Johnny Lujack, who won the 1947 Heisman Trophy and was part of three national championship teams at Notre Dame in the 1940s, died Tuesday.
He was 98.
Lujack's granddaughter, Amy Schiller, told Eric Olson of the Associated Press he died after a short illness.
"He was not only a legend in Notre Dame football and the sports world, he was a legend as a father and grandfather and great grandfather," Schiller said.
Lujack had two stints at Notre Dame, 1942-43 and 1946-47, with a period of interruption to serve in the Navy during World War II.