top of page

HISTORICAL ANALYSIS

Daniel Eugene Ruettiger grew up in Joliet, IL. He was the first born boy and the third of fourteen children. When he was a young boy, Rudy would watch the Notre Dame football games with his dad and brothers. Rudy also enjoyed watching baseball, boxing, wrestling, and water skiing. Rudy had always dreamed of going to Notre Dame.

In 1972, Rudy decided he was going to attend Holy Cross Junior College in order to raise his GPA. After two years there and three rejections from Notre Dame Rudy finally achieved his dream of making it into Notre Dame. Once Rudy was on campus at Notre Dame he decided he wanted to play football. This is when he developed his new dream. Rudy played as a walk on for two years. However, on November 8, 1975 Rudy got the chance to play in a game against Georgia Tech. Rudy achieved this by being extra enthusiastic during practices and earning the respect of his teamates and coaches.

bottom of page