Johnny Lujack, Notre Dame football legend, dead at 98

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Johnny Lujack, a former Notre Dame football star who led the Fighting Irish to three national championships in the 1940s and won a Heisman Trophy, died Tuesday, the school announced.

Lujack was 98.

He was a superstar quarterback widely considered to be one of the greatest Notre Dame players of all time. He was a two-time unanimous All-American selection who won the Heisman in 1947. 

He led the Fighting Irish to titles in 1943, 1946 and 1947. He was also a letterman in baseball, basketball and track.

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Notre Dame quarterback Johnny Lujack, left, receives the Heisman Memorial Trophy from Wilbur Jurden, president of the Downtown Athletic Club, in New York Dec. 10, 1947. (AP Photo/Jacob Harris, File)

The school said he died in Naples, Florida, after a brief illness. Amy Schiller, his granddaughter, said he had recently entered hospice care after having been in good health until a few weeks ago.

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

Author John Heisler, who has written a dozen books about the football program and is a former associate athletic director, remembered Lujack fondly.

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Notre Dame football coach Frank Leahy, left, and Johnny Lujack, right, in the locker room after the Fighting Irish's 20-0 victory over Army in New York Nov. 6, 1943. (AP Photo/Harry Harris)

"Even by Notre Dame standards, you always felt he was larger than life," he said. "Part of that comes with winning the Heisman