I think he gave AC Slater advice on how to be a wrestler at Cal

Or at least the other that I could remember.

Rocket was an all-american track and football athlete, but yeah, its rare to see athletes at ND be super successful in multiple sports.

A quick google kicks out this:

In the long and storied history of the University of Notre Dame, becoming an All-American in a single sport is a monumental feat; achieving it in multiple sports puts an athlete in a truly elite tier.

As of 2026, the list of athletes who have earned **All-American honors in two different sports** at Notre Dame is exceptionally short, consisting of only **four individuals** (notably, all of whom included football as one of their two sports).

### The "Rare Double" Multi-Sport All-Americans

According to Notre Dame Athletics, only four athletes have achieved All-American status in two distinct sports:

| Athlete | Sports | Era |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Edward "Moose" Krause** | Football (Tackle) & Basketball (Center) | 1930s |
| **Dick Arrington** | Football (Offensive Line) & Wrestling | 1960s |
| **Bob Golic** | Football (Linebacker) & Wrestling | 1970s |
| **Raghib "Rocket" Ismail** | Football (Wide Receiver) & Track (Sprints) | 1980s-90s |

---

### Key Multi-Sport Standouts to Note

While the "Double All-American" list is small, Notre Dame has had several legendary "Three-Sport Monogram" winners and elite dual-sport athletes who came very close or were All-Americans in one while being stars in another:

* **Kevin Hardy (1960s):** The first athlete since the mid-1940s to earn monograms in three sports (Football, Basketball, and Baseball). He was a Consensus All-American in football but fell just short of the honor in his other two sports despite elite performance.

* **Jordan Faison (Current):** A modern-day standout who has made waves as a wide receiver for the football team and a key player for the **National Champion Lacrosse team**. He is widely considered one of the most dangerous dual-sport athletes in the country today.

* **Jeff Samardzija:** A Consensus All-American in football (wide receiver) who was also a dominant pitcher for the Irish baseball team. While he was an All-American on the gridiron, he chose a professional career in MLB over the NFL.

* **Paul Castner (1920s):** An All-American halfback who also served as a player-coach for the hockey team and threw a no-hitter for the baseball team.

### Academic All-Americans

It is worth noting that Notre Dame is a powerhouse in **Academic All-Americans**, ranking **second all-time** behind only Nebraska. As of early 2026, the university has produced **238 Academic All-Americans**.

[quote]**Fun Fact:** Edward "Moose" Krause, perhaps the most famous multi-sport All-American on this list, went on to serve as Notre Dame’s Athletics Director for over 30 years, overseeing much of the program's growth into the modern era.[/quote]

People usually assume football players would make the easiest transition to rugby, but it's actually wrestlers and basketball players due to the aerobic, contact and ball handling demands.

I'm not entirely clear on how much university money/scholarships goes into rugby these days, but Coach Hickey has attracted a handful of Irish kids and a former U20 Springbok who was probably the best player in the country last fall and has them poised to potentially win a 7s championship next month.

It's been a pretty crazy journey from rugby being banned on campus for decades, to now having its own stadium and winning the 15s Big Ten title. A route back for wrestling might exist.

(I'll also note that there really is no reason, with the facilities, that ND shouldn't go full bore as a D1 rugby program. They are just as good as what Navy has. The women's team also has two of the most promising young players in the country).

I grew up hearing stories about “Uetake” (and wonder if Ono can live up to that …)

Yojiro Uetake Obata
https://nwhof.org/hall_of_fame/bio/41

My Dad says Uetake’s Dad had organized a tour of the US for the youth Japanese Judo team and they cleaned everyone’s clock when they got to the US. So in order to get better competition, they set up a friendly match vs Oklahoma St and that created the connection that brought Uetake to Oklahoma St.

My Dad also says Uetake wrestled his team’s captain ( ie West Point’s captain Bob Steenlage (originally from Iowa, a 4x state champ)) … and just destroyed him with a technical fall.

Personally, I think PSU should just be called the US Olympic training team. They have a lot of world champs hanging out wrestling with their kids. Its a crazy strong wrestling room.

It’s funny how Iowa state lost BOTH of the 2 greatest who ever lived to coach other schools.

I don’t have a ton of wrestling accolades to point to, other than

1) briefly ranked at 171 in 1993 bc I was undefeated at Christmas
2) have been thrown by both Tom Brands and Dan Gable during demonstrations at camps
3) lost several decent matches to Matt Hoover, who wrestled at Iowa and later won The Biggest Loser and married the lady who finished 2nd. Never once beat him.

I was the three seed in my sectional in 1994, with 2 losses (I think?) and (previously that season before those losses) ranked 6. My 171 bracket had the #3 at 171 and the #1 at 189, who cut 15 lbs in the last month to qualify at the new weight. I lost to the storm lake kid 6-3 and then he lost in the final to the forest city kid and that was that.

Oh also when I was a freshman Tolly Thompson (Janesville) decided to wrestle up from 189 to heavyweight against our absolute monster heavyweight Ryan Behr (Mason City Newman). We were way ahead in the dual so it didn’t affect the outcome.

Behr crushed Thompson, and later won state with (I think) all falls in the tourney.

Thompson later won NCAA Champion at heavyweight at Nebraska, and won gold in the panAm games TWICE and bronze in the World Championships. (!!!) just an all time great.

That’s the kind of kid who, after making weight at 189, decides to take on the #1 ranked heavyweight kind of on a whim. What a gutty move.