Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com SEPT. 16, 2019 13 UNDER THE DOME 50 Years Ago: Sept. 20, 1969 For the first time ever, Notre Dame introduces female cheerleaders with four from St. Mary's College across the street on U.S. 31: Missy McCrary, Molly Tiernan, Ann Stringer and Terri Buck, who would become one of the most photogenic figures ever in the industry. The opener at home against Northwestern sees the No. 11-ranked Irish leading only 14-10 entering the fourth quarter. However, a 44-yard punt return for a touchdown by Brian Lewallen (who would marry Buck) and 112 yards on 15 rushing attempts by Ed Ziegler lead a 35-10 victory. 45 Years Ago: Sept. 9, 1974 On the heels of the immense success by the NFL's Monday Night Football broadcasts begun in 1970, reigning national champion Notre Dame accepts a $200,000 windfall from ABC to open the 1974 season on Monday night as well, at Georgia Tech. The game is shifted from Nov. 9 to Sept. 9. The season was supposed to open Sept. 21 for the Fighting Irish, and head coach Ara Parseghian's daughter was to be married Sept. 7 — two days prior to the new opener. Following Georgia Tech's 68-yard touchdown drive on the initial possession, Notre Dame dominates in a 31-7 victory to move up from No. 2 to No. 1 in the Associated Press poll. Heisman Trophy candidate Tom Clements completes 10 of 14 passes for 170 yards, with Pete Demmerle grabbing six for 94 yards and a touchdown. Wayne "The Train" Bullock spearheads a 271-yard rushing attack with 71 yards and two scores. 40 Years Ago: Sept. 15, 1979 Special teams make the difference in No. 9 Notre Dame's season-open- ing 12-10 road upset of No. 6 Michi- gan. First, senior walk-on kicker Chuck Male converts a single-game school record four field goals (40, 44, 22 and 39 yards) in as many attempts. Second, in his starting debut, sophomore middle linebacker Bob Crable punctuates his 19-tackle per- formance by blocking Michigan's 42-yard game-winning field goal at- tempt with six seconds remaining in the contest. Crable perfectly times his leap on the back of long-snapper Mike Trgovac — which would be il- legal today — and vaults nearly 12 feet through the air to block the kick with his left hip. 30 Years Ago: Sept. 16, 1989 Reigning national champion and No. 1-ranked Notre Dame defeats No. 2 and reigning Rose Bowl champion Michigan 24-19 in the rain at Ann Arbor, Mich., on the strength of 88- and 92-yard kickoff returns for touchdowns by sophomore Raghib "Rocket" Ismail. The first comes on the second-half kickoff to extend the Fighting Irish lead to 14-6. It marks the first time in 32 years (Oct. 26, 1957) Michigan yields a touchdown on a kickoff return. The second score by Ismail occurs about 17 minutes later after the Wolverines narrow their deficit to 17-12 in the fourth quarter. It is the first time in Michigan head coach Bo Schembechler's 21-year career he loses three consecu- tive seasons to the same team. 15 Years Ago: Sept. 11, 2004 Following a 20-17 opening game loss at BYU in which Notre Dame netted 11 rushing yards, and trailing 9-0 at halftime the next week versus No. 8 Michigan, third-year head coach Tyrone Willingham desperately inserts freshman running back Darius Walker into collegiate action for the first time. Walker's presence and elusiveness ignites the Irish while he finishes with 115 rushing yards, high- lighted by six- and five-yard touchdown runs to spark a 21-point fourth quarter in the 28-20 Notre Dame victory. — Lou Somogyi Anniversaries In Notre Dame Athletics History: Sept. 9-22 Sophomore middle linebacker Bob Crable blocked Michigan's game-winning field goal attempt 40 years ago. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL TICKETS ALL HOME & AWAY GAMES 2020 IRELAND PACKAGE 800-925-2500 NotreDameTickets.com MOVING? DID YOU KNOW... Your home address will be automatically changed to the mailing address on file with the US Postal Service? It can take up to 7 days for the USPS to update your address in their database? Your postal forwarding order expires in 60 days or less? You should call your local post office to verify your delivery address? AVOID COSTLY DELAYS & REPLACEMENTS! For more information, call Blue & Gold Illustrated 1–800–421–7751 Monday-Friday, 8 am to 5 pm ET