Robert Louis Bracken was an American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 player and a starting quarterback

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

 for the University of Notre Dame

Notre Dame Fighting Irish football

Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...

.

In his first two years playing for the Fighting Irish

Notre Dame Fighting Irish football

Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...

 squad, Bracken started at halfback

Running back

A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...

. He was given the starting job at quarterback

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

 for his senior year in 1906, and led the team to a 6-1 record, including wins over Michigan State

Michigan State Spartans football

The Michigan State Spartans football program represents Michigan State University in college football as members of the Big Ten Conference at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level...

 and Purdue

Purdue Boilermakers football

The Purdue Boilermakers football team is the intercollegiate football program of the Purdue University Boilermakers. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I Bowl Subdivision, and the team competes in the Big Ten Conference. The Boilermakers have an all-time record of...

, with the lone loss suffered at Indiana

Indiana Hoosiers football

The Indiana Hoosiers football program represents Indiana University Bloomington in NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football and in the Big Ten Conference.-Bowl games:...

.

Bracken was made an assistant to head coach Thomas A. Barry

Thomas A. Barry

Thomas Austin Barry was an American college football coach and player, lawyer, and industrial adviser. He served as the head coach at Tulane University, the University of Notre Dame, the University of Wisconsin, and the University of Denver...

 in 1907, and then graduated from Notre Dame with a law degree in 1908, eventually becoming an attorney back in his home town of Polo, Illinois

Polo, Illinois

Polo is a city in Ogle County, Illinois. The population was 2,355 at the 2010 census, down from 2,477 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Polo is located at ....

. By the early 1930s, he had been appointed as a judge in nearby Dixon, Illinois

Dixon, Illinois

Dixon is a city in Lee County, Illinois, United States. The population was 15,733 as of the 2010 census, down from 15,941 at the 2000 census. Named for its founder, John Dixon , it is the county seat of Lee County. Located on the Rock River, Dixon was the boyhood home of former U.S...

.