ND vs. Navy: Respect. Honor. Tradition.

By Jim Lefebvre When Notre Dame and Navy meet for the 89th time Saturday afternoon at Notre Dame Stadium, there will be a special recognition of the unique relationship between the two schools. Both are now outfitted by UnderArmour, which has designed special wear for this game. Here is how the company describes it: “For   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

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

Dublin Trip A ‘Once in a Lifetime’ Experience

In a Chicago apartment earlier this week, a group of young Notre Dame alums gathered to “send off” a lucky few among them who were headed to Dublin for Saturday’s Emerald Isle Classic between ND and Navy. In the streets of London, Paris and Rome walked more senior Notre Dame alums fortunate enough to be   Read Full Post

New ‘Rip Miller Trophy’: Honoring Navy, Notre Dame Football is Unveiled

The Notre Dame Club of Maryland and the Baltimore Chapter of the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association held a joint luncheon in Baltimore on Friday, February 18, to formally unveil the new Notre Dame–Navy football trophy. The trophy is named in honor of Edgar “Rip” Miller, one of Notre Dame’s famed “Seven Mules,” who served   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

From Across the Miles (And Years), The ND Alumni Band Gathers Again

Fans attending the Notre Dame-Stanford game no doubt saw them about campus. Some of them were carrying dented trumpets or weathered clarinets. Some were battling creaky knees when they executed the trademark “hike step.” They were, of course, the approximately 800 members of the Notre Dame Alumni Band that gathered for Alumni Band Weekend. Started in   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

Esther Miller, 103, of Annapolis: Living Link to Notre Dame’s Four Horsemen, Seven Mules

Edgar “Rip” Miller was a standout student and football player at Notre Dame in the early 1920s, when he was asked by teammate Russ Arndt to come along on a short trip to nearby Elkhart, Indiana.  Arndt was dating Miss Phyllis Templin, who said she had a younger sister who wanted to meet a Notre   Read Full Post

Down the Line: ND Front Men Must ‘Love to Block’

2009 Wouldn’t Be the First Time A Notre Dame Line Shook Off Doubters to Build a Championship Unit “Love to block, and let them know that you like it. If all teams could do just that thing, they would always be winning” — Knute Rockne As Notre Dame starts its official 2009 pre-season camp, there   Read Full Post