Jack Chevigny

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Jack Chevigny
Biographical details
Born(1906-08-14)August 14, 1906
Dyer, Indiana, U.S.
DiedFebruary 19, 1945(1945-02-19) (aged 38)
Iwo Jima, Japan
Playing career
1926–1928Notre Dame
Position(s)
Camp Lejeune
Head coaching record
Overall26–16–3 (college)
2–6–2 (NFL)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1
First Lieutenant
Unit27th 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

University of Texas
from 1934 to 1936.

On August 18, 1979, Chevigny was inducted posthumously into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame.[1] He is also a member of the St. Edwards University Athletics Hall of Fame.[2]

Early life

Chevigny was born in

grade school in Dyer before moving to Hammond, Indiana, where he attended Hammond High School and played football at, and graduated president of his class in 1924. He had two brothers and two sisters.[4]

University of Notre Dame

Part of the legend of Notre Dame football history was that Chevigny, who played three seasons as

Win one for the Gipper" halftime speech (in memory of Notre Dame football great George 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 3rd 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.

Football coach and attorney

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 the

St. Edwards University, a sister school of Notre Dame, in Austin, Texas
.

When the

University 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 in South Bend, Indiana. The Texas 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 by Charlie Strong
).

In 1937, Chevigny resigned his Texas Longhorns coaching position and was appointed

Deputy Attorney General
of Texas. Following that, he worked in the oil industry in Texas.[4]

Military service

U.S. Army

In March 1943, Chevigny (then 36 years old) was

honorable discharge from the U.S. Army on June 10, 1943, in order to be released for service in the Marine Corps Reserve.[4]

U.S. Marine Corps

Chevigny was directly

Camp Pendleton
, California.

In September 1943, Chevigny was assigned to

Camp Lejeune in New River, 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]

Iwo Jima and death

In January 1944, Chevigny reported for duty at

landing zones
, each 550 yards wide, that together stretched for two miles of beach on the southeast side of Iwo Jima.

Burial place(s)

Chevigny was buried in the 5th Marine Division Cemetery on Iwo Jima and later was reburied in the

tombstone
is located in Section C, Site 508.

Japanese surrender

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 in 1934. On September 2, 1945, this pen was supposedly discovered in the hands of one of the Japanese officer envoys at the surrender of Japan on the battleship USS Missouri. 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]

Head coaching record

College

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

Military awards

Chevigny's military decorations and awards:

Bronze star
Purple Heart Medal
 Combat Action Ribbon[13] Navy Presidential Unit Citation
American Campaign Medal
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with one 3⁄16" bronze star
 World War II Victory Medal

Notes

  1. ^ Marvin Bell served as head coach of the Camp Lejeune Marines for the first two games of the 1943 season. Chevigny was appointed head coach on September 30. Camp Lejeune finished the season with a record of 6–2–1.[10][11][12]

References

  1. ^ "Chevigny, Jack". ifca-hof.org. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  2. ^ "St. Edward's Athletics Hall of Fame". gohilltoppers.com. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  3. ^ Chevigny birthplace
  4. ^ a b c d e Jeff Walker, The Last Chalkline: The Life & Times of Jack Chevigny, May 2012.
  5. ^ "Notre Dame Upsets West Point in Sensational Duel,"Syracuse Herald, November 11, 1928, pXX-1
  6. ^ Murray A. Sperber, Shake Down the Thunder: The Creation of Notre Dame Football (Indiana U., 2002), p285.
  7. ^ On this date in Notre Dame Football History at google.com
  8. ^ "Proc's Palaver," Galveston Daily News, November 10, 1945, p16
  9. ^ One more for the Gipper
  10. Newspapers.com Open access icon
    .
  11. Newspapers.com Open access icon
    .
  12. ISBN 978-1-937943-21-9
    .
  13. ^ Combat Action Ribbon (1969): Retroactive from December 7, 1941: Public Law 106-65, October 5, 1999, 113 STAT 508, Sec. 564

External links

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