The Shock Troops

Among the many ways Knute Rockne was a football visionary was his foreshadowing of two-platoon football. At a time when virtually all coaches rode their 11 strongest men through 60 minutes of two-way football, Rockne had coached deep enough into his roster to develop an entire second unit which he trusted to start every game.

So, while his Shock Troops were taking the starch out of the opponent for up to an entire quarter, usually playing them evenly or sometimes taking a lead, Rockne had his 11 best players fresh and rested, ready to enter the game at a strategic point.

It was a tremendous psychological and physical advantage. It limited wear-and-tear on his regulars, which kept them in better shape as the season wore on. And as the Shock Troops excelled, they gained confidence and became a critical element to the team’s success.

Here are the 1924 Notre Dame Shock Troops:

CLEM CROWE

Left End
Lafayette, IN

Crowe came from an outstanding athletic family in Purdue territory and would become a Notre Dame basketball All-American. In his first year of varsity football, his skills translated to football, and he made a name for himself, according to the Football Review, “by his vicious tackling and fast work going down under punts.” He ably performed as backup to Chuck Collins in important games against Army and Princeton. Through the 1924 season, he garnered the respect of his teammates, to the point where he was elected captain of the 1925 Irish football team.  

Crowe went on to a distinguished career coaching football and basketball. He started at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Penn., then coached both sports at Xavier University from 1932-43. He served as assistant football and head basketball coach at Notre Dame in 1944-45. He briefly coached in the NFL, before a nearly decade-long head coaching stint in the Canadian Football League. He led the Ottawa Rough Riders to the 1951 Gray Cup.

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JOE BOLAND

Left Tackle
Philadelphia, PA

The hefty (6-foot, 215-pound) Boland was one of three sophomores (along with Joe Maxwell and Vince McNally) to arrive at Notre Dame in 1923 from Philadelphia’s Roman Catholic High, where they had played for former Irish standout Stan Cofall. “Boland’s weight and fighting qualities made him a valuable gridder in the shock troop’s brigade,” noted the Football Review. “Time after time the opposition found it tough going when they tried to send plays through Boland.”

Boland went on to become the voice of Notre Dame football. After his playing days, he served as head coach at the College (now University) of St. Thomas in Minnesota from 1929-32. He then became Notre Dame line coach under Layden from 1934-40. He began calling Irish games on the radio, and single-handedly built the Irish Football Network. He was a popular South Bend sportscaster until his death in 1960 at age 55.

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CHARLES GLUECKERT

Left Guard
South Bend, IN

“Glick” had been a star at South Bend High, but decided to go to work after high school. He was making deliveries for a local beverage company when Rockne spotted him and, remembering Glueckert as a local star, asked him to consider entering Notre Dame and joining the Irish. The muscular Glueckert, at 5-11, 185 pounds, had developed into a reliable backup. He missed the first game of the season with an injured ankle, then started the rest of the way, as the only South Bend native to play an important role for the 1924 national champions.

Glueckert earned a law degree from Notre Dame and became a prominent South Bend attorney. He served for 37 years as a Democratic precinct committeeman.

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JOE MAXWELL

Center
Philadelphia, PA

Another of the trio from Roman Catholic High, Maxwell started seven games for the Irish and proved himself to be “one of the most promising gridders to come to light during the season,” according to the Football Review. “He is possessed of a world of natural ability and football sense and is also an excellent snapper.” The Shock Troops center position was also manned at times by Joe Harmon, a product of Cathedral High School in Indianapolis.

Maxwell played 38 games in the NFL for the Frankford Yellow Jackets from 1927-29. He then coached at St. Louis University, where he also earned a law degree. He worked for Philco Ford Co. as an attorney and as labor relations director from 1946-69.

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DICK HANOUSEK

Right Guard
Antigo, WI

Hanousek came from a family in the logging business in northern Wisconsin, and played prep football at St. Thomas Military in St. Paul, Minn., where a string of former Notre Dame players had landed as coaches and teachers. He played fullback at St. Thomas, but Rockne felt his best contribution would be in the Irish line. Noted the 1924 Football Review: “His strength, his aggressiveness and natural football ability have made him a valuable player.”

After graduation, Hanousek returned to the Twin Cities as an assistant coach at St. Thomas. He later entered business, making occasional headlines as an outstanding amateur golfer.

