12/22/24
October 11, 2007
George Gipp Exhumed from Michigan Cemetery: The body of George Gipp, the Notre Dame football player whose death in 1920 became a rallying cry for a team and an American president, was exhumed recently from Laurium, Mich. The AP didn't find the reason, but I suspect it's related to a message board post on a Gipp family genealogy forum. "All my life I heard the story that my mother's mother Eva Bright, South Bend had dated George while he was at Notre Dame," writes Ellen Weeks Easton, who suspects Gipp is her grandfather. "My mother was born Dec. 19, 4 days after Geo. died. My mom was born out of wedlock, obviously, and back in 1920 it was hush-hush."
Hmmm, strange indeed. If he were buried somewhere in Indiana, would this effect the "Tradition" of Notre Dame football? Makes me wonder
posted by Marko2020 at 02:55 PM on October 11, 2007
Okay after reading the news articles that have come in, this thing is beyond wacko. Total lack of respect for the families and of course for Mr. Gipp, aka The Gipper. Wow, what next, Knute Rockne led a secret life and had an affair with a Mrs. Hayes, or a Mrs. Schembechler in the Midwest?
posted by Marko2020 at 03:03 PM on October 11, 2007
Why does the AP article have the byline location as Traverse City? That is weird. The AP bureaus up there must be small, but normally you wouldn't cover something eight hours away.
posted by rcade at 03:31 PM on October 11, 2007
There must be money,money ,money involved.
posted by sportnut at 03:39 PM on October 11, 2007
I heard it was Charlie Weiss that had Mr. Gipp's body exhumed. He wants to give the "win one for the Gipper and we put him back in the ground" speech since times are rough for the Domers. All kidding aside, it is a shame that things like this happen all for some schmuck to prove he is the illegitimate grandson of the great George Gipp (if the rumours are correct). May he rest in peace when this is all over with.
posted by urall cloolis at 04:54 PM on October 11, 2007
Mr.Gipp fathering an unacknowledged child out of wedlock would make him a lesser man in my view, not because he fathered the child, but because he chose to not own up to being the child's father. This view is a constant for me, regardless of the times and society's mores.
posted by Cave_Man at 05:28 PM on October 11, 2007
Maybe he didn't own up to it is because the baby wasn't born till 4 days after he was dead.
posted by skydivemom at 06:39 PM on October 11, 2007
Cave Man, even if any of this pure speculation turns out to be true, I think we can cut Gipp some slack since he was busy being DEAD when the child was born. We don't know what he knew or had done or promised to do. Take a breath dude.
posted by gradioc at 06:41 PM on October 11, 2007
Thank you Gradioc, you beat me to the punch on this one.
posted by urall cloolis at 06:47 PM on October 11, 2007
Yeah well, when I was dead, I still had to do my chores.
posted by tselson at 06:49 PM on October 11, 2007
The Gip?? Awwww come on Charlie, what was Rudy busy on a book tour or something, your team sucks so bad that you're pulling a dead guy up for a motivational speech??? Wrong Charlie, just plain wrong!
posted by jknemo at 07:41 PM on October 11, 2007
" think we can cut Gipp some slack since he was busy being DEAD when the child was born. We don't know what he knew or had done or promised to do." If my understanding of human gestation is right, that still left a solid seven months for him to make amends before he went cold. No slack cut and none asked from you or your amend choir.
posted by Cave_Man at 08:15 PM on October 11, 2007
"Amend choir". That's either brilliant or a mistake.
posted by owlhouse at 08:20 PM on October 11, 2007
Or just incoherent rambling from an idiot...
posted by dusted at 08:30 PM on October 11, 2007
There have been no results in the DNA test yet. Until then it is all speculation. CaveMan you seem to believe a man who had a legend's body exhumed just so he could tell whether or not his mom and grandmother was telling tall tales or not. And I thought all those that jump on the "Floyd is innocent after failing several times" were naive. This takes the cake.
