William Shakespeare (football)
Encyclopedia
William Valentine Shakespeare (September 27, 1912 – January 17, 1974) was an American football
player. He played at the halfback
position, and also handled punting, for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
teams from 1933 to 1935. He gained his greatest acclaim for throwing the winning touchdown pass as time ran off the clock in Notre Dame's 1935 victory over Ohio State
, a game that was voted the best game in the first 100 years of college football
. Shakespeare was selected as a consensus first-team All-American in 1935
and was posthumously inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
in 1983. Sharing the same name as "The Bard of Avon
", Shakespeare earned nicknames including "The Bard of Staten Island", "The Bard of South Bend", and "The Merchant of Menace."
, New York
. His father, Valentine Shakespeare, was a New York City firefighter and the captain of Fire Company 163. The family claimed to be direct descendants of the famed writer William Shakespeare
. The younger Shakespeare became a star football player at Staten Island's Port Richmond High School
. He showed particular talent as a punter and later told reporters that he had trained his pet fox terrier
to retrieve his punts as he practiced his technique.
in 1932, the year after the death of the school's legendary football coach Knute Rockne
. He played for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
teams in 1933, 1934, and 1935, and was selected as a consensus All-American in 1935.
Because of his shared name with William Shakespeare
, "The Bard of Avon", he acquired nicknames "The Bard of Staten Island" and "The Merchant of Menace." Newspapers reported that, though he claimed to be a direct descendant of the Bard, Shakespeare had flunked his sophomore English class. In 1934, newspapers published a photograph of Shakespeare staring at a football in the manner of Hamlet
examining Yorick
's skull under the caption "To Be Or Not To Be -- Football Player or English Wizard Is Perplexing Question Facing William Shakespeare, of Notre Dame."
position. He also showed promise as a punter with an average of 53.2 yards on five punts.
As a junior in 1934, Shakespeare became the starting left halfback in the Notre Dame's first year under new coach Elmer Layden
. In an October 1934 win over Carnegie Tech
, Shakespeare ran 56 yards for a touchdown on a sweep play around the right end. The Associated Press
noted: "Superb blocking opened the route for Shakespeare, who put a little reverse English on his dash and then outfooted the field to score." On November 24, 1934, he helped lead the Irish to a 12–6 win over Army
with a 67-yard touchdown pass to Dominic Vairo
in front of a crowd of 81,000 at Yankee Stadium. The Associated Press
wrote that "the Irish scored a touchdown on a sensational pass, Shakespeare to Captain Vairo, who took the ball on Army's 15 as he was surrounded by three cadets and broke away to spring across the goal line." And in the final week of the season, he threw a 51-yard touchdown pass to Francis "Mike" Layden in a 14–0 win over the University of Southern California. He led the 1934 Notre Dame team in several offensive categories, including passing (230 yards and two touchdowns), kickoff returns (60 yards on four returns), and punting (41 punts for 1,638 yards and a 40.0 yard average).
In the opening game of the 1935 season, Shakespeare threw a pass from the 50-yard to Wayne Millner
, who caught the ball on the five-yard line and ran into the endzone for a touchdown as Notre Dame defeated Kansas
28–7. The following week, Shakespeare ran for a touchdown against Carnegie Tech at Pitt Stadium
-- the first touchdown scored by Notre Dame in Pittsburgh since 1931. Against Wisconsin
on October 12, 1935, he caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Vic Wojcihovski to help lead Notre Dame to a 13-0 win at Camp Randall Stadium
. In the fourth week of the 1935 season, Notre Dame beat Pitt, 9–6, as Shakespeare scored Notre Dame's only touchdown. Shakespeare also booted an 86-yard punt (70 yards in the air) in the Pitt game, still the longest punt in Notre Dame football history. He also kicked a 75-yard punt against Navy
in 1935 that ranks as the fifth-longest in school history.
