The Knute Rockne Kid - Frank J. Bruno

Mario is the first-string quarterback at George Washington High School in Colton, California His father is the head football coach. Mario doesn’t want to play in his senior year. Instead, he aspires to earn top grades and eventually go to medical school. He also tells his father that potential injuries are a problem. Carlo, a decorated World War II veteran, says that perhaps Mario is a coward. This is Carlo’s tenure year and he needs a winning team.
An important parallel story concerns Mario’s passionate attraction to
the beautiful and brilliant Rachel Nadelmann (see below).

Character List
The rest of the story, its scope and variety, can be best conveyed in terms of the following character list.
Mario Calvino. Mario is the novel’s principal protagonist, and the whole story is seen through his eyes. He is willful, but basically good-natured. He has a high need for achievement, but not in the realm of football.
Carlo Calvino. Carlo is, as already indicated, Mario’s father and a football coach. He pressures Carlo to play in his senior year. He fancies himself a master psychologist and manipulates Mario. Mario is aware that he is being manipulated.
Sophia Calvino. Sophia is Mario’s mother, a traditional Italian-American woman. She is a devout Roman Catholic, and often talks to Mario about her communications with the Virgin Mary. This is another way Mario is manipulated.
Ginger Chamberlin. Ginger is Mario’s first girlfriend, and is a cheerleader. Her first rule, when parked in an orange grove at night, is “nothing below the belt.” She eventually has an unwanted pregnancy. The father is not Mario, but Norm Cooper (see below).
Rachel Nadelmann. Rachel is Mario’s second girlfriend and the love of his life. When he first sees her he thinks of her as otherworldly, a princess from Mars. She’s beautiful and bright. Her nickname is the Bookworm. At first she is cold and distant, and insists on a platonic relationship. Eventually Mario and Rachel become lovers. Their romance is bittersweet.
Abe Nadelmann. He is Rachel’s father. He is an alcoholic and makes a poor living writing science fiction for pulp magazines. Rachel and he live alone, and she watches over him.
Ramona Nadelmann. Ramona is Rachel’s mother and a Tijuana whore. She is sensuous and intelligent, a witch of sorts. She enters the lives of Rachel and Abraham of and on at her whim. Abe can’t resist her.
Father Agostino Mirabelli. Father Agostino is a Catholic priest. He is, unfortunately, attracted to Ramona. He goes to Tijuana to save her soul and almost loses his own. He eventually becomes a “spoiled priest” and marries Connie Blaine (see below).
Connie Blaine. Connie is a thirty-three-year-old waitress. She makes herself sexually available to Mario, and he acts on her availability. She is a friend to Mario, and is not in love with him. Nor is he in love with her.
Roy Hume. Roy is Mario’s best friend. He is a science-fiction fan and loves math, science, and literature in general. His nickname is the Goofball.
Nonno (Grandfather) Teodoro Rossi. Nonno Teodoro is Mario’s grandfather on his mother’s side. He has a lot of practical wisdom and shares it with Mario.
Norm Cooper. Norm is at first Mario’s antagonist. Eventually they become fast friends. Mario’s private nickname for Norm is the Horse because of his large teeth. Mario and Norm are dubbed the Knute Rockne Kid and the Hawk by a sportswriter. Mario passes and Norm receives