Ed Ziegler was an All American football running back at Newport Catholic high school in Newport, Kentucky. Here is a link with info on his highschool football career. http://edzieglerfootball.com He chose to play college football for the Fighting Irish of the University of Notre Dame under the now legendary head coach Ara Parseghian. He played during the 1966-69 seasons. Notre Dame teams finished in the top five in the college football ratings during each of those years, winning an undisputed national championship in 1966.

Ed led the Irish freshman team to an undefeated season in 1966, leading the team in both rushing and scoring. An East Lansing newspaper, after the Irish victory over the Michigan State freshman team in East Lansing, stated “Ed Ziegler, remember the name, write it down, but don’t forget it, he will be a great one.” He won the Herring award in the spring of 1967 as the “outstanding freshman offensive back” running with the first team during spring practice. Sports Illustrated in its September 1967 football preview rated Ed as “one the country’s top twenty sophomore players to watch” that football season. Injuries, however, limited Ed’s playing time during his sophomore and junior seasons. Coming back from an injury, though, Ed did start the last game of the 1967 season as a sophomore in the Orange bowl against Miami, Fla., scoring a go-ahead TD late in the game.

His senior year Ed starred as Notre Dame’s starting running back, scoring for the Irish as both a rusher and as a pass receiver. He led the nationally ranked Irish 1969 team in yards rushing until a knee injury late in the season against Georgia Tech. He finished his senior year at Notre Dame with over a five-yard-per-carry career rushing average. He also went into the Notre Dame record book as an ND running back who gained more than a hundred yards rushing in a single game. After graduation he signed with the New York Giants professional football team but a recurring knee injury ended his career. He later went to law school and became one of the country’s leading legal scholars and a distinguished law professor. http://edwardziegler.com/

Ed’s Notre Dame 1969 football season highlights on You Tube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B39TBfFMMP8

Ed Ziegler #32 Notre Dame against Southern. Cal.

Ed Ziegler #32 Notre Dame against Navy

Ed Ziegler #32 Notre Dame
runs for 114 yds. against Northwestern

Thank you Mr. Denardo! #56 Notre Dame

Ed Ziegler #32 Notre Dame against Iowa

Ed Ziegler #32 Notre Dame against Michigan State

“OOUCH!”

Ed Ziegler’s “Urban Legend Run” 1968

Ed Ziegler’s “Urban Legend Run” actually did happen. It occurred in ND stadium against Illinois 1968– Ed breaks loose off-tackle, gets clear with Seymour’s block (above) but loses conciousness later inside the Illinois ten yd line. He does manage to stretch out and barely get the ball across the goal line for the TD before falling unconscious! As then running back coach Tom Paga described it (over and over again at the Sunday night film session): “Never seen anything like it, completely in the clear, tackled by a f—king blade of grass. Never seen anything like it!” Ziegler said, and still claims, he “had the flue.” Still recovering from an injury, Ziegler was not expected to dress for the game and had not stayed at the seminary with the team on Friday night. He dressed unexpectedly only when the flue struck two ND fullbacks Saturday morning. His Kentucky friends were visiting that weekend. It was the longest run of his career-64yds. 🙂