Frank Hoffmann

Bio

His full name was Frank Nordoff Hoffmann, and everyone called him Nordy. Born in Seattle, he attended St. Martin High School but didn't play football there. He enrolled at the University of Notre Dame and met football coach, Knute Rockne. The coach noted his size, 6-2 and 224 pounds, and asked Nordy to try out for football. As a sophomore, he was a fourth-string tackle on the 1929 squad that included some legendary Notre Dame names...Frank Carideo, Marty Brill, Frank Leahy, Marchy Schwartz, Tommy Yarr and Jack Cannon. He moved up to the varsity as a second-string tackle in 1930 and first-string guard in 1931 where he became a firs- team All-America. The Notre Dame publicist, Joe Petritz, described Nordy as "the spark plug of the line, inspirational, fast, aggressive and consistent." He was a shot putter on the track team, and the student paper referred to him as a blue-eyed, blond-haired athlete who played piano and sang. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1978, and he called the ceremonies "the most beautiful thing that has happened to me." One of his prizes at his Hall of Fame induction was a book filled with letters of congratulation from Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford and all 100 U.S. Senators. Nordy was the long time sergeant-at-arms of the U.S. Senate, retiring in 1984.

Career Highlights

• 1931 First Team All-America