April 15, 2001

The 70th anniversary of the death of legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne was commemorated in a one-hour program on March 28 by ESPN Classic. Titled “SportsCenter Flashback: The Death of Knute Rockne,” the show focused on events the day of and immediately after March 31, 1931, when Rockne and seven others were killed in an airplane crash near Bazaar, Kan. Among the show’s highlights are interviews with four people who were on the scene after the crash, including Easter Heathman, now 83, the unofficial caretaker of the Rockne Memorial Monument. A detailed retrospective of the Rockne crash can be found via the following link: und.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/032801aab.html