William Shakespeare (American football)
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NFL draft: | 1936 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3 |
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* Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
Career highlights and awards | |
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William Valentine Shakespeare (September 27, 1912 – January 17, 1974) was an
Biography
Early years
Shakespeare was born on
Notre Dame
Bard of Staten Island
He enrolled at the University of Notre Dame in 1932, the year after the death of the school's legendary football coach Knute Rockne. He played for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football teams in 1933, 1934, and 1935, and was selected as a consensus All-American in 1935.
Because of his shared name with William Shakespeare, "The Bard of Avon", he acquired nicknames "The Bard of Staten Island" and "The Merchant of Menace".[5] Newspapers reported that, though he claimed to be a direct descendant of the Bard, Shakespeare had flunked his sophomore English class.[3][6] In 1934, newspapers published a photograph of Shakespeare staring at a football in the manner of Hamlet examining Yorick's skull under the caption "To Be Or Not To Be -- Football Player or English Wizard Is Perplexing Question Facing William Shakespeare, of Notre Dame."[6][7]
1933 and 1934 seasons
As a sophomore in 1933, Shakespeare was a substitute at the halfback position.[8] He also showed promise as a punter with an average of 53.2 yards on five punts.[1]
As a junior in 1934, Shakespeare became the starting left halfback in the Notre Dame's first year under new coach
1935 season
Early games
In the opening game of the 1935 season, Shakespeare threw a pass from the 50-yard to
"Game of the Century"
On November 2, 1935, Notre Dame faced the undefeated 1935 Ohio State Buckeyes team in front of a crowd of 81,000 at Ohio Stadium. Ohio State was favored in the game and led at half-time by a score of 13–0. The score remained the same at the start of the fourth quarter, but the Irish rallied in the fourth quarter for two touchdowns to narrow Ohio State's lead to 13–12. With less than a minute left in the game, Notre Dame's quarterback Andy Pilney ran for a 30-yard gain to the Ohio State 19-yard line. Pilney was injured on the play and had to be carried off the field on a stretcher. Shakespeare replaced Pilney and threw a pass into the arms of an Ohio State player who intercepted the ball but dropped it before securing possession.[19] With the clock running out, the ball was snapped to fullback Jim McKenna, who handed it to Shakespeare on what appeared to be a reverse. Shakespeare threw a pass into the endzone, which was caught by Wayne Millner on his knees for an 18–13 win.
The 1935 Notre Dame-Ohio State match was regarded as one of the greatest comebacks in history of the sport. Red Barber, who broadcast the game on radio, later called it "the greatest college football game I ever called."[20] In The New York Times, Allison Danzig opened his report on the game by writing, "One of the greatest last-ditch rallies in football history toppled the dreaded Scarlet Scourge of Ohio State from its lofty pinnacle today as 81,000 dumbfounded spectators saw Notre Dame score three touchdowns in less than fifteen minutes to gain an almost miraculous 18–13 victory in jammed Buckeye Stadium."[20] Radio announcer Tom Manning added, "I always said Shakespeare had a pair of rosary beads and a bottle of holy water in his back pocket."[21] The media picked up stories of the Catholic faithful praying for Notre Dame as they listened to the game on the radio. One nun told a reporter of overhearing a colleague in her convent "gamefully bargaining" and eventually "threatening" the Poor Souls and saints for another Notre Dame touchdown.[20] The Chicago Tribune later noted the irony that it was a truly ecumenical group that combined for the famed "Hail Mary" pass: "Mazziotti, a Catholic, handed to Shakespeare, a Protestant on a fake reverse. Shakespeare passed to End Wayne Millner, a Jewish boy."[22] In 1969, as part of the centennial of the first college football game, the Associated Press conducted a poll to select the "game of the century", and the 1935 Notre Dame-Ohio State game was chosen as the best game in the first 100 years of college football.[23]