On November 2, 1935, Notre Dame faced the undefeated 1935 Ohio State Buckeyes team
in front of a crowd of 81,000 at Ohio Stadium
. Ohio State was heavily favored in the game and led at half-time by a score of 13–0. The score remained the same at the start of the fourth quarter, but the Irish rallied in the fourth quarter for two touchdowns to narrow Ohio State's lead to 13–12. With less than a minute left in the game, Notre Dame's quarterback Andy Pilney
ran for a 30-yard gain to the Ohio State 19-yard line. Pilney was injured on the play and had to be carried off the field on a stretcher. Shakespeare replaced Pilney and threw a pass into the arms of an Ohio State player who intercepted the ball but dropped it before securing possession. With the clock running out, the ball was snapped to fullback Jim McKenna, who handed it to Shakespeare on what appeared to be a reverse. Shakespeare threw a pass into the endzone, which was caught by Wayne Millner on his knees for an 18–13 win.
The 1935 Notre Dame-Ohio State match was regarded as one of the greatest comebacks in history of the sport. Red Barber
, who broadcast the game on radio, later called it "the greatest college football game I ever called." In The New York Times
, Allison Danzig
opened his report on the game by writing, "One of the greatest last-ditch rallies in football history toppled the dreaded Scarlet Scourge of Ohio State from its lofty pinnacle today as 81,000 dumbfounded spectators saw Notre Dame score three touchdowns in less than fifteen minutes to gain an almost miraculous 18–13 victory in jammed Buckeye Stadium." Radio announcer Tom Manning added, "I always said Shakespeare had a pair of rosary beads and a bottle of holy water in his back pocket." The media picked up stories of the Catholic faithful praying for Notre Dame as they listened to the game on the radio. One nun told a reporter of overhearing a colleague in her convent "gamefully bargaining" and eventually "threatening" the Poor Souls and saints for another Notre Dame touchdown. The Chicago Tribune
later noted the irony that it was a truly ecumenical group that combined for the famed "Hail Mary" pass: "Mazziotti, a Catholic, handed to Shakespeare, a Protestant on a fake reverse. Shakespeare passed to End Wayne Millner, a Jewish boy." In 1969, as part of the centennial of the first college football game, the Associated Press
conducted a poll to select the "game of the century", and the 1935 Notre Dame-Ohio State game was chosen as the best game in the first 100 years of college football.
The week after the Ohio State game, Notre Dame faced Northwestern
featuring All-American end Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Before the game, the Associated Press carried a story profiling the two players: "Shakespeare and Longfellow will meet tomorrow —- not to trade verses, but to play all the football they know." Longfellow later recalled, "Shakespeare and I played against each other for three years. Each year, because of our names, we got a terrific buildup. It was a natural, I suppose. All through my college days I never heard the end of it. The writers went wilder each year." Longfellow got the better of Shakespeare in 1935, as he caught a touchdown pass to help Northwestern win the game, 14-7. Shakespeare attempted to lead the Irish to another come-from-behind victory, as he ran 48 yard to the Northwestern ten-yard line late in the game, but the Northwestern defense held. On the last play of the game, Shakespeare threw a "long, desperate pass", but it was intercepted as time ran out.
On November 16, 1935, Shakespeare led a Notre Dame comeback against Army
, but the comeback fell short as the game ended in a 6–6 tie. The game was played in Yankee Stadium in front of a crowd of 80,000, and Army led 6–0 late in the game. With a minute to go, Shakespeare threw a 44-yard pass to Millner at the Army goal line. The ball fell from Millner's arms, but the referee called pass interference and Notre Dame scored on the next play from the two-yard line. Damon Runyan wrote of the finish: "It is the opening gun, so to speak, of the duel with William Valentine Shakespeare, who waits until the very last minute to put on a typical Shakespeare finish to a Notre Dame football tale."
