DNA Test Results from “The Gipper”

A few weeks ago the body of George ‘The Gipper” Gipp was exhumed from his Michigan gravesite for the purpose of a DNA test. The exact reason for the test was not given at the time, but now we know the truth. The test was conducted on behalf of a woman who claimed that she might be the long-lost descendant of the Notre Dame football legend. However, the body’s DNA showed no relationship between the woman and Gipp. Clearly those family members who were mad about the grave-tampering right off the bat were even more angry to hear that the test results came back negative. You can read some of their statements at the New York Times, or the ESPN digested version of the Gipper grave scandal ending.

As you probably already know, George Gipp was a football hero from Notre Dame lore who set all kinds of records in his day. He died his senior year after a bout with pneumonia, and allegedly he told then-Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne to “win one for the Gipper” when the team was facing overwhelming odds. Rockne did just that in a game just a few years later, making the “win one for the Gipper” phrase immensely famous. It is immortalized in the movie “Knute Rockne: All-American,” wherein a young Ronald Regan plays George Gipp.

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Permalink - Posted in General on November 13, 2007 - Post a comment