Notre Dame Football: 15 best quarterbacks in Fighting Irish history
By John Buhler
Angelo Bertelli was the first of seven Heisman Trophy winners in the honor’s history. Bertelli was the son of Italian immigrants, growing up in Springfield, Massachusetts. He first came to Notre Dame as a highly sought after tailback prospect but would see his playing style evolve under head coach Frank Leahy.
Bertelli might have lacked the foot speed to be an effective runner in a single-wing offense, but a shift to a T-formation, where he’d play under center, would end up being the best thing to happen to him in his playing career. Leahy certainly took advantage of Bertelli’s elite passing ability in a heavily run-first era of football, all the way to a national title in 1943.
In his first year as the starter, Bertelli completed 56.9 percent of his passes for 1,027 yards. Bertelli would play at Notre Dame through the 1943 NCAA season but was enlisted in the United States Marine Corps as an upperclassman beginning in 1942. In addition to serving his country, Bertelli was able to earn All-American honors in both 1942 and 1943 while playing quarterback at Notre Dame.
1943 was an unforgettable year for Bertelli and the Notre Dame program. Bertelli went from reserve to active duty status six games into his senior season. Despite playing only six games for the Golden Domers, he would win the first Heisman Trophy in school history. He completed 69.4 percent of his passes for 512 yards, 10 touchdowns and four interceptions. Notre Dame would go on to win the national title that season.
From there, Bertelli was drafted No. 1 overall in the 1944 NFL Draft by the Boston Yanks. This defunct NFL franchise still took the former Notre Dame standout despite him fighting overseas in the Pacific campaign through the end of World War II. Though he would never play for the Yanks, Bertelli did play three seasons in the AAFC for the Los Angeles Dons and the Chicago Rockets before calling it a career.
In his post-playing career, Bertelli would embark on a business career in New Jersey, serving as the Princeton Tigers’ color commentator for football games in the 1950s and 1960s. He would be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1972. Bertelli would pass away in 1999 at the age of 78 due to brain cancer. He would leave behind a wife and four children including Bob Bert, a drummer who played innovative alternative rock group Sonic Youth in the early 1980s.