Heisman Trophy winner John Huarte makes $1M gift to Notre Dame

SOUTH BEND — Former Notre Dame quarterback and 1964 Heisman Trophy winner John Huarte and his wife, Eileen, have provided a $1 million gift to the university to establish an endowment for grants-in-aid to student-athletes, the university announced Saturday.

The contribution brings the couple’s support of athletics scholarships to $1.5 million.

A native of Anaheim, California, Huarte grew up listening to Notre Dame games on the radio as he worked at his father's citrus farm. He enrolled at Notre Dame in 1961. During his senior year, under head coach Ara Parseghian, he led the Irish to a 9-1 record.

His performance earned him the Heisman Trophy – Notre Dame's sixth recipient at the time – as well as UPI Player of the Year and consensus first-team All-America honors. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005.

Huarte was a second-round selection of the New York Jets in the 1965 American Football League draft and went on to play professionally with the Boston Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles, Minnesota Vikings, Kansas City Chiefs and Chicago Bears. He finished his career in 1975 with Memphis of the World Football League.

 Huarte lives in California. He and his wife have five grown children and 14 grandchildren.