| 48 |
Angelo Bertelli |
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Frank Leahy's switch to the T-formation starting in 1942 made a star of Bertelli and helped him win the Heisman Trophy as a senior despite playing in only six of Notre Dame's 10 games. Bertelli's Irish career began as a single-wing tailback in 1941 as his 1,027 passing yards (and a .569 completion percentage that led the nation) propelled his team to a 9-0-1 record. As a junior, he switched to quarterback in the T and ended up throwing for another 1,039 yards and 10 touchdowns. In a 27-10 win over Stanford that year, he threw four touchdown passes and completed a record 10 straight passes. Runnerup to Minnesota's Bruce Smith for the Heisman as a sophomore and sixth as a junior behind winner Frank Sinkwich of Georgia, Bertelli's play enabled Notre Dame to average 43.5 points in its first six games in '43 before the Marine Corps called him into service. Still, he threw 10 scoring passes in those six contests and helped Notre Dame claim the national title despite a final-game loss to Great Lakes while Bertelli was in boot camp. He played three seasons with Los Angeles and Chicago in the All-America Football Conference before a knee injury ended his career. Bertelli now runs a beverage distributorship in Clifton, N.J. He joined the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame in 1972. Bertelli died on June 6, 1999.
Bertelli's Statistics
| | Att. | Comp. | Yds. | TD | Pct. |
| 1941 | 123 | 70 | 1027 | 8 | .569 |
| 1942 | 159 | 72 | 1039 | 10 | .453 |
| 1943 | 36 | 25 | 512 | 10 | .694 |
| TOTAL | 318 | 167 | 2578 | 28 | .525 |
1943 Heisman Voting
1. Angelo Bertelli, Notre Dame (648)
2. Bob O'Dell, Pennsylvania (177)
3. Otto Graham, Northwestern (140)
4. Creighton Miller, Notre Dame (143)
5. Eddie Prokop, Georgia Tech (85)
6. Hall Hamburg, Navy (73)
7. Bill Daley, Michigan (71)
8. Tony Butkovich, Purdue (65)
9. Jim White, Notre Dame (52)
