’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

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

Recalling “The Game of The Century”

By Jim Lefebvre, Editor, Forever Irish The first week of August brings with it a special feeling – the start of the 2011 season is now less than a month away. The Fighting Irish officially start pre-season camp on Saturday, star receiver Michael Floyd is back in the fold, and the team’s strong 2010 finish   Read Full Post

ND’s Five Greatest Bowl Games Recalled

When the Fighting Irish meet the Miami Hurricanes on the afternoon of December 31 in the Sun Bowl at El Paso, Texas, it will be the 30th all-time bowl game for Notre Dame. Which games stand out among ND’s 29 bowl appearances to date? We’ve selected the following five, though you can make a strong   Read Full Post

Arizona Travel Part of ND’s First Bowl Team

When Notre Dame kicks off against Miami in the December 31 Sun Bowl, it will have completed the circuit of having played in all the truly “historic” bowl games – Rose, Orange, Sugar, Cotton and Sun, all of which began in the 1930s or earlier (Rose, 1902). But it won’t be the first time a   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

Legendary Coach Parseghian Sees A Bit of Himself in Kelly

The parallels are unmistakable. Experience as a winning head coach in major college football – yet with tons of youthful enthusiasm. Staffs eager to make their mark on a legendary college campus. And a fan base yearning for a return to the pinnacle of the sport. As Brian Kelly prepared his first Notre Dame football   Read Full Post

“Loyal Sons” Garners Third Honor

On Monday, May 17, the 2010 National Indie Excellence Awards were announced, honoring excellence in independent publishing for books published the past two years. Loyal Sons: The Story of The Four Horsemen and Notre Dame Football’s 1924 Champions (2008, Great Day Press) by Jim Lefebvre was named a Finalist in the Sports category. It is   Read Full Post

ND in Texas: Great from the Start

The 1913 Notre Dame team, led by senior captain Knute Rockne (center, with fooball) was the first ND squad to play a game in Texas — the last contest for Rockne, Gus Dorais and their senior teammates. When Notre Dame takes on Washington State at the Alamodome in San Antonio this Saturday night, it will   Read Full Post

Long and Winding Road: East Liverpool to the ‘Hall’

Lou Holtz Achieved a Lifelong Dream When Named Notre Dame Coach — Then Made The Most of It “It is a fine thing to have ability, but the ability to discover ability in others is the true test. ” — Lou Holtz On the weekend of September 12-14, 2008, former Notre Dame players from across   Read Full Post