When his four-year contract was up, he wanted to be traded. Apart from the battering he received, he has been angry with George Halas, owner and coach of the Bears for a long time. Lujack later recalled that when he reviewed his contract to join the Bears, he found that Halas had changed the agreed wages, reducing the total by $1,500. (Halas, he said, quickly returned the sum when he pointed out the difference.)
“I don’t mind anybody being a tough negotiator,” Lujack told Jeff Davis in an interview for his Halas biography, “Papa Bear” (2005). “I don’t want to be cheated because of my lack of experience.”
When Leahy offered Lujack a job as assistant coach at Notre Dame for 1952, he took it, ending his pro career. But when Terry Brennan, once a standout Notre Dame halfback, was named head coach in 1954 upon Leahy’s retirement, Lujack left to run a family auto dealership in Iowa. He later was a network broadcast analyst for college and pro football.
In addition to Mr. Pohlmann, his grandson, he is survived by his daughter Mary Lujack; a son, Jeff; four other grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren. His daughter Carol Lujack died in 2002, and his wife, Patricia (Schierbrock) Lujack, died last year. He most recently resided in Naples and previously lived between Bettendorf, Iowa, and Palm Desert, Calif.
Through the years, Lujack remained a respected figure at Notre Dame.
When Notre Dame and Army met for the first football game at the new Yankee Stadium in 2010, he was on the field for the coin toss with the team captains. In fall 2012, he was a goodwill ambassador for Notre Dame when it played Navy in Dublin.
The memory of his achievements lives on.
“The two greatest winners of the 1940s were FDR and John Lujack,” said Beano Cook, ESPN’s longtime college football analyst. “But even Roosevelt won only two elections in the 1940s, while Lujack won three national titles.”
Alex Traub contributed to the report.