Tommy Yarr

Bio

Of all the players in Notre Dame's storied football history, Tommy Yarr carved his own special niche. In the 1930 season opener, the Irish played Southern Methodist. Notre Dame posted a very tough, 20-14, victory, the first of ten wins that season, but down the stretch against SMU, the Irish had to hang on for dear life. One of the major reasons for the win was Tommy Yarr. In the last period of the game he intercepted three SMU passes. Yarr's senior year was his greatest. He was elected team captain and went on to earn consensus All-America honors. Notre Dame's two hardest fought games of that season included a scoreless tie against Northwestern and a 16-14 last quarter loss to Southern California. Five times during the Northwestern game, Tommy Yarr had to center the ball back to punter Marchy Schwartz, who, on each occasion, was standing in his own end zone. Each snap-back was perfect. Yarr made those critical snaps with a cast on a broken hand. And against Southern Cal he was his usual brilliant self. After graduation, Yarr played in the NFL with the Chicago Cardinals, and coached at John Carroll University. Tom Yarr died at the age of 31 from a heart attack.

Career Highlights

• 1931 Consensus All-America