Thomas Anthony "Kitty" Gorman (June 9, 1910 – April 8, 1975)[1] was an American college football player and coach. Gorman starred as a prep at St. Philip's in Chicago, Illinois.[2][3] Gorman played center at University of Notre Dame on the freshman team in 1929[4] and on the varsity from 1930 to 1933.[5][6][7] He was one of the team's two captains in 1933.[8] During the 1933 season, Gorman's father wrote a letter to Notre Dame Vice President John Francis O'Hara, complaining that "[t]here is something radically wrong" with Hunk Anderson's coaching, blaming the younger Gorman for losses.[9] Anderson was fired after the 1933 season, the school's first losing season since 1888.
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 9, 1910 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | April 8, 1975 (aged 64) Peoria, Illinois, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1929–1933 | Notre Dame |
| Position(s) | Center |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1934–1935 | Notre Dame (freshman assistant) |
| 1936–1937 | Kentucky (line) |
| 1938–1941 | Creighton (line) |
| 1942 | Washington University |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 5–5 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Awards | |
| Chicago College All-Star (1934) | |
Gorman began his career at Notre Dame playing for famed coach Knute Rockne. James Bacon recounts a story implicating the mob in the Rockne's death that he heard with "Kitty" Gorman from Father John Reynolds when Bacon and Gorman were students at Notre Dame.[10][11][12][13]
After his college playing career, Gorman played in the first Chicago College All-Star Game, tying the Chicago Bears.[14]
Coaching career
editGorman began his coaching career as an assistant on the freshman team at Notre Dame, while pursuing his law degree.[15] Gorman left Notre Dame to serve as the line coach for former Notre Dame fullback Chet A. Wynne at Kentucky.[16] In 1938, Gorman accepted the line coach position under another former Irish football player, Marchmont Schwartz, at Creighton.[17] Gorman served as the head football coach at Washington University in St. Louis in 1942, compiling a career college football coaching record of 5–5. For the 1942 season, he hired two former Notre Dame players to assist him, Andy Pilney and Bud Kerr.[18]
Gorman accepted commission as a lieutenant in the United States Navy and served in World War II.[19] Washington University did not field a football team from 1943 to 1945 and offered Gorman his head coaching position for 1946 with no guarantee that there would be a season. He turned down the offer, due to disagreements with Chancellor Arthur Holly Compton, who emphasized a focus on education and opposed athletic scholarships.[20] Washington University did not play football in 1946, but the team returned for the 1947 season. Gorman left coaching after the war and began working for General Motors in Chicago.[21]
Head coaching record
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington University Bears (Missouri Valley Conference) (1942) | |||||||||
| 1942 | Washington University | 5–5 | 2–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| Washington University: | 5–5 | 2–3 | |||||||
| Total: | 5–5 | ||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Hold funeral Friday for ex-Irish captain", Chicago Tribune, Chicago, IL, p. 68, April 10, 1975
- ^ "St. Rita Has Three Men in First Eleven", Suburbanite Economist, Chicago, IL, p. 10, December 6, 1927
- ^ "All-Catholic Team Includes 4 DePaul Stars", Chicago Tribune, Chicago, IL, p. 19, December 23, 1928
- ^ "Official Football review - Notre Dame University 1929" (PDF).
- ^ "Official Football review - Notre Dame University 1930" (PDF).
- ^ "Official Football review - Notre Dame University 1931" (PDF).
- ^ "Official Football review - Notre Dame University 1932" (PDF).
- ^ 2018 Notre Dame Football Media Guide (PDF), p. 176
- ^ Murray A. Sperber (2002), Shake Down the Thunder: The Creation of Notre Dame Football, Indiana University Press, pp. 401–402, ISBN 0253215684
- ^ James Bacon (1977), Made in Hollywood, Contemporary Books, Incorporated, p. 203, ISBN 9780809278701
- ^ Dorothy Corson (March 31, 2003), The Spirit of Notre Dame, retrieved June 5, 2019
- ^ Tom Ley (January 7, 2013), Was Knute Rockne Killed By The Mob? Tracing The Origins Of One Of The Stranger Urban Legends In Sports, retrieved June 5, 2019
- ^ Jeff Harrell (Spring 2019), "Mob Bombs Rockne Plane", Notre Dame Magazine, retrieved June 5, 2019
- ^ "Personnel of Two Squads", Chicago Tribune, Chicago, IL, p. 23, August 31, 1934
- ^ "3,000 March in Notre Dame Pep Meeting", South Bend Tribune, South Bend, IN, p. 1, October 19, 1935
- ^ "Tom's Biggest Thrill", South Bend Tribune, South Bend, IN, p. 31, May 15, 1936
- ^ "Named Line Coach", Palladium Item, Richmond, IN, p. 8, March 5, 1938
- ^ "Will Teach the Notre Dame Plan", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, MO, p. 15, February 20, 1942
- ^ "W.U. Hopes to Carry On Athletics", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, MO, p. 14, March 21, 1943
- ^ "'Strictly Amateur Basis' For Football at Washington", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, MO, p. 19, February 6, 1946
- ^ "Washington U. Coach Quits", Maryville Daily Forum, Maryville, MO, p. 1, January 24, 1946