Shakespeare concluded his football career with a come-from-behind victory over the USC Trojans On November 23, 1935. USC led 6–0 at halftime, but Notre Dame scored 20 points in the second half. The Associated Press credited Shakespeare for leading the comeback: "Heading the brilliant attack was the 'bard of Staten Island,' William Shakespeare who closed his collegiate career with one of his greatest games." Shakespeare started the rally by throwing a 38-yard touchdown pass to Wally Fromhart
.
Shakespeare finished the 1935 college football season
as Notre Dame's leader in most offensive categories, including passing (19 completions on 66 attempts for 267 yards), rushing (374 yards and four touchdowns on 104 carries), punting (1,801 yards on 45 punts), kickoff returns (123 yards on five returns), and scoring (24 points). He was selected as a consensus first-team All-American and finished third in the voting, behind Jay Berwanger
and Monk Moscrip
, for the first Heisman Trophy
award.
by the Pittsburgh Steelers
. The 1936 draft was the first official NFL draft, and Shakespeare holds the distinction of being the third player ever selected in an NFL draft, the first Notre Dame player to be drafted in the first round, and the first first-round pick for the Steelers. Despite being drafted in the first round, professional football was not a high-paying proposition in the mid-1930s, and Shakespeare opted for a career in business rather than professional football.
Before turning to a career in business, Shakespeare did take time to appear with fellow All-Americans Jay Berwanger
, Bobby Wilson, Monk Moscrip
and Gomer Jones
in the RKO Pictures
feature film, The Big Game.
and commanded a machine-gun platoon of the 424th Infantry Regiment, which played a prominent role in the Ardennes breakthrough, and served in Northern France and the Rhineland Campaign. Shakespeare was awarded four battle stars, the Combat Infantryman Badge
, and the Bronze Star
for gallantry during the Battle of the Bulge
.
and remained president of Cincinnati Rubber until his death in 1974. He died in January 1974 at age 61 at Good Samaritan Hospital
in Cincinnati, Ohio
. He was survived by his wife and two sons.
In 1983, he was posthumously named to the College Football Hall of Fame
.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player. He played at the halfback
Halfback (American football)
A halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...
position, and also handled punting, for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...
teams from 1933 to 1935. He gained his greatest acclaim for throwing the winning touchdown pass as time ran off the clock in Notre Dame's 1935 victory over Ohio State
1935 Ohio State Buckeyes football team
The 1935 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the college football season of 1935-1936. The Buckeyes compiled a 7–1 record. Schmidt got the first Big Ten title for the Bucks in 15 years and outscoring opponents 237-57...
, a game that was voted the best game in the first 100 years of college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
. Shakespeare was selected as a consensus first-team All-American in 1935
1935 College Football All-America Team
The 1935 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams for the 1935 college football season...
and was posthumously inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
in 1983. Sharing the same name as "The Bard of Avon
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
", Shakespeare earned nicknames including "The Bard of Staten Island", "The Bard of South Bend", and "The Merchant of Menace."
Early years
Shakespeare was born on Staten IslandStaten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. His father, Valentine Shakespeare, was a New York City firefighter and the captain of Fire Company 163. The family claimed to be direct descendants of the famed writer William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
. The younger Shakespeare became a star football player at Staten Island's Port Richmond High School
Port Richmond High School
Port Richmond High School is on the North Shore of Staten Island in the Port Richmond neighborhood. It is located at 85 St Josephs Avenue, between Innis Street and Charles Avenue. The principal is Timothy M. Gannon....
. He showed particular talent as a punter and later told reporters that he had trained his pet fox terrier
Fox Terrier
Fox Terrier refers primarily to two different breeds of the terrier dog type: the Smooth Fox Terrier and the Wire Fox Terrier. Both of these breeds originated in the 19th century from a handful of dogs who are descended from earlier varieties of British terriers, and are related to other modern...
to retrieve his punts as he practiced his technique.
Bard of Staten Island
He enrolled at the University of Notre DameUniversity of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...
in 1932, the year after the death of the school's legendary football coach Knute Rockne
Knute Rockne
Knute Kenneth Rockne was an American football player and coach. He is regarded as one of the greatest coaches in college football history...
