In the fall of 1924, there were several strong candidates at tackle for Notre Dame, but it was Edgar “Rip” Miller who won the battle opposite Joe Bach on the Irish line. Miller, from the football-crazed town of Canton, Ohio, had gone up against Massillon’s Harry Stuhldreher when Miller played at McKinley High School. The handsome Miller cut a dashing figure wearing the latest from Hart, Schaffner & Marx—he bore a striking resemblance to the young lad featured in the Canton newspaper advertisements for the Homer-Miller Co., his dad’s clothing firm.

A ferocious tackle, Rip captained the undefeated 1920 McKinley team. In Canton, he was a delivery boy for his father’s store and earned extra money as a “soda jerk” and laying cement. He spent two summers in the plains states working on the wheat harvest.

In his three years in South Bend, Rip Miller had made an impression as a sharp student and a strong competitor on the field. He was also a valued teammate whose optimism and attitude could lift up the entire team. With a shock of blond hair, he had a boyish look that belied his toughness. Toughness would be needed as Rip was five inches shorter and 25 pounds lighter than Gene Oberst, the man he was trying to replace.

Rip originally planned to attend Grove City College in Pennsylvania when his uncle suggested Miller chat with a local Notre Dame alumnus. The talk convinced Miller to head for South Bend, a town he had never visited. Rip’s means of transportation to Notre Dame was “riding the blinds”—occupying the snug cramped place behind the coal car. It wasn’t much for comfort, but it was free, for as far as the train went, which turned out to be Elkhart —15 miles east of South Bend. In Elkhart the train yard police picked him up and asked Miller his plans. “I’m going to Notre Dame to try out for the football team.” The officer replied, “Get in the car and I’ll drive you the rest of the way.”

Elkhart would play another part in Miller’s Notre Dame years. As a junior, Rip’s teammate Russ Arndt was dating Phyllis Templin of Elkhart. On one planned visit to Elkhart, Arndt asked Rip to come along for a “double date,” with Phyllis’ sister, Esther. Rip and Es stayed in touch during their college days, and eventually married.

In 1924, during the days and weeks following Notre Dame’s Oct. 18 victory over Army and Grantland Rice’s famous article that followed, the “Four Horsemen” nickname applied to the Irish backfield of Stuhldreher, Jim Crowley, Don Miller and Elmer Layden began sweeping the country, as the photo of the four atop South Bend work horses appeared in more and more newspapers.

Eventually, the Notre Dame line achieved its own measure of fame. On one trip, center and team captain Adam Walsh heard a knock on his door. The visitor inquired if this room was where he would find the “four horsemen.” Walsh replied, “Nah, we’re just the seven mules.” The name stuck.

A running gag among the fellows was the question of which unit was more important to the team’s success. A “vote” was taken and the mules won, 7-4. A student-written poem paid tribute to their contribution and concluded:

So, a song for Walsh and his line that starred

The strenuous season through,

A cheer for each tackle and end and guard

Who fought for the Gold and Blue!

Here’s to Kizer, and Weibel, to Hunsinger, “Rip,”

To Collins and Bach, in fine!

Now, all together a big “Hip, Hip,

Hurrah!” for the Irish Line.

After the 10-0 season, Rose Bowl victory and consensus national championship, Miller joined all of his fellow Mules and the Horsemen in becoming a college football coach in the fall of 1925. He joined the staff of Bill Ingram at Indiana and the following year, when Ingram was named head coach at the U.S. Naval Academy, Miller joined him as line coach of the Midshipmen.

In their first season coaching at the academy, Ingram and Miller guided the Middies to a 9-0-1 record and national championship recognition, the school’s only such honor. At the same time, Miller began advocating for Navy to play Notre Dame, and in 1927 the series began.

In 1931, Ingram left Annapolis to take over the Cal Bears and Rip Miller was named his successor. In three seasons as Navy head coach, Miller led the Mids to 12 wins, including their first victory over Notre Dame, a 7-0 triumph over Hunk Anderson’s Irish on Nov. 4, 1933, in Baltimore.

Rip returned to his role as line coach from 1934-47, then moved into athletic administration, where he served until his retirement in 1974. An athletic field at the academy was named to honor his long, distinguished career representing Navy athletics. In 1966, his many contributions to the game were recognized with induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Over the years, most fans of the two prestigious institutions have learned about the role the Navy played in keeping Notre Dame afloat, so to speak, during World War II. Notre Dame was down to fewer than 1,000 students when the Navy accepted an invitation to use the campus for an officer training base. Notre Dame became a buzzing center of activity for the duration of the war, and never looked back. As a result, Notre Dame made a pledge that, as long as it wanted, Navy would have a place on the ND football schedule.

Today, the long tradition of mutual respect and honor between Notre Dame and Navy is represented by the Rip Miller Trophy. It is unlike any other trophy in college football. Rather than the winner taking possession for the next year, the Rip Miller Trophy consists of two parts, each of which is returned to its home campus until the next game is played. Then the two are brought together to honor the two schools when they play. Rather than game results, the Rip Miller Trophy lists each team’s captains down through the years, as it honors leadership, sportsmanship, and respect.

We were honored to make a presentation on the life of Rip Miller when the trophy was unveiled in a banquet in Baltimore in 2011. Mrs. Esther Miller, that shy high-school girl Rip met on a double-date so many years earlier, did the unveiling. She lived until age 109, forever proud of her husband’s associations with college football and some of its best traditions.