2011 Notre Dame Football Supplement

Another National Championship Finds A Home In Notre Dame Stadium

Brand new stadium, same old result — defeating Carnegie Tech, 21-6, to cap off a Northwestern. All that remained between jerseys, and not a single soul suspected any- another national championship for the Notre successful first homestand. Notre Dame and another national title were thing unusual. Dame football team. Preseason prognosticators across the coun- games against Army and USC. When the game got underway, Notre The 1930 football season marked the open- try considered the 1930 Notre Dame team to On a November 29 afternoon that saw rain Dame had one of the speediest fullbacks the ing of Notre Dame Stadium, just another in be Rockne’s strongest yet. Rockne had said as and sleet turn Soldier Field into a swamp, the Trojan defense had ever seen. O’Connor the long line of Knute Rockne masterpieces, much himself prior to the start of the season, Cadets and the Irish squared off, and it scored two touchdowns, including one on an only this was a football stadium instead of a and he had good reason for such high expec- appeared that neither team was going to 80-yard dash, and the Irish dominated the team. With typical meticulosity, he had tations. Frank Carideo, Marchy Schwartz, budge. Near the end of the game, however, favored home team to the tune of 27-0. supervised every minute detail of the con- Marty Brill, and Jumpin’ Joe Savoldi made up Schwartz broke loose for a 54-yard scoring It was a fitting script to what turned out to struction of the stadium. a latter day version of the Four Horsemen in run. The all-important extra point gave the be Rockne’s final game as the Notre Dame In addition, Rockne had for the first time a the backfield, and all of them earned All- Irish a 7-0 lead. Army scored quickly thereaf- head football coach. The team won its sec- full-time equipment manager, a trainer, a America status on one team or another for ter, though, on a blocked punt, and it ond consecutive national championship, and doctor who traveled with the team, a busi- that season. The Fighting Irish were not only appeared that things would be knotted up. the following winter Rockne died in a plane ness manager, several secretaries, a staff to stocked with an explosive collection of run- But Notre Dame blocked the extra point, and crash in Kansas. handle the complex sale and distribution of ning backs, but the team also sported a tre- that’s the way it ended. tickets. On top of all that, Rockne was healthy mendous crew of linemen. Center Tommy To finish off the season, Rockne used all his — Willie Shearer again. The doctors at the Mayo Clinic had Yarr, guards Nordy Hoffman and Brent psychological expertise in a ploy that helped given him a thorough going-over from head Metzger, tackles Joe Kurth and Al Culver, and the Irish get ready for USC. Injuries during the to foot during the offseason and had given end Tom Conley all made All-America teams season left the team with only one healthy him a clean bill of health. either that season or the following one. fullback, Dan Hanley. So Rock decided to turn All the Rock had to do was coach, and what The Irish left home three times in the fourth Bucky O’Connor, a second-team halfback, a job he did. through eighth weeks of the season but into a first-string fullback. However, in prac- On October 4, 1920, the Fighting Irish continued to roll. Notre Dame traveled to Pitt tice, Rock had O’Connor and Hanley trade opened their season in the imposing new and beat the Panthers, 35-19. A 27-0 romp stadium — an impressive ampitheatre of over Indiana followed, before the Irish visited 1929 — 9-0-0 dull red brick trimmed with limestone. a 60-20 walloping on the Quakers of  “I asked them, before the game, to do the best they could and they played perfectly. A coach Rockne had the original sod from Cartier Field Pennsylvania. Marty Brill, who had trans- can’t ask more than that.” transplanted just for good measure. ferred to Notre Dame from Pennsylvania, The Irish christened the good earth with a played the greatest game of his career that — Knute Rockne on his team’s performance against USC 20-14 win over Southern Methodist. The day, breaking loose for three touchdowns on stadium was officially dedicated the follow- runs of 45, 52 and 65 yards.  “The 1930 backfield has plenty of the guile and also the heft and the bone and sinew to smash ing week, as Notre Dame trounced Navy, The Notre Dame winning streak stood at 15 on when guile won’t do. When they have to, those boys simply tramp them down.” 26-2. In the third week of the season, Notre games over two seasons, and it quickly grew — Knute Rockne Dame played its third straight home game, to 17 as the Irish sprinted past Drake and 163