. He played for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...
teams in 1933, 1934, and 1935, and was selected as a consensus All-American in 1935.
Because of his shared name with William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
, "The Bard of Avon", he acquired nicknames "The Bard of Staten Island" and "The Merchant of Menace." Newspapers reported that, though he claimed to be a direct descendant of the Bard, Shakespeare had flunked his sophomore English class. In 1934, newspapers published a photograph of Shakespeare staring at a football in the manner of Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
examining Yorick
Yorick
Yorick is the deceased court jester whose skull is exhumed by the gravedigger in Act 5, Scene 1, of William Shakespeare's Hamlet.Yorick may also refer to:* Yorick...
's skull under the caption "To Be Or Not To Be -- Football Player or English Wizard Is Perplexing Question Facing William Shakespeare, of Notre Dame."
1933 and 1934 seasons
As a sophomore in 1933, Shakespeare was a substitute at the halfbackHalfback (American football)
A halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...
position. He also showed promise as a punter with an average of 53.2 yards on five punts.
As a junior in 1934, Shakespeare became the starting left halfback in the Notre Dame's first year under new coach Elmer Layden
Elmer Layden
Elmer Francis Layden was an American football player, coach, college athletics administrator, and professional sports executive. He played college football at the University of Notre Dame where he starred at fullback as a member of the legendary "Four Horsemen" backfield...
. In an October 1934 win over Carnegie Tech
Carnegie Institute of Technology
The Carnegie Institute of Technology , is the name for Carnegie Mellon University’s College of Engineering. It was first called the Carnegie Technical Schools, or Carnegie Tech, when it was founded in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie who intended to build a “first class technical school” in Pittsburgh,...
, Shakespeare ran 56 yards for a touchdown on a sweep play around the right end. The Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
noted: "Superb blocking opened the route for Shakespeare, who put a little reverse English on his dash and then outfooted the field to score." On November 24, 1934, he helped lead the Irish to a 12–6 win over Army
Army Black Knights football
The Army Black Knights football program represents the United States Military Academy. Army was recognized as the national champions in 1944, 1945 and 1946....
with a 67-yard touchdown pass to Dominic Vairo
Dominic Vairo
Dominic Vairo is a former American football end in the National Football League who played for the Green Bay Packers. Vairo played collegiate ball for the University of Notre Dame before playing professionally in the NFL for 1 season and retired in 1935.-References:...
in front of a crowd of 81,000 at Yankee Stadium. The Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
wrote that "the Irish scored a touchdown on a sensational pass, Shakespeare to Captain Vairo, who took the ball on Army's 15 as he was surrounded by three cadets and broke away to spring across the goal line." And in the final week of the season, he threw a 51-yard touchdown pass to Francis "Mike" Layden in a 14–0 win over the University of Southern California. He led the 1934 Notre Dame team in several offensive categories, including passing (230 yards and two touchdowns), kickoff returns (60 yards on four returns), and punting (41 punts for 1,638 yards and a 40.0 yard average).
Early games
In the opening game of the 1935 season, Shakespeare threw a pass from the 50-yard to Wayne Millner
Wayne Millner
Wayne Vernal Millner was an American football player who was known for his clutch play as an offensive and defensive end for both the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and for the National Football League's Washington Redskins.-Early life:Millner grew up in Roxbury, Massachusetts and played high school...
, who caught the ball on the five-yard line and ran into the endzone for a touchdown as Notre Dame defeated Kansas
Kansas Jayhawks football
The Kansas Jayhawks football program is the intercollegiate football program of the University of Kansas Jayhawks. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I, and the team competes in the Big 12 Conference....
28–7. The following week, Shakespeare ran for a touchdown against Carnegie Tech at Pitt Stadium
Pitt Stadium
Pitt Stadium was a stadium located on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania from 1925 to 1999. It served primarily as the home of the University of Pittsburgh's football team, the Pittsburgh Panthers...
