All-American Lineman Al Ecuyer Dies at 74

Al Ecuyer, a two-time first-team All-American and a three-year starter at offensive guard for Notre Dame football teams from 1956 through 1958, died Saturday in Metairie, La., after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He was 74. Ecuyer was a key blocker for the ’57 Irish when they traveled to Norman, Oklahoma, and upset Oklahoma,   Read Full Post

Tony Zambroski, Andre Jones: Different Eras, Same Notre Dame Spirit

One, Tony Zambroski, played at Notre Dame under Frank Leahy, then returned to his high school alma mater, Cathedral Prep in Erie, PA, and began a legendary career as a coach, teacher and athletic director. He died this week at 81.  The other, Andre Jones, was a much more recent Fighting Irish star, playing defensive   Read Full Post

Notre Dame’s “Watch Charm Guard” Was a Man Among (Much Bigger) Men

If there was one thing Michael Metzger was comfortable around, it was dairy cows. After all, he had grown up dirt-poor on a farm near Junction City, Ohio. He wanted to go places in life, so as a young man he headed west to Chicago around the turn of the 20th century. There, he used   Read Full Post

Golic Family Spans The Generations at Notre Dame

Feature Story By Daniel Murphy, Special to Forever Irish Last August, when Jake and his shaggy head of light brown hair arrived on campus, he was one of more than 2,000 new freshmen at Notre Dame – and one of 440 freshmen with a family legacy. Jake’s father went to ND and Jake’s mother went   Read Full Post

Picking All-Time Teams Can Venture Off Course

The selector of an all-time Ohio high school football team makes some odd claims about two of the Four Horsemen. A sportswriter at an Ohio newspaper recently took on a daunting task – selecting the all-time Ohio high school football team.  For all the great players the Buckeye state has produced over the years, there   Read Full Post

Whatever Happened to ND Men Becoming Football Coaches?

With all the questions swirling around the Notre Dame football program at the moment, one thing is fairly certain: If there is a coaching change, the odds of a former ND player taking the reins are pretty remote. About the only possible candidate from the ranks of former Irish players is Tom Clements, the Green   Read Full Post

What Does ND Need To Do For A Rebound Season?

Captain of ’57 Squad Recalls How Irish Bounced Back From Losing ’56 Campaign What does it take for Notre Dame to rebound from one of its worst two-season stretches in school history? The answer may lie in fundamentals. [ND historians true to statistical accuracy will point out that the 2007 and 2008 seasons do not   Read Full Post

Keeping The ND Bond, Passing on The Game

Ryan Harris welcomes back Irish teammates as guest coaches at his first Minnesota Pro Camp Photo Gallery It’s a sunny, warm Saturday morning on the artificial turf of Griffin Stadium at St. Paul’s Central High School. At one end of the field, several high school-aged football players are straining through a grueling workout in which   Read Full Post

From 1,000 Possibilities, He’s Made His Life Sing

Peter Schivarelli ’71, former Irish walk-on, has never forgotten the value of his Notre Dame degree As members of the Notre Dame class of 2009 head out into an uncertain world, buoyed by their experiences of the past four years, it may be helpful to look at how another ND grad, from nearly four decades   Read Full Post