Johnny Lujack, former Heisman winner and All-Pro QB with Bears, dies at age of 98

Johnny Lujack, the Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback who led Notre Dame to three national championships in the 1940s, died in Florida on Tuesday following a brief illness. He was 98.

Lujack's death was confirmed by his granddaughter, Amy Schiller, who said he had entered hospice care recently after having been in good health until a couple of weeks ago.

"He was not only a legend in Notre Dame football and the sports world," Schiller said, "he was a legend as a father and grandfather and great grandfather."

Lujack is considered one of the greatest Notre Dame players of all time, having won the Heisman in 1947 and leading the Irish to national titles in 1943, 1946 and 1947.

Lujack posted a 20-1-1 record as starting quarterback for coach Frank Leahy. He played for the Irish in 1942 and '43, served two years in the Navy during World War II, and returned to Notre Dame for the 1946 and '47 seasons.

He was The Associated Press athlete of the year in 1947, when he was a first-round draft pick of the Chicago Bears. He played four seasons for the Bears, leading the team in scoring each year before retiring at age 26.

While Lujack had plenty of offensive highlights at Notre Dame, he is best remembered for a play he made as a defensive back in an era when players stayed on the field for nearly every play.

A standing-room-only crowd of about 75,000 packed Yankee Stadium in 1946 to see No. 1 Army -- the two-time defending national champions -- face then-rival Notre Dame, which was ranked No. 2. Lujack made the game-saving tackle against Doc Blanchard in a 0-0 tie. That contest is frequently referred to as the game of the century.

Lujack, in a 1996 interview with the AP, said that was the game he was asked about most often. He downplayed the