To say the James Carberry family that farmed in Guthrie County, Iowa, at the turn of the 20th century was a football-loving group is an understatement. There were 13 children in all, including seven boys who were formed by the regimen of daily farm chores into strapping young men. Five of them were standouts at Guthrie County High School and went on to play college football.

The two oldest, Bill and Joe, took their skills to the University of Iowa, where they won all-Big Ten honors. Richard went on to Columbia College (today’s Loras University) in Dubuque, where he was a star halfback and trackman. Glen and John ventured the furthest, striking out to play for Knute Rockne at the University of Notre Dame.

Glen came to South Bend as a veteran of the Great War. He served in the infantry, and he attained the rank of lieutenant. After 11 months of service in France, Glen was injured in the explosion of an ammunition dump and was hospitalized for three weeks with a shattered eardrum. On Notre Dame’s great 1920 team led by George Gipp, Glen was backup left end behind All-American Roger Kiley.

Glen was a hard-working lineman, known in particular for his tenacious defensive play. Rockne, for his part, was continuously motivating, and he also enjoyed using wordplay to gently razz his men. One day, the story goes, Rockne wasn’t pleased with Carberry’s play and barked, “Carberry, you keep playing like that and you’ll spend more time on the bench than any judge I know.” Glen became “Judge” the rest of his career. (Later, John would be called “Lil Judge.”)

Rockne preferred hard-working linemen to be his team’s captain, figuring the backs—who did virtually all of the rushing, passing, receiving and kicking—would get their share of attention and glory. So he was pleased when his men chose “Judge” to be their captain for the 1922 season. 

The ’22 Irish finished 8-1-1, the season blemished only by a scoreless tie at Army, and a season-ending 14-6 loss on Thanksgiving Day at Nebraska. Carberry helped fellows like sophomores Harry Stuhldreher, Jim Crowley, Don Miller, and Elmer Layden set the stage for future success as The Four Horsemen.

The 1922 Notre Dame Football Review wrote: “The Judge was always in the middle of things, rather than on the end, and was continually messing up the opposing runners. There was no denying the skill and the certainty with which Carberry stopped opposing runners. Off the field he walks like a soldier and on the field, he fights like a soldier. We shall not ever forget the Judge. He shall, rather, be placed on the roster of football captains of Notre Dame and remembered as one of the honored men whose names and prowess are synonymous with Notre Dame.”

In 1923, Glen was named All-Pro with the Buffalo All-Americans. He went into coaching, and was Crowley’s line coach at Michigan Agricultural and at Fordham, where he coached the Seven Blocks of Granite, including Vince Lombardi.