The Gipper cleared in paternity test

DNA from the recently exhumed body of college football hero George Gipp shows he was not the father of a child born shortly before his death, relatives said Saturday. Gipp's remains were taken Oct. 4 for testing from a cemetery near Laurium, Mich. Rick Frueh, whose grandmother was Gipp's sister, had authorized the exhumation, which angered some family members.

Gipp died in 1920 from pneumonia and a strep infection as a senior at Notre Dame, where he was the school's first All-American and set a school career rushing record that stood for more than 50 years.

Mike Bynum, an author researching a book on Gipp, said a woman believed she was a descendant of Gipp. She was a granddaughter of Eva Bright, a South Bend, Ind., woman Gipp had dated for about a year before his death, Bynum said.

In a statement, Frueh said he had no regrets about the exhumation.

"Helping family is the strongest act of love that we can offer each other. And if it happened again, our response would be the same," Frueh said.