Happy Johnny Lattner Day!

By Steven Dahlman

(Left) Johnny Lattner’s football card as a Pittsburgh Steeler. Lattner was a first-round draft choice for the Steelers and played for the NFL team for one season in 1954. (Click on images to view larger versions.)

December 14, 2014 – Monday, December 15, is officially “Johnny Lattner Day” in Chicago, honoring the sports legend and restaurateur who turned 82 years old on October 24.

14th Ward Alderman Edward Burke sponsored the resolution, which was adopted by the Chicago City Council on November 5. A spokesperson for Burke’s office said that while Lattner is in poor health, he was pleased to receive a copy of the resolution.

For the record, the resolution passed 49-0. One alderman, Anthony Beale, was absent.

Lattner scored 20 touchdowns and 120 points for Notre Dame during the 1953 season and won the Heisman trophy. After a year in the NFL, two years in the Air Force, and five years as a high school and college football coach, Lattner got into the restaurant business – first at 105 West Madison Street in the Loop and then at Marina City.

Johnny Lattner’s Marina City opened in October 1968 and closed five years later. Lattner returned to Marina City in 2009 to visit his old restaurant, now known as Dick’s Last Resort.

(Above) Johnny Lattner (right) and Richard Fulghum, General Manager of Dick’s Last Resort in 2009.

Lattner was most recently Vice President of Sales for PAL Graphics, Inc., a printing company just west of Chicago. He and his wife, Peggy, live in Oak Park. They have eight children and 25 grandchildren, all of which live in Chicago.

Previous story: Johnny Lattner: Still fourth and goal

RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, A proud member of the Irish-American community and a legendary Chicago sports hero, Johnny Lattner celebrated the occasion of his 82nd Birthday on October 24, 2014; and

WHEREAS, The Chicago City Council has been informed of this event by Alderman Edward M. Burke; and

WHEREAS, The son of William and May Lattner, Johnny Lattner was born in 1932 and raised on the West Side of Chicago; and

WHEREAS, Johnny Lattner attended St. Thomas Aquinas Grammar School, Fenwick High School, and the University of Notre Dame; and

WHEREAS, A consensus AU-American football player for the Fighting Irish, Johnny Lattner was awarded the Maxwell Award as the top collegiate player in both his junior and senior years; and

WHEREAS, In 1953 Johnny Lattner was awarded the Heisman Award and remains the only born-and-raised Chicagoan to win the trophy; and

WHEREAS, Johnny Lattner appeared on the cover of the November 9, 1953, edition of Time Magazine with the caption “a bread and butter ball carrier,” a characterization bestowed upon him by Notre Dame Head Coach Frank Leahy; and

WHEREAS, Following his college years, Johnny Lattner was an outstanding rookie with the Pittsburgh Steelers before he joined the United States Air Force where a knee injury ended his professional football career; and

WHEREAS, In recognition of his outstanding athletic ability, Johnny Lattner was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame, and the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame; and

WHEREAS, Johnny Lattner married his childhood sweetheart, the former Peggy McAllister, and the couple raised eight children; and

WHEREAS, Aside from college years and military service, the Lattners have always lived in the Chicago area; and

WHEREAS, Johnny Lattner’s Restaurant, first located at 105 West Madison Street, and then in Marina Towers, was a prominent Chicago gathering spot for decades; and

WHEREAS, For more than 40 years, Johnny Lattner has led Chicago’s annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade, carrying the banner of St. Patrick; and

WHEREAS, The Chicago Tribune has written that no one has ever “out-Irished” Johnny Lattner who sports a kilt and green stockings to this event; and

WHEREAS, Johnny Lattner has demonstrated a lifelong commitment to Maryville Academy and the Red Cloud Indian School in Pine Ridge, South Dakota; and

WHEREAS, Johnny Lattner is currently active in The Wounded Warrior Soldier Ride, held yearly in the Chicago area; and

WHEREAS, A testament to the greatness of Notre Dame University and Catholic Education, Johnny Lattner has always been a goodwill ambassador for the City of Chicago; now, therefore

BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and the members of the Chicago City Council, assembled this 5th day of November, 2014, do hereby congratulate Johnny Lattner on the occasion of his 82nd Birthday and do hereby proclaim that December 15, 2014, shall be officially recognized as Johnny Lattner Day throughout the City of Chicago; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED That suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Johnny Lattner.