Editing Johnny Lujack (section)

==Early life and college==
Lujack was born to Alice and John Luczak,<ref name=SEofAL-2002-79>{{citation |title=The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives: Sports Figures, Volume 2 |editor=Markoe, Arnie |year=2002 |publisher=C. Scribner's Sons |page=[https://archive.org/details/scribnerencyclop01mark/page/79 79] |isbn=978-0-684-80665-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/scribnerencyclop01mark/page/79 }}</ref> in 1925 in [[Connellsville, Pennsylvania]],<ref name=CBY-1948-404>{{citation |title=Current Biography Yearbook: Volumes 1-31 |publisher=H.W. Wilson Company |year=1948 |page=404 }}</ref> the youngest of four sons and fifth child in a family of six children.<ref name=CBY-1948-404/>  The family is of Polish descent and included older siblings Valentine ("Val"), Stanislaus  ("Stan"), Victoria, Aloysius ("[[Al Lujack|Allie]]", who went on to play professional basketball), and younger sister Dolores.<ref name=SEofAL-2002-79/><ref>Luczak. – Connellsville, Fayette, Pennsylvania. – [[1930 United States Census]]. – [[United States Census Bureau]].</ref><ref>{{citation |title=Great Athletes |author=Johnson, Rafer |publisher=Salem Press |year=2009 |page=278 |isbn=978-1-58765-473-2 }}</ref><ref name=CBY-1948-404/><ref name=TBofS-1971-22>{{citation |title=The Best of Sport, 1946–1971 |author=Silverman, Al |year=1971 |publisher=Viking Press |page=22 }}</ref>  His father worked for the  [[Pittsburgh and Lake Erie Railroad]] for thirty years as a [[boilermaker]].<ref name=TBofS-1971-22/>

Lujack attended [[Connellsville Area Senior High School|Connellsville High School]] and played for the school's football team from 1939 to 1941. He was also the senior class president and valedictorian.<ref name=KroegerJ-2005-09-20>{{citation |title=Football great donates $50,000 for new field house |author=Kroeger, Judy |date=September 20, 2005 |newspaper=[[Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]] |publisher=The Daily Courier (Connellsville) }}</ref>  In high school, he [[Letterman (sports)|lettered]] in four sports; baseball, football, basketball, and track.<ref name=SEofAL-2002-79/><ref>{{citation |title=Life's Cover |magazine=[[Life (magazine)|LIFE]] |date=September 29, 1947 |page=29 }}</ref>

Lujack's 1941 high school team, named the Cokers for workers in the coal milling industry who feed the ovens, went 8–0–1, but did not get to play for the WPIAL league championship because their last game, with Brownsville, ended in a 13–13 tie.<ref name=WhiteM-1994-09-14>{{citation |author=White, Mike |title=Johnny Marching Home for Connellsville Honor |newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |date=September 14, 1994 |page=D-1, D-5 }}</ref>

People in Connellsville had wanted Lujack to go to the [[United States Military Academy]] (Army) at West Point, going so far as to ask their local congressman for an appointment, but Lujack, a fan of [[Notre Dame Fighting Irish football|Notre Dame football]] from listening to their radio broadcasts, had his heart set on playing in [[South Bend]].<ref name=PenningtonB-2004>{{citation |author=Pennington, Bill |year=2004 |title=The Heisman: Great American Stories of the Men who Won |publisher=HarperCollins |pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780060554712/page/92 92, 94] |isbn=978-0-06-055471-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780060554712/page/92 }}</ref><ref name=DvorchakR-2009-07-14>{{citation |title=Lujack heads inaugural class |date=July 14, 2009 |author=Dvorchak, Robert |newspaper=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]] }}</ref>    He was the first Connellsville High School student to receive an appointment to Army.<ref name=SEofAL-2002-79/>

Lujack attended the [[University of Notre Dame]], where he was given a scholarship by [[Frank Leahy]], from 1942 to 1943 and then 1946 to 1947. His career was interrupted for two years by [[World War II]] after his sophomore season, during which he served as an officer in the [[United States Navy]].  His time in the Navy was spent hunting German submarines in the [[English Channel]] as an [[ensign (rank)|ensign]].<ref name=PenningtonB-2004/><ref name=DvorchakR-2009-07-14/>

When Lujack returned from the Atlantic (ETO) duty, he appeared on the cover of the September 29, 1947, issue of [[Life (magazine)|''LIFE'']].<ref>{{citation |title=Life's Cover |magazine=[[Life (magazine)|LIFE]] |date=September 29, 1947 |page=(front cover) |publisher=Time, Inc. |issn=0024-3019 }}</ref>  He led the 1947 Fighting Irish to a 9–0 record for his senior year, during which he completed 61 passes on 109 attempts for 777 yards and rushed for 139 yards on 12 carries, and won the Heisman Trophy.<ref name=WhiteM-1994-09-14/>  As he had in high school, Lujack once again received varsity letters (called "monograms") in four sports (again baseball, football, basketball, and track) while at Notre Dame, becoming the third person to do so.<ref name=PenningtonB-2004/>  As a track and field athlete, he competed in the [[high jump]] and [[javelin throw]], at times dashing over to the track to compete between innings of baseball games that he was playing in.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Appreciation: Unassuming Notre Dame legend Johnny Lujack learned he won the Heisman in the Coliseum |url=https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2023-07-30/johnny-lujack-appreciation |access-date=2024-03-19 |website=Los Angeles Times |date=July 30, 2023 |language=en-US}}</ref> He was a two-time [[unanimous All-American]] (1946 and 1947) and led Notre Dame to three national championships (1943, 1946, and 1947).<ref name=TIME-1948-07-05>{{citation |title=Milestones |date=July 5, 1948 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|TIME]] }}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=The Notre Dame Football Encyclopedia |page=128 |author1=Marder, Keith |author2=Mark Spellen |author3=Jim Donovan |year=2001 }}</ref>  In addition to winning the Heisman, Lujack was named the [[Associated Press Athlete of the Year]].<ref name=DvorchakR-2009-07-14/>