Tom Gorman (American football)

Thomas Anthony "Kitty" Gorman (June 9, 1910 – April 8, 1975)[1] was an American 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.

Tom Gorman
Biographical details
Born(1910-06-09)June 9, 1910
Chicago, Illinois
DiedApril 8, 1975(1975-04-08) (aged 64)
Peoria, Illinois
Playing career
Football
1929–1933Notre Dame
Position(s)Center
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Football
1934–1935Notre Dame (freshman assistant)
1936–1937Kentucky (line)
1938–1941Creighton (line)
1942Washington University
Head coaching record
Overall5–5
Accomplishments and honors
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

Gorman 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
Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding Bowl/playoffs
Washington University Bears (Missouri Valley Conference) (1942)
1942 Washington University 5–52–3T–3rd
Washington University: 5–52–3
Total:5–5
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References
  1. "Hold funeral Friday for ex-Irish captain", Chicago Tribune, Chicago, IL, p. 68, April 10, 1975
  2. "St. Rita Has Three Men in First Eleven", Suburbanite Economist, Chicago, IL, p. 10, December 6, 1927
  3. "All-Catholic Team Includes 4 DePaul Stars", Chicago Tribune, Chicago, IL, p. 19, December 23, 1928
  4. http://archives.nd.edu/Football/Football-1929.pdf
  5. http://archives.nd.edu/Football/Football-1930.pdf
  6. http://archives.nd.edu/Football/Football-1931.pdf
  7. http://archives.nd.edu/Football/Football-1932.pdf
  8. 2018 Notre Dame Football Media Guide (PDF), p. 176
  9. Murray A. Sperber (2002), Shake Down the Thunder: The Creation of Notre Dame Football, p. 401-402
  10. James Bacon (1977), Made in Hollywood, p. 203
  11. Dorothy Corson (March 31, 2003), The Spirit of Notre Dame, retrieved June 5, 2019
  12. 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
  13. Jeff Harrell (Spring 2019), "Mob Bombs Rockne Plane", Notre Dame Magazine, retrieved June 5, 2019
  14. "Personnel of Two Squads", Chicago Tribune, Chicago, IL, p. 23, August 31, 1934
  15. "3,000 March in Notre Dame Pep Meeting", South Bend Tribune, South Bend, IN, p. 1, October 19, 1935
  16. "Tom's Biggest Thrill", South Bend Tribune, South Bend, IN, p. 31, May 15, 1936
  17. "Named Line Coach", Palladium Item, Richmond, IN, p. 8, March 5, 1938
  18. "Will Teach the Notre Dame Plan", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, MO, p. 15, February 20, 1942
  19. "W.U. Hopes to Carry On Athletics", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, MO, p. 14, March 21, 1943
  20. "'Strictly Amateur Basis' For Football at Washington", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, St. Louis, MO, p. 19, February 6, 1946
  21. "Washington U. Coach Quits", Maryville Daily Forum, Maryville, MO, p. 1, January 24, 1946
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