In the late 1920s and early ’30s the three top names in American sports were Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey and Knute Rockne.

Rockne was football coach at the University of Notre Dame from 1918 until he died in a 1931 plane crash in the Flint Hills at age 43.

Notre Dame was undefeated in Rockne’s first two full seasons.

He is credited with innovations like the backfield shift that sparked the game from three yards and a cloud of dust to intelligent ball carrying.

He coached the legendary “Four Horsemen” and George Gipp of “Win one for the Gipper” fame.

He coined phrases like: “I’ve found that prayers work best if you have big players,” “Show me a gracious loser and I’ll show you a failure” and “I don’t want anybody going out there to die for dear old Notre Dame. Hell, I want you fighting to stay alive.”

In 13 years at Notre Dame, his record was 105 games won, 12 lost and five ties. His teams had five undefeated seasons and won three national championships.

Rockne boarded an overnight train in Chicago on March 30, 1931, arriving at 7 a.m. Tuesday morning, the 31st, in Kansas City, Mo. He’d planned to meet his wife, Bonnie, and their two older sons, Knute Jr. and Billy, who were traveling by train from Florida. The boys attended Pembroke School in Kansas City.

The Florida train arrived late and the family missed connections.

Photo gallery: Knute Rockne remembered Kansan guards memory of Notre Dame coach Woodling: Rockne memorial poignant (6-19-00)

Rockne’s plane left Kansas City bound for Los Angeles at 9:15 a.m. The flight ended about an hour later when it crashed near Cottonwood Falls.

Thousands were turned away from his funeral on the Notre Dame campus and an estimated 100,000 people lined the route of his funeral procession.

After he died, 1,600 of America’s 1,700 newspapers carried Rockne editorials.