-- the first touchdown scored by Notre Dame in Pittsburgh since 1931. Against Wisconsin
Wisconsin Badgers football
The Wisconsin Badgers are a college football program that represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and the Big Ten Conference. They play their home games at Camp Randall Stadium, the fourth-oldest stadium in college football...
on October 12, 1935, he caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Vic Wojcihovski to help lead Notre Dame to a 13-0 win at Camp Randall Stadium
Camp Randall Stadium
Camp Randall Stadium is an outdoor stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. It has been the home of the Wisconsin Badgers football team in rudimentary form since 1895, and as a complete stadium since 1917. It is located on the center-southern region of the University of Wisconsin campus. The stadium seats...
. In the fourth week of the 1935 season, Notre Dame beat Pitt, 9–6, as Shakespeare scored Notre Dame's only touchdown. Shakespeare also booted an 86-yard punt (70 yards in the air) in the Pitt game, still the longest punt in Notre Dame football history. He also kicked a 75-yard punt against Navy
Navy Midshipmen football
The Navy Midshipmen football team represents the United States Naval Academy in NCAA Division I-A college football. They are a Division I Football Bowl Subdivision independent school and coached by Ken Niumatalolo since December 2007...
in 1935 that ranks as the fifth-longest in school history.
"Game of the Century"
On November 2, 1935, Notre Dame faced the undefeated 1935 Ohio State Buckeyes team
1935 Ohio State Buckeyes football team
The 1935 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the college football season of 1935-1936. The Buckeyes compiled a 7–1 record. Schmidt got the first Big Ten title for the Bucks in 15 years and outscoring opponents 237-57...
in front of a crowd of 81,000 at Ohio Stadium
Ohio Stadium
Ohio Stadium is the home of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team and is located on the campus of The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. The stadium was added to the National Register of Historic Places by the National Park Service on March 22, 1974...
. Ohio State was heavily favored in the game and led at half-time by a score of 13–0. The score remained the same at the start of the fourth quarter, but the Irish rallied in the fourth quarter for two touchdowns to narrow Ohio State's lead to 13–12. With less than a minute left in the game, Notre Dame's quarterback Andy Pilney
Andy Pilney
-External links:...
ran for a 30-yard gain to the Ohio State 19-yard line. Pilney was injured on the play and had to be carried off the field on a stretcher. Shakespeare replaced Pilney and threw a pass into the arms of an Ohio State player who intercepted the ball but dropped it before securing possession. With the clock running out, the ball was snapped to fullback Jim McKenna, who handed it to Shakespeare on what appeared to be a reverse. Shakespeare threw a pass into the endzone, which was caught by Wayne Millner on his knees for an 18–13 win.
The 1935 Notre Dame-Ohio State match was regarded as one of the greatest comebacks in history of the sport. Red Barber
Red Barber
Walter Lanier "Red" Barber was an American sportscaster.Barber, nicknamed "The Ol' Redhead", was primarily identified with radio broadcasts of Major League Baseball, calling play-by-play across four decades with the Cincinnati Reds , Brooklyn Dodgers , and New York Yankees...
, who broadcast the game on radio, later called it "the greatest college football game I ever called." In The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Allison Danzig
Allison Danzig
Allison "Al" Danzig was an American sportswriter who specialized in writing about tennis, but also covered college football, squash, many Olympic Games, and rowing. Danzig was the only American sportwriter to extensively cover real tennis, the precursor to modern lawn tennis.Danzig covered every...