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JOHN McMANMON

Right Tackle
Dracut, MA

The 6-foot-2 McManmon had been a standout on the 1923 Irish freshman team and was already 190 pounds as a sophomore. The big farm boy from rural Massachusetts was the youngest in a family of eight, and older brothers had played at Niagara and Princeton. By mid-season, McManmon had taken over the Shock Troops spot from John Wallace, a sophomore from Calumet City, Ill., who started the first four games. Said the Football Review of McManmon: “His physical proportions enable him to cover his territory well and his natural aggressiveness has been the thorn in the side of a good many opponents.”

After graduating from Notre Dame,McManmon remained to help coach the Irish freshmen. He then returned to the Boston area and was an assistant coach at both Boston College and Boston University while earning a Masters degree from Harvard. Always a proud and active alumnus, he was honored with the Alumni Association “Man of the Year” Award in 1981.

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WILBUR EATON

Right End
Omaha, NE

Eaton was a standout at Creighton Prep in Omaha before following an older brother to Notre Dame. As understudy to Ed Hunsinger, he made the most of his opportunity. “His incomparable fighting spirit and determination to stick to it made Eaton one of the most valuable men on the squad,” noted the Football Review. “He made the going around the flanks rather perilous for the opposition.”

Eaton coached the Notre Dame freshman in 1925, before he took assistant roles at Charles College in Helena, Mont., Howard College (today’s Samford University) in Alabama, St. Thomas in Minnesota, and finally as an assistant to former Irish star Marchie Schwartz at Creighton. He entered the University of Nebraska Medical School in 1933 and practiced medicine in Iowa until he died of a heart attack at age 43.

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EDDIE SCHARER

Quarterback
Toledo, OH

A multi-sport high school star in Toledo, Scharer spent one year at the University of Detroit before coming to Notre Dame. He worked his way through many quarterback candidates to emerge as main understudy to Harry Stuhldreher. Like Stuhldreher, “he is not large in stature, but has a world of natural ability and a capacity to think football. He ran his shock troops with the hand of a master,” the Football Review noted.

Despite his size, Scharer had some success in the NFL, leading the league in touchdown passes with the Detroit Panthers in 1926. The next season, he was a second-team All-Pro with the Pottsville Maroons.

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HARRY O’BOYLE

Left Halfback
Des Moines, IA

O’Boyle grew up the youngest in a coal-mining family where a college education was unheard of. But his older siblings saw something remarkable in him and urged their parents to find a way to send him to college. The 5-foot-9, 160-pounder stood out as a freshman, then rose as a varsity challenger to Elmer Layden as the team’s kicker. He kicked off to start most games in 1924 and scored touchdowns in the first two games, including breaking loose for a 55-yard run against Lombard. He booted the season’s only field goal against Wisconsin.

O’Boyle was a member of the Green Bay Packers for three seasons, primarily as a blocking back. For two seasons, he was head coach at St. Anselm College in New Hampshire.

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WARD ‘DOC’ CONNELL

Right Halfback
Beloit, WI

Connell was raised in an intensely Catholic family in Beloit, Wis., where they lived next door to the parish rectory. Since his prep school days, home was Notre Dame, where he was a top student and athlete in the prep division. In the season opener vs. Lombard, he went 25 yards with a pass from Jim Crowley, and later broke through left tackle and raced 57 yards for a touchdown. He enjoyed a homecoming when the Irish spent Friday night, Nov. 7, in Beloit en route to their game at Wisconsin. Against the Badgers, Connell reeled off runs of 25 and 30 yards, to the delight of many friends and relatives in attendance.

Connell took what he learned in Rockne’s backfield and returned to his home state of Wisconsin, where he coached the backs for the University of Wisconsin. In 1927, he suited up to play one more time, joining the NFL’s Milwaukee Badgers, organized by former Notre Dame star John Mohardt and including ex-Irish end Roger Kiley, for a game against the Duluth Eskimos and its captain, 1925 Rose Bowl standout Ernie Nevers of Stanford.

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BILL CERNEY

Fullback
Chicago, IL

Cerney, sometimes called “the Fifth Horseman” for his critical role in the Irish backfield, was known as “the fiery spirit behind the shock troops,” according to the Football Review. He ran for touchdowns in the first two games of the season and was always at the ready as an able backup to Elmer Layden. When injury kept Layden out of the regular-season finale vs. Carnegie Tech at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, Cerney played a major role and found the end zone on a 3-yard run. Cerney proved himself to be as steady a reserve as a team could want, living up to the standard set by Layden.

Cerney helped Chuck Collins install the Rockne system as backfield coach at the University of North Carolina. He later returned to Notre Dame and served a variety of roles on the coaching staff from 1935-41, including freshman coach and head of scouting.