Arnold Friberg was a stickler for details. Before creating his art piece The Coach: Knute Rockney in the Locker Room at Notre Dame, Friberg asked such questions as: What did the uniforms look life? What players had which numbers on the backs of their uniforms? Where did Knute Rockney stand when addressing his team? All of this took effort and research on Friberg’s part. A number of then-current Notre Dame All-American stars assisted the artist by posing as the players in the picture.

When on location at Notre Dame stadium to create composition for the painting The Coach: Knute Rockne in the Locker Room at Notre Dame, Arnold Friberg acted not only played artist, but also detective.

Inside the locker room Friberg studied the benches, the overhead light protected by a wire cage, the blackboard in the corner, and other special features of the room. Notes were taken of the colors to ensure that he knew all the details. Then Friberg studied the brick, noticing areas were paint had chipped off, revealing other colors underneath. The original floorboard was red, but it had been painted over with green. By spotting the chipped paint, Friberg was able to determine the original color and to achieve historical accuracy in his work.

To prepare to paint The Coach: Knute Rockne in the Locker Room at Notre Dame, Arnold Friberg flew to Notre Dame, Indiana. Before creating the art piece he wanted to visit the actual stadium and locker room where the famed Rockne had worked with the team.

The Notre Dame airport was small and Friberg hoped that there would be someone to welcome him. As the plane taxied he saw one of the most elaborate greetings he had ever encountered. The university’s band was playing and all the officials were gathered. Deeply moved, he stepped from the plane, not certain how he would address the waiting throngs. But before he was given the opportunity to say anything, he glanced over and saw Senator Robert Kennedy, the true recipient of the grand welcome. Kennedy had arrived on a different plane, which had landed just moments before Friberg’s plane touched down.

Who would have thought Arnold Friberg, the great artist, had a connection to O.J. Simpson and even named a painting after him? In the late 1960’s Friberg created quite a few piece of college football art.

Painted in 1968, O.J. Breaks For Daylight: USC vs. UCLA, were doing battle on the gridiron in 1968, a game that starred O.J. Simpson, one of the greatest halfbacks of modern times. It was a game that USC won, with Simpson completing an unusally long and spectacular run to clinch the victory.

The lost was such an embarrassment to UCLA that Friberg received no cooperation from that school’s athletic department. USC, on the other hand, was delighted to loan him anything he desired. He was provided with a film strip of the game and even O.J. Simpson’s uniform.