opened his report on the game by writing, "One of the greatest last-ditch rallies in football history toppled the dreaded Scarlet Scourge of Ohio State from its lofty pinnacle today as 81,000 dumbfounded spectators saw Notre Dame score three touchdowns in less than fifteen minutes to gain an almost miraculous 18–13 victory in jammed Buckeye Stadium." Radio announcer Tom Manning added, "I always said Shakespeare had a pair of rosary beads and a bottle of holy water in his back pocket." The media picked up stories of the Catholic faithful praying for Notre Dame as they listened to the game on the radio. One nun told a reporter of overhearing a colleague in her convent "gamefully bargaining" and eventually "threatening" the Poor Souls and saints for another Notre Dame touchdown. The Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
later noted the irony that it was a truly ecumenical group that combined for the famed "Hail Mary" pass: "Mazziotti, a Catholic, handed to Shakespeare, a Protestant on a fake reverse. Shakespeare passed to End Wayne Millner, a Jewish boy." In 1969, as part of the centennial of the first college football game, the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
conducted a poll to select the "game of the century", and the 1935 Notre Dame-Ohio State game was chosen as the best game in the first 100 years of college football.
Later games
The week after the Ohio State game, Notre Dame faced Northwestern
Northwestern Wildcats football
The Northwestern Wildcats football team, representing Northwestern University, is a NCAA Division I team and member of the Big Ten Conference, with evidence of organization in 1876...
featuring All-American end Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Before the game, the Associated Press carried a story profiling the two players: "Shakespeare and Longfellow will meet tomorrow —- not to trade verses, but to play all the football they know." Longfellow later recalled, "Shakespeare and I played against each other for three years. Each year, because of our names, we got a terrific buildup. It was a natural, I suppose. All through my college days I never heard the end of it. The writers went wilder each year." Longfellow got the better of Shakespeare in 1935, as he caught a touchdown pass to help Northwestern win the game, 14-7. Shakespeare attempted to lead the Irish to another come-from-behind victory, as he ran 48 yard to the Northwestern ten-yard line late in the game, but the Northwestern defense held. On the last play of the game, Shakespeare threw a "long, desperate pass", but it was intercepted as time ran out.
On November 16, 1935, Shakespeare led a Notre Dame comeback against Army
Army Black Knights football
The Army Black Knights football program represents the United States Military Academy. Army was recognized as the national champions in 1944, 1945 and 1946....
, but the comeback fell short as the game ended in a 6–6 tie. The game was played in Yankee Stadium in front of a crowd of 80,000, and Army led 6–0 late in the game. With a minute to go, Shakespeare threw a 44-yard pass to Millner at the Army goal line. The ball fell from Millner's arms, but the referee called pass interference and Notre Dame scored on the next play from the two-yard line. Damon Runyan wrote of the finish: "It is the opening gun, so to speak, of the duel with William Valentine Shakespeare, who waits until the very last minute to put on a typical Shakespeare finish to a Notre Dame football tale."
Shakespeare concluded his football career with a come-from-behind victory over the USC Trojans On November 23, 1935. USC led 6–0 at halftime, but Notre Dame scored 20 points in the second half. The Associated Press credited Shakespeare for leading the comeback: "Heading the brilliant attack was the 'bard of Staten Island,' William Shakespeare who closed his collegiate career with one of his greatest games." Shakespeare started the rally by throwing a 38-yard touchdown pass to Wally Fromhart
Wally Fromhart
Wallace Leo Fromhart was born in the tiny mountain town of Newburg, West Virginia where he lived and attended school up until his freshman year of high school, after which his family moved to the significantly larger town of Moundsville, West Virginia...
.
Post-season honors
Shakespeare finished the 1935 college football season
1935 college football season
The 1935 college football season was the last one before the Associated Press writers' poll was used in selecting the national champion. The Dickinson System, consisting of the calculations of University of Illinois Professor Frank Dickinson, crowned Southern Methodist University as the best in...
as Notre Dame's leader in most offensive categories, including passing (19 completions on 66 attempts for 267 yards), rushing (374 yards and four touchdowns on 104 carries), punting (1,801 yards on 45 punts), kickoff returns (123 yards on five returns), and scoring (24 points). He was selected as a consensus first-team All-American and finished third in the voting, behind Jay Berwanger
Jay Berwanger
John Jacob "Jay" Berwanger was an American football halfback born in Dubuque, Iowa. He was the first winner of the Downtown Athletic Club Trophy in 1935 ; the trophy is awarded annually to the nation's most outstanding college football player...
and Monk Moscrip
Jim Moscrip
James Henderson "Monk" Moscrip was an American football player. Born in Adena, Ohio, attended The Kiski Prep School in Saltsburg, Pennsylvania before enrolling at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California...
