As Ohio State and Notre Dame prepare to battle for the national championship in the finale of the expanded College Football Playoff in Atlanta on Monday night, cllct compares the collectible history of the two stories programs.
Here's our take on the five most collectible players from the two school's legendary histories.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish:
1. Joe Montana
Before "Joe Cool" was the centerpiece of the 49ers dynasty in the 1980s, he was the third-string QB entering his redshirt junior season in 1977.
Yet, two games into the season, Montana emerged as the Fighting Irish’s full-time starter and led them to a national championship victory, cementing himself among ND lore.
Montana’s Notre Dame memorabilia would certainly be valuable based on that alone, but taking into account he’s one of the greatest players in NFL history certainly raises his prices.
The helmet from his final college game, Jan. 1, 1979, sold for $229,200 at Goldin Auctions in 2023.
2. Rudy Ruettiger
After serving in the Navy, Ruettiger walked on to the Notre Dame football team, serving on scout team, before finally recording a sack in his last game. It was his only career state line.
Ruettiger story was so improbable it became a movie ... “Rudy.” I’m sure you’ve heard of it.
If not, others certainly have, because a collection of his Notre Dame memorabilia, including jerseys and helmets sold for $241,000 at Hunt Auctions.
3. Paul Hornung
Many consider the “Golden Boy” to be the greatest player in Notre Dame history. He was Travis Hunter before Travis Hunter.
He played quarterback, halfback and fullback. He caught passes, kicked, punted, played defensive back and returned kicks.
He’s the only player in college football history to win the Heisman Trophy while playing on a losing team, which he did for a 2-8 Notre Dame squad in 1956.
A Hornung game-worn jersey from either the 1954 or 1955 season sold at Heritage in 2010 for $26,290.
4. Tim Brown
Notre Dame’s title gap — no national championships since 1989 — has been written a lot about over the last few weeks.
But what might be even more surprising is that no Fighting Irish athlete has won the Heisman Trophy since 1987, when Tim Brown won the award before going on to a Hall of Fame career in the NFL.
His Heisman ring sold in 2012 for $23,900.
5. George Gipp
You have probably heard the phrase, “Win one for the Gipper.”
The “Gipper” is Notre Dame football legend George Gipp, who died in 1920 at the age of 25.
Before his early death, Gipp was the first Walter Camp All-American in school history.
A signed photograph of Gipp sold at Leland’s for $9,116.
Ohio State Buckeyes
1. Archie Griffin
For some reason, Griffin isn’t often discussed in the conversation of greatest collegiate running backs in history.
Yet, he’s the only player to ever win multiple Heisman Trophies, doing so in 1974 and 1975.
He’s likely the greatest Buckeye in history and a signed Griffin helmet sold in 2014 for a whopping $28,680.
2. Eddie George
Considering George was one of the toughest players ever to tackle in the NFL, imagine how college defenders felt in the face of George, who won the Heisman Trophy in 1995.
Ted Watts painted portraits of every Heisman winner until 2007.
George’s portrait sold at Heritage in 2016.
3. Ezekiel Elliott
The string of great Buckeyes' running backs continues.
Few players have ever dominated the College Football Playoff the way Elliott did, guiding No. 4 seed Ohio State to the first ever CFP national championship in 2014.
In that game, Elliott rushed for 246 yards and four touchdowns in Ohio State's 42-20 blowout of Oregon.
His game-worn helmet sold for $102,018 in 2023 at Goldin.
4. Troy Smith
For many years, there was a long belief Ohio State couldn’t produce NFL quarterbacks.
And Smith was certain bulletin-board material for that.
That doesn’t mean he wasn’t an electrifying college football player, winning the Heisman in 2006 and leading the Buckeyes to a national title appearance.
A game-worn jersey from his 2005 season sold at Grey Flannel for more than $3,000.
5. Jeremiah Smith
Ohio State has had many, many, many great receivers over the years.
Cris Carter, Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave, Terry McLaurin, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Marvin Harrison Jr.
But Jeremiah Smith could be the best of all of them. Time to invest now.
Matt Liberman is a reporter and video producer for cllct.