posted by urall cloolis at 09:00 PM on October 11, 2007
Whaaaaaaa? "An ESPN crew filmed the exhumation for an upcoming story, but a spokesman said the network played no role in arranging it." Really? They filmed it? This is part of the ESPN news world? Within their scope of expertise, per se? The illegitimate children of an athlete born in the 19th century? .... Did they attempt to interview Gipp? Clearly they have entirely too much money in Connecticut. Way too many jobs. You people are buying too much of this. It's out of control. I'll do my part - I'll stop watching TSN. Even though I've known the calming melty face of Gino Reda as a friend for a long, long time, I just feel it's the right thing to do.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 09:47 PM on October 11, 2007
CaveMan are you kidding me? Go back in time and realize that when girls got knocked up they didn't go around telling everybody. The family kept it secret and maybe, just maybe she didn't tell him. She was probably sent away if that was the case. Of course this all depends on whether this is true or not. Now, I think it's a shame that he was exhumed if this is to prove someone was related to the Gipper. And Jkenmo, yeah, it really won't help the Irish either way!!!
posted by lil'red at 09:48 PM on October 11, 2007
George Gipp's body is exhumed, and Ronald Regan stirs in his own grave.
posted by Howard_T at 09:59 PM on October 11, 2007
Just like Al Capone's vault it will be a disappointment. All they will find in Gipp's coffin is the extra fat that Charlie Weiss thought he got liposuctioned out a few years ago. After second thought that may be the mystery of the 21st century...if Weiss got rid of all that fat, how did it end up back on him...don't tell me UFO abduction and reverse liposuction.
posted by urall cloolis at 10:51 PM on October 11, 2007
Go back in time and realize that when girls got knocked up they didn't go around telling everybody. Thank you.
posted by yerfatma at 05:38 AM on October 12, 2007
Don't be so quick to assume this won't help the Irish. There could be George Gipp great-grandsons out there.
posted by rcade at 07:31 AM on October 12, 2007
George Gipp's body is exhumed, and Ronald Regan stirs in his own grave. What -- he's thinking, "Damn...I'm next!"? (p.s. urall -- read this)
posted by lil_brown_bat at 08:27 AM on October 12, 2007
Go back in time and realize that when girls got knocked up they didn't go around telling everybody. George Gipp's body is exhumed, and Ronald Regan stirs in his own grave. What -- he's thinking, "Damn...I'm next!"? The first quote seems crue, but it is brutal honsty. Second, if Strom slept with a black wman he wanted to ensave, who says Th Great Leader should not have an extra child. His politics does not include his crotch.
posted by Joe188 at 11:36 AM on October 12, 2007
The first quote seems crue, but it is brutal honsty. Second, if Strom slept with a black wman he wanted to ensave, who says Th Great Leader should not have an extra child. His politics does not include his crotch. posted by Joe188 at 11:36 AM CDT on October 12 Is my basic grasp of the language failing me? Maybe I had a stroke and don't know it yet. What does politics have to do with the Gipper?
posted by hawkguy at 12:31 PM on October 12, 2007
I suppose if you were going to be 87 you would want to know Who's Your Big Gipper is to.
posted by thatch at 03:56 PM on October 12, 2007
Watching SportsCenter this morning, Linda Cohn reports that the Gipp family released a statement asking the media to let them handle this privately. In the very next breath, she said, "ESPN's cameras were on the scene of the exhumation, and that footage will be featured on the premiere of (insert crappy new ESPN attempt at a show here)." I wish Tom Mees were still around.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 04:45 PM on October 12, 2007
I'm sorry. I guess I should have written "when a girl gets in trouble or with child or has a bun in the oven" so as not to offend!!! rcade, if there are little Gippers running around out there, Weis better recruit them soon to save his skin!! hawkguy, I believe he was referring to Ronald Reagan.
posted by lil'red at 04:45 PM on October 12, 2007
I wish Tom Mees were still around. Who's to say he's not? You just need a longer line. </AwfulCheapshot>
posted by yerfatma at 04:51 PM on October 12, 2007
Th Great Leader should not have an extra child. His politics does not include his crotch. My comment was not intended to insinuate that Ronald Regan might have fathered an illegitimate child. Rather, it was merely a reference to Regan's portrayal of Gipp in the 1940 film Knute Rockne, All American.
posted by Howard_T at 06:40 PM on October 12, 2007
Who's to say he's not? You just need a longer line. Ouch. Mees was great covering hockey. I'll never understand adults who never learned to swim. Especially in his case, where he had young kids who were swimmers.
posted by rcade at 08:47 AM on October 13, 2007
Completely off-topic, but back in the day any number of sailors never learned to swim. The thought being it just made drowning take longer.
posted by yerfatma at 09:35 AM on October 13, 2007
What if Gipp is not a Gipp?
posted by ?all at 11:36 AM on November 06, 2007
Why does the AP article have the byline location as Traverse City? It's a long way to Laurium from Traverse City. I just find it curious, is all.