Later games
The week after the Ohio State game, Notre Dame faced
On November 16, 1935, Shakespeare led a Notre Dame comeback against Army, but the comeback fell short as the game ended in a 6–6 tie. The game was played in Yankee Stadium in front of a crowd of 80,000, and Army led 6–0 late in the game. With a minute to go, Shakespeare threw a 44-yard pass to Millner at the Army goal line. The ball fell from Millner's arms, but the referee called pass interference and Notre Dame scored on the next play from the two-yard line. Damon Runyon wrote of the finish: "It is the opening gun, so to speak, of the duel with William Valentine Shakespeare, who waits until the very last minute to put on a typical Shakespeare finish to a Notre Dame football tale."[27]
Shakespeare concluded his football career with a come-from-behind victory over the USC Trojans On November 23, 1935. USC led 6–0 at halftime, but Notre Dame scored 20 points in the second half. The Associated Press credited Shakespeare for leading the comeback: "Heading the brilliant attack was the 'bard of Staten Island,' William Shakespeare who closed his collegiate career with one of his greatest games."[28] Shakespeare started the rally by throwing a 38-yard touchdown pass to Wally Fromhart.[28]
Post-season honors
Shakespeare finished the 1935 college football season as Notre Dame's leader in most offensive categories, including passing (19 completions on 66 attempts for 267 yards),[29] rushing (374 yards and four touchdowns on 104 carries),[29] punting (1,801 yards on 45 punts),[29] kickoff returns (123 yards on five returns),[29] and scoring (24 points).[30] He was selected as a consensus first-team All-American and finished third in the voting, behind Jay Berwanger and Monk Meyer, for the first Heisman Trophy award.[31]
NFL Draft
Shakespeare was drafted in the first round (3rd overall selection) of the
Before turning to a career in business, Shakespeare did take time to appear with fellow All-Americans Jay Berwanger, Bobby Wilson, Monk Moscrip and Gomer Jones in the RKO Pictures feature film, The Big Game.[35]
World War II
In July 1943, Shakespeare entered the
Later years
Shakespeare joined the Cincinnati Rubber Company upon graduating from Notre Dame in 1936.
Awards
In 1983, Shakespeare was posthumously named to the College Football Hall of Fame[43] and he has also been inducted into the Staten Island Sports Hall of Fame.[44]
References
- ^ a b "William "The Bard of Staten Island" Shakespeare". College Football Hall of Fame.
- ^ "Couple Sets Out To See Son Play". Hammond Times. 1935-10-31.
- ^ a b c "Crack Notre Dame Halfback". Wisconsin State Journal. 1935-10-06.
- ^ Margaret Lundrigan; Tova Navarra. Staten Island: A Closer Look. p. 24.
- ^ Murray Sperber. Shake Down the Thunder: The Creation of Notre Dame Football. p. 598.("Bill Shakespeare was nicknamed 'The Merchant of Menace' and, according to classmates, did not do well in English.")
- ^ a b "To Be or Not to Be". Jefferson City Post-Tribune. 1934-10-31.
- ^ "To Be or Not To Be". Gastonia Daily Gazette. 1934-10-25.
- ^ Keith Marder; Mark Spellen; Jim Donovan. The Notre Dame Football Encyclopedia. p. 186.
- ^ "Irish Trample Carnegie Tech To Win, 13 To 0: Bill Shakespeare Scores On 56-Yard Run; Vario Counts On Pass". La Crosse Tribune And Leader-Press. 1934-10-21.
- ^ "Notre Dame Beats Army, 12-6, Before 81,000 Fans". Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune. 1934-11-24.
- ^ The Fighting Irish Football Encyclopedia, p. 77.
- ^ The Notre Dame Football Encyclopedia, pp. 186 and 261.
- ^ "Notre Dame Gridders, 28 to 7: 25,000 See Irish Open '35 Season". Wisconsin State Journal. 1935-09-28.
- ^ The Fighting Irish Football Encyclopedia, p. 78.
