Letters from Knute
Notes to Hammond’s Schreiner reveal Notre Dame legend’s affection for last equipment manager
John Schreiner remembers his father giving impromptu halftime speeches like Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne in their Hammond home for no particular reason.
Those were the days when the games weren’t on TV.
“It was always like, ‘Go, go, team, hit them hard,’ or something like that,” John said.
John and his brothers Paul and Richard knew their father, Anthony Schreiner, had been Rockne’s equipment manager when he was at Notre Dame. John and Paul are retired pharmacists who live in Valparaiso, and Richard is a retired Indianapolis physician. John operates a pharmaceutical museum in Griffith.
What they didn’t realize until recently was the depth of their father’s relationship with Rockne, which was revealed in a series of letters between the two that Paul dusted off from storage a few years ago.
Anthony, who graduated from Notre Dame in 1931, was one of Rockne’s most trusted confidants for at least two years.
Rockne is considered one of the greatest coaches in college football history. He won three national championships in 13 seasons before dying in a plane crash in 1931. His overall record was 105-12-5.
For Rockne, taking care of Anthony — who didn’t have much, if any, financial support for college from his family — appeared to be an act of goodwill.
Rockne had invited Anthony to play for the Fighting Irish. The son of a plumber, Anthony played quarterback at Catholic Central, which is now Bishop Noll, and graduated in 1926. He was one of 11 kids. He had to sit out a year and work at a bank to save money for school.
Anthony was injured during his freshman year and never played at Notre Dame.
The letters, which are framed and hang on Richard’s walls in his Indianapolis home, offer an intimate look into the relationship between Rockne and Anthony, who was the sole equipment manager for every sport at Notre Dame.
During his freshman year, Anthony lived on campus in Brownson Hall. A profile in The Notre Dame Scholastic during his senior year referred to him as “being a homeless person in a strange land, penniless and forlorn,” when he was a sophomore. The article said Anthony lived in five places that year and worked in a candy store.
It’s possible, Richard said, that his father moved around to avoid paying rent.
He moved to the gymnasium during his junior year and started his job giving out “moth
eaten football jerseys.” The article called Anthony an “athletic equipment dispenser (extraordinaire).”
Anthony officially became the equipment manager before his junior year.
In a letter dated Aug. 13, 1929, that Rockne sent to Anthony’s home, he typed: “I have seen Father Mulcaire. He tells me he will pay whatever I felt was necessary so I suggested $600 to him, which ought to take care of you in pretty good shape. I am asking you to come back here August 25 and work with Joe for two or three weeks getting things in shape and we will pay at the rate of 50 (cents) an hour for this job.”
Richard believes that was enough money to cover tuition.
Anthony’s job included traveling on road trips, where he
would transport equipment and hand out water bottles during games.
Rockne’s trust in Anthony grew quickly.
In a letter dated Feb. 2, 1930, that Rockne sent from Miami, where he was resting because of an undisclosed illness, he typed: “Dear Schreiner, I have every confidence you will handle the job O.K. Just use your judgment until I return. … Will see you when I get back. Kindest regards, Knute Rockne.”
Anthony was at Notre Dame for the 1929 and 1930 national championship teams, and he died in 1982.
George Roche, who wrote about sports in the Gary Sunday Visitor, said of Anthony in the July 4, 1982 issue “that Tony
Schreiner knew the beloved ‘Rock’ as well as did any man … privy to the noble coach’s worries … joys … sorrows.”
The Rockne-Schreiner relationship had a sad ending when Rockne was killed in a plane crash on March 31, 1931. He was on his way to Los Angeles to participate in the “Spirit of Notre Dame,” a film that chronicled the success of the football program.
Anthony was an honorary pallbearer for Rockne’s funeral.
Rockne’s death likely altered Anthony’s career path. He had intended to go to law school, according to Paul.
“My understanding was that he was going to keep working for (Rockne) and stay on and go to law school,” Paul said.
“He couldn’t afford it. That was the height of the Depression.”
Instead, Anthony returned to Hammond, where he worked as a human resources manager and raised six kids.
Once a year, Anthony took one or two of the
kids to a Notre Dame game. Paul said they made it to the locker room a few times.
Richard said it was clear his father “revered Rockne” but never revealed much about his relationship with Rockne with his family.
It just wasn’t his style. “I wish we could have asked him more questions,” Richard said. “Now it’s too late.”