 He spent his childhood in Castano Primo and Bergamo (Milan, Italy) and was raised by his grandmother and an aunt before finally joining his family in Three Oaks, Michigan at age twelve.Giuseppe Savoldi anglicized his first name to "Joe" and became an athlete in high school, excelling in football, basketball, baseball, and track.After graduation from Three Oaks High, he enrolled at the University of Notre Dame, where, beginning in 1928, he played football for the Fighting Irish teams coached by Knute Rockne.