, for the first Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
award.
NFL Draft
Shakespeare was drafted in the first round (3rd overall selection) of the 1936 NFL Draft1936 NFL Draft
The 1936 National Football League Draft was the first draft of the National Football League. It took place on February 8, 1936 at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and has taken place every year since. The draft was instituted in an effort to equalize strength amongst the...
by the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
. The 1936 draft was the first official NFL draft, and Shakespeare holds the distinction of being the third player ever selected in an NFL draft, the first Notre Dame player to be drafted in the first round, and the first first-round pick for the Steelers. Despite being drafted in the first round, professional football was not a high-paying proposition in the mid-1930s, and Shakespeare opted for a career in business rather than professional football.
Before turning to a career in business, Shakespeare did take time to appear with fellow All-Americans Jay Berwanger
Jay Berwanger
John Jacob "Jay" Berwanger was an American football halfback born in Dubuque, Iowa. He was the first winner of the Downtown Athletic Club Trophy in 1935 ; the trophy is awarded annually to the nation's most outstanding college football player...
, Bobby Wilson, Monk Moscrip
Jim Moscrip
James Henderson "Monk" Moscrip was an American football player. Born in Adena, Ohio, attended The Kiski Prep School in Saltsburg, Pennsylvania before enrolling at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California...
and Gomer Jones
Gomer Jones
-External links:...
in the RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures
RKO Pictures is an American film production and distribution company. As RKO Radio Pictures Inc., it was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheum theater chains and Joseph P...
feature film, The Big Game.
World War II
In July 1943, Shakespeare entered the U.S. Army and went overseas with the Ground Forces Reinforcement Command of the 106th Division. He was commissioned as a captainCaptain (OF-2)
The army rank of captain is a commissioned officer rank historically corresponding to command of a company of soldiers. The rank is also used by some air forces and marine forces. Today a captain is typically either the commander or second-in-command of a company or artillery battery...
and commanded a machine-gun platoon of the 424th Infantry Regiment, which played a prominent role in the Ardennes breakthrough, and served in Northern France and the Rhineland Campaign. Shakespeare was awarded four battle stars, the Combat Infantryman Badge
Combat Infantryman Badge
The Combat Infantryman Badge is the U.S. Army combat service recognition decoration awarded to soldiers—enlisted men and officers holding colonel rank or below, who personally fought in active ground combat while an assigned member of either an infantry or a Special Forces unit, of brigade size...
, and the Bronze Star
Bronze Star Medal
The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
for gallantry during the Battle of the Bulge
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge was a major German offensive , launched toward the end of World War II through the densely forested Ardennes mountain region of Wallonia in Belgium, hence its French name , and France and...
.
Later years
Shakespeare joined the Cincinnati Rubber Company upon graduating from Notre Dame in 1936. With exception of the time he spent in military service during World War II, Shakespeare spent his entire career with the company. By 1959, he had become a vice president of the company, and he became the company's president in 1960. He lived in Kenwood, OhioKenwood, Ohio
Kenwood is a census-designated place in Sycamore Township, Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. The population was 7,423 at the 2000 census...
and remained president of Cincinnati Rubber until his death in 1974. He died in January 1974 at age 61 at Good Samaritan Hospital
Good Samaritan Hospital (Cincinnati)
Good Samaritan Hospital, the oldest and largest private teaching and specialty health care facility in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, was opened in 1852 under the sponsorship of the Sisters of Charity. The hospital is member of TriHealth, a joint operating agreement between Catholic Health...
in Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
. He was survived by his wife and two sons.
In 1983, he was posthumously named to the College Football Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
.