Rudy Ruettiger

At 75 years old, Rudy Ruettiger has this physical status:

Eugene "Rudy" Ruettiger (born August 22, 1948) is a motivational speaker who competed in college football at the University of Notre Dame.

Rudy's early life and work at Notre Dame were influenced by his 1993 film Rudy.

Early life and family

Eugene Ruettiger (nicknamed "Rudy") was the third of fourteen children. He was born in Joliet, Illinois, where he grew up with his German American family. Ruettiger did not excel scholastically, at least partially due to dyslexia. He attended Joliet Catholic High School, where he competed for local football coach Gordie Gillespie.

Ruettiger joined the United States Navy after high school, spent two years as a yeoman on a communications command ship for two years; after that, he spent two years in a power plant for two years. Ruettiger applied to Notre Dame but was turned down due to his poor high school grades. He enrolled and attended Holy Cross College in the fall of 1974, and on his fourth attempt, he was accepted as a student at Notre Dame. Ruettiger discovered dyslexia while studying at Holy Cross.

Despite being undersized at 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) and 165 kg), Ruettiger harboured a longing to play for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team. Ara Parseghian, the head coach, welcomed student walk-ons from the student body. Mike Oriard, Notre Dame's 1969 starting center, was a walk-on who was eventually selected for a Rhodes Scholarship and began a football contract with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Ruettiger earned a spot on the Notre Dame scout team, a squad that supports the varsity team in games after hard work. Merv Johnson, the coach who was instrumental in keeping Rudy up as a scout-team member, was Merv Johnson.

Parseghian, Notre Dame's coach, resigned, and Dan Devine, the former Green Bay Packers coach, was named head coach following the 1974 season. Devine played for Notre Dame at home, but he was denied a game against Georgia Tech on November 8, 1975. Devine appears in Rudy, but Devine does not want Ruettiger to dress for his last game. In the real world scenario, it was Devine who suggested dressing Ruettiger. He was fired in the final play of Ruettiger's senior season with the Fighting Irish, as all his Notre Dame stat line shows. Ruettiger was actually playing for three plays, a kickoff, an incomplete pass, and on the third play (the game's final play), he fired Georgia Tech quarterback Rudy Allen. Following the game, he was carried off the field by his teammates, becoming the first player to do so in Notre Dame history. Marc Edwards in 1995, the only other player to receive such an award: George Bush.

Ruettiger built a profitable maintenance company as well as selling real estate. In 1986, he returned to South Bend, Indiana, and decided to make his story into a film. In the 1993 film Rudy, which starred actor Sean Astin in the title role, Ruettiger's tale was told. Angelo Pizzo wrote the film and directed David Anspaugh, both of whom were involved in Hoosiers. During the final game scenes, Ruettiger appeared in a cameo as a fan behind his father, played by Ned Beatty.

The film is "92 percent true," Ruettiger has said. The players did not lay down their jerseys; rather, the team captain and one other player had requested that he play. In the film, Dan Devine appears in a somewhat gruesome role, but Devine was one of Ruettiger's greatest motivators to return to the team. Fortune, the groundskeeper, is a combination of three separate individuals.

Ruettiger is a motivational speaker and writer.

Ruettiger was charged in 2011 with securities fraud in connection with his work as Chairman of Rudy Beverage, Inc. A pump-and-dump scheme was alleged by the government. Ruettiger was fined $382,866 in fines as a result of the case's settlement. Ruettiger's book "Rudy: My Story" tells how he and the Securities and Exchange Commission fell into the same predictable trap the rest of the world had fallen into in all of the country's boom years, "I shouldn't have been chasing the money."

Ruettiger was baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Highland, Utah, at the age of 68.

Later life

Ruettiger, a motivational speaker and writer, is a motivational speaker and author.

Ruettiger was charged with securities theft in connection with his position as Chairman of Rudy Beverage, Inc., in 2011. The government alleged a pump-and-dump scheme. Ruettiger had to pay $382,866 in fines as a result of the settlement. Ruettiger's book, "Rudy: My Story," describes his encounters with the Securities and Exchange Commission and an investigation for suspected securities fraud, which included "I fell into the same predictable trap the rest of the country had fallen into during all of the boom years" and "I shouldn't have been worrying about the money."

Ruettiger was baptized in Highland, Utah, at the age of 68.

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