“Knute Rockne All American” at 75: The Nation’s Eyes Were on South Bend

By Jim Lefebvre A week of celebration and remembrance honoring Knute Rockne brought worldwide attention to South Bend, Indiana, 75 years ago this week. The legendary Notre Dame football coach had died in a plane crash nearly a decade earlier, in March of 1931, and his life and legacy mesmerized a nation in the ensuing   Read Full Post

’77 Irish Survived a Challenging Trip to Death Valley

By Jim Lefebvre Forever Irish Mostly, Luther Bradley remembers the waiting. And the waiting and the waiting. It was Nov. 12, 1977 at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina – known across the college football world as Death Valley. Bradley and his fellow Fighting Irish were ranked number 5 in the nation, with a 7-1   Read Full Post

Irish Make First Venture Into Virginia, the 36th State to Host an ND Game

By Jim Lefebvre Forever Irish When the Fighting Irish kick off against the Virginia Cavaliers Saturday afternoon in Charlottesville, it will mark the first-ever Notre Dame game in the commonwealth of Virginia, as Virginia becomes the 36th state to host an ND game. It’s been 15 years since the last time the Irish made their   Read Full Post

For ND Legacy Families from Texas, It’s a Special Time

By Jim Lefebvre Forever Irish www.NDFootballHistory.com They say everything is bigger in Texas. One thing is certain, as Notre Dame prepares to open the 2015 season by hosting the University of Texas – there are some pretty large extended families from the Lone Star State headed to South Bend to celebrate their Fighting Irish heritage.   Read Full Post

Nine-Fingered Lineman? There’s a Precedent

By Jim Lefebvre www.NDFootballHistory.com New York Giants defensive lineman Jason Pierre-Paul made headlines this week when he suffered fireworks-related injuries at a Fourth of July celebration in Miami, and subsequently had to have his right index finger amputated. If Pierre-Paul is able to make a successful comeback, he wouldn’t be the first notable football lineman   Read Full Post

A True Notre Dame Man, Joe Hickey Made His Place ‘Home Away From Home’ For Irish

A good many folks – including 15 or so former Notre Dame football players – paid their respects last weekend to Joseph E. Hickey, great Notre Dame man (Class of 1950) and citizen of South Bend, who died Feb. 3 at age 86. There were heartfelt tributes from near and far, with sentiments like this:   Read Full Post

100 Years Ago, ND Shifted From Notable Defeat

A century ago this week, Notre Dame’s football team ventured from South Bend to play a premier opponent in a challenging environment; lost a game that included some controversial officiating; returned to receive accolades; and resolved to use the loss as a springboard to a greater future. Sound familiar? The parallels to the 2014 Notre   Read Full Post

90 Years Ago Today: “Outlined Against A Blue-Gray October Sky…”

Editor’s Note:  The following is excerpted  from the award-winning biography  Coach For A Nation: The Life and Times of Knute Rockne. As Notre Dame prepared to head to New York City to play Army at the Polo Grounds, football fans across the country grew eager with anticipation for the intersectional battle of the year. Under   Read Full Post

ND Once Mowed Down Four Straight Top 10 Teams

Mississippi State ascended to the top of the college football rankings this week after recording its third straight victory over a Top 10 opponent – something media sources said had only been accomplished five previous times in college football history. One of those times was actually a four-week stretch of wins over Top 10 foes…by   Read Full Post

100 Years Ago The Rockne Coaching Career Began

On Saturday, Oct. 3, 1914, the Notre Dame football team opened its season with a home game against Alma College of Michigan, the school where second-year ND head coach Jesse Harper had begun his coaching career eight years earlier. Assisting Harper on the Notre Dame sideline that day was 26-year-old Knute Rockne, making his coaching   Read Full Post