- ^ "Carnegie Tech Falls Before 'Irish': Notre Dame Runs Ends For Scores: Bill Shakespeare Gets First Touchdown For South Benders". Sandusky Register. 1934-10-06.
- ^ "Badgers 0; Notre Dame 13: 22,000 See Teams Clash on Dry Field: Ramblers Score After Early Badger Threat". Wisconsin State Journal. 1935-10-12.
- ^ Winthrop Lyman (1935-10-20). "PLACE KICK WINS FOR IRISH OVER PITTSBURGH". Oakland Tribune.
- ^ The Notre Dame Football Encyclopedia, p. 274.
- ^ The Fighting Irish Football Encyclopedia, p. 80.
- ^ a b c Sperber, Shake Down the Thunder, pp. 435-436.
- ^ Ted Patterson; Keith Jackson. The Golden Voices of Football, Volume 1. p. 69.
- ^ David Condon (1974-01-20). "Greatness thrust upon Irish Shakespeare". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ The Fighting Irish Football Encyclopedia, p. 79.
- ^ "Shakespeare, Longfellow Meet on Gridiron Today". Titusville Herald. 1935-11-09.
- ^ "Judge Longfellow Nominated For Anniversary All-American". Brainerd Daily Dispatch. 1960-11-23.
- ^ "NORTHWESTERN WILDCATS UPSET NOTRE DAME 14 TO 7: First Victory For Wildcats In 34 Years: Defeat Closes Notre Dame's Aspirations for National Championship". San Antonio Express. 1935-11-10.
- ^ Damon Runyon (1935-11-17). "Notre Dame Scores in Last Minute To Tie Army at 6-6 Before 80,000: Shakespeare's 44-Yard Pass Ruled Completed Because Of Interference, Danbom Going Over From 2-Yard Line; Meyers' 35-Yard Gives Cadets Touchdown". Charleston Gazette.
- ^ a b Paul Mickelson (1935-11-24). "Notre Dame Rallies To Win In Air: Southern California Is Beaten, 20 to 13". Sandusky Register (AP story).
- ^ a b c d The Notre Dame Football Encyclopedia, p. 186.
- ^ The Notre Dame Football Encyclopedia, p. 267.
- ^ "1935 - 1st Award - Jay Berwanger Chicago Back". Heisman.com.
- ^ "1936 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
- ^ The Notre Dame Football Encyclopedia, p. 285 ("Notre Dame has had 55 first-round draft picks, beginning with Bill Shakespeare by Pittsburgh in 1936.").
- ^ Lew Freedman, Dick Hoak. Pittsburgh Steelers: The Complete Illustrated History. p. 18.("With their first-ever, first-round selection, the Steelers chose a Notre Dame All-American back named William Shakespeare. Shakespeare never played for the team and as far as is known in literary circles, never penned a sonnet extolling the Pirates, either.")
- ^ "The Big Game (1936)". Internet Movie Database.
- ^ a b Jack McGrath (1946-05-29). "A Bit of This and a Bit of That". The Troy Record.
- ^ a b "Former Irish Gridder Dies". The Lima News (OH). 1974-01-19.
- ^ a b "Ex-Notre Dame Grid Star Heads Company". The Daily Reporter (Dover, Ohio). 1960-02-05.
- ^ "Whatever Happened to Bill Shakespeare?". Galesburg Register-Mail (UPI story). 1959-02-18.
- ^ "Former ND star Shakespeare dies". Salina Journal. 1974-01-19.
- ^ "Bill Shakespeare, Star Halfback at Notre Dame in 1930's, Dies; Starred in Noted Game". The New York Times. 1974-01-19.
- ^ "Star's Rites Set". Ironwood Daily Globe. 1974-01-19.
- ^ "Five to Join College Football Hall of Fame". Winchester Star (VA). 1983-02-14.
- ^ Waggoner, Jim (2016-06-11). "20 years later, a look at S.I. Hall of Fame's Class of '96". silive.com. Retrieved 2023-03-20.