
In January 1944, Chevigny reported for duty atCamp Pendleton, California. After brief duty as an instructor, he was assigned to Headquarters Company, Headquarters Battalion,5th Marine Division, where he was sent toCamp Tarawa,Hawaii, to train for the assault ofIwo Jima (Operation Detachment) which would include two other Marine divisions of theV Amphibious Corps. He was reassigned for duty as aliaison officer of H&S Company,27th Marine Regiment, 5th Marine Division. He went with his unit to Iwo Jima aboard the attack transport,USSRutland.[4] The 27th Marines landed on "Red Beach 1" and "Red Beach 2" on February 19, 1945 (D-Day). 1st Lt. Chevigny was one of the many hundreds of Marines andNavy corpsmen serving alongside them that were killed in action on the seven color-named and numberedlanding zones, each 550 yards wide, that together stretched for two miles of beach on the southeast side of Iwo Jima.
Chevigny was buried in the 5th Marine Division Cemetery on Iwo Jima and later was reburied in theNational Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (called the "Punchbowl"; dedicated in 1949) inHonolulu, Hawaii. Histombstone is located in Section C, Site 508.
Another legend surrounding Chevigny is that he had been given a fountain pen with the inscription"To Jack Chevigny, a Notre Dame boy who beat Notre Dame" following the Chevigny-coached Texas Longhorns’ 7–6 upset of the Fighting Irish in1934. On September 2, 1945, this pen was supposedly discovered in the hands of one of the Japanese officer envoys at thesurrender of Japan on the battleshipUSSMissouri. The pen was sent back home, and the inscription was changed to read,"To Jack Chevigny, a Notre Dame boy who gave his life for his country in the spirit of old Notre Dame".[7] The legend, which surfaced in 1945 in conjunction with the anniversary of the November 10, 1928 football game,[8] has been a part of Notre Dame lore ever since. However, no one in the Chevigny family has seen or confirmed the existence of the pen, or that the inscription was changed.[9]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Edward's Tigers(Texas Conference)(1933) | |||||||||
| 1933 | St. Edward's | 7–2 | 5–1 | 1st | |||||
| St. Edward's: | 7–2 | 5–1 | |||||||
| Texas Longhorns(Southwest Conference)(1934–1936) | |||||||||
| 1934 | Texas | 7–2–1 | 4–1–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1935 | Texas | 4–6 | 1–5 | T–6th | |||||
| 1936 | Texas | 2–6–1 | 1–5 | T–6th | |||||
| Texas: | 13–14–3 | 6–11–1 | |||||||
| Camp Lejeune Marines(Independent)(1943) | |||||||||
| 1943 | Camp Lejeune | 6–0–1[n 1] | |||||||
| Camp Lejeune: | 6–0–1 | ||||||||
| Total: | 26–16–3 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
Chevigny's military decorations and awards:
 |  |  |
 |   |  |
| Purple Heart Medal | Combat Action Ribbon[13] | Navy Presidential Unit Citation |
| American Campaign Medal | Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with one3⁄16" bronze star | World War II Victory Medal |
..
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
