Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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12 PRESEASON 2020 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Dan Shannon, former Notre Dame All-American, 1954 co-captain and presi- dent of the Monogram Club, passed away July 6 at age 86. His signature play was a devastat- ing tackle that set up the winning score in No. 10 Notre Dame's 27-21 win versus No. 4 Oklahoma on Nov. 8, 1952. In the fourth quarter, after Notre Dame evened the score at 21, on the ensuing kickoff linebacker Shannon (a future end), raced full speed at return man Larry Grigg, who built up his own head of steam. The sound of its impact, leather helmets and all, reverber- ated around the stadium. It left Shannon unconscious and Grigg so flattened that he had to be carried off the field. The im- pact threw Grigg into a half-loop, knocked the ball into the air and was recovered by Notre Dame's Al Kohanowich at the Oklahoma 22. Three plays later, quarterback Tom Carey snuck into the end zone and the Irish defense hung on through the final 12 minutes to snap the Sooners' 13-game winning streak. Remarkably, Shannon returned to the game, but he played purely on instinct. "To tell you the truth, I don't remember anything," Shannon told Blue & Gold Illustrated in a 2000 interview. "When they revived me, I could see straight ahead but had no peripheral vision at all when I went back into the game. When it was over, I think it was [fullback] Tom McHugh who asