I came across this story from my good friend Kip Cheek of the Mendota Reporter, and it’s quite intriguing.
There is a man by the name of Cappy Gagnon, who is an expert on Notre Dame sports history. His first book was “Notre Dame Baseball Greats,” who played Major League Baseball.
Cheek wrote Gagnon is presently working on a project about early (1887-1917) Notre Dame football. He has identified 370 men who suited up for “The Catholics” (their most common appellation from that time) for at least one of the 197 games during that period. This is two dozen more players than the “Notre Dame Football Media Guide” had previously listed.
Two of the significant players he has researched grew up and/or lived in Mendota, Rufus William “Bumper” Waldorf and Francis Elmer “Frank” Munson, who was born in Ohio, Ill.
These two men are among only 18 for whom Gagnon has not found a date of death or obituary. He is aware that Waldorf died in Mendota, sometime in 1934. According to the records of the Notre Dame Alumni Association, Frank Munson’s mail was returned from Mendota, “unclaimed,” in 1938.
Munson earned a law degree, and Waldorf was one of the first 20 men to earn a degree in electrical engineering at Notre Dame, so they were bright students as well as great athletes.
Gagnon is asking the public for any information regarding these two Notre Dame players.
Munson, Gagnon writes, was born July 15, 1886 in Ohio. His father was a watchmaker and owned a jewelry store in Mendota. He played at Notre Dame from 1905-08, according to Gagnon. After the 1907, 22-4 win over Knox, the Scholastic reported, “Munson’s playing at end was particularly noticeable. Time after time he received the long pass from Berteling for good gains, and his punts were long. Aided by a slight wind, Munson’s kicks averaged 50 yards throughout the entire game.” Munson had two TDs and kicked two extra points, accounting for 12 of ND’s 22 points.
Munson was sergeant-at-arms of the Illinois Club of Notre Dame. He was a private in the Illinois National Guard, World War I. He was an attorney living in Mendota in 1900, 1917, and 1930, according to census and draft registration information.
Waldorf was born Nov. 9, 1885, in Mendota. He attended Notre Dame from 1903-1909. Both parents were born in Germany. His dad was a very successful farmer and banker. A leading citizen of Mendota, he built a two-story block building and served for 10 years as an alderman.
In his bio that Gagnon writes, Waldorf was an outstanding pitcher for Notre Dame with a 14-5 record, including being the top hurler in 1907 (7-0), with the other two starters both later pitching in the Major Leagues. He played Minor League Baseball (Sioux City-1907; Atlanta-1912; Norfolk-1913, and Bloomington-1914) and later signed by the Cubs in June, 1912. In mid-August 1914, he was released by the Bloomington (IL) Bloomers baseball team because his pay was higher than the younger pitchers they could bring in.
Waldorf married Elsie May Reese, in Bessemer, Mich., Aug. 29, 1914. During World War I, he was Ordnance Department inspector, in Detroit. He lived in Miami, Fla., and later in Buffalo, N.Y., in 1925. He became vice president of Locke and Company, which produced custom auto bodies for luxury automobile chassis, in Rochester, N.Y., in 1931. He is buried in Restland Cemetery in Mendota. His widow was living in Evanston in 1935.
If any one can assist Gagnon, you can contact me or Kip at 815-539-9396 or email kcheek@mendotareporter.com and the information will be forwarded to him.
Kevin Hieronymus is the BCR Sports Editor. Contact him at khieronymus@bcrnews.com.