Dorais, Rockne, and Harper

Leo Welch (left) and Knute Rockne (right) at Cedar Point, Ohio in August c. 1913. 

Gus Dorais, Knute Rockne, and Coach Jesse Harper were key figures in the popularizing of the forward pass. 

Dorias is a Wisconsin native, born on July 2, 1891. He graduated from Chippewa Falls High School and was captain of the football team when they won the state championship in 1909 (1). After his time at Notre Dame he served in the Army in World War I where he also continued to play football. For one season he was an assisant coach to Knute Rockne before becoming a head coach at a few different universities (2). 

Knute Rockne was is a native of Norway, born on March 4, 1888. In 1910 he began his college career at Notre Dame where he played football and ran track. After his graduation he was hired as a chemistry professor and served as assistant football coach to Jesse Harper until Rockne stepped into the head coach position (3). 

Jesse Harper was born in Illinois in 1883 and graduated from the University of Chicago. Harper was the head coach and athletic director at Notre Dame from 1913-1917. His record at Notre Dame was 34-5-1. He retired in 1917 to his ranch in Kansas (4). 

1. "Gus Dorais," Wikipedia, accessed November 1, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gus_Dorais#References

2. "HISTORY: Charles Emile "Gus" Dorais," accessed November 1, 2022, https://www.gusdorais.com/history.php

3. "Knute Rockne: Norwegian-born American Football Coach," Britannica, accessed November 1, 2022, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Knute-Rockne

4. "Jesse Harper," University of Notre Dame, accessed November 1, 2022, https://und.com/coach/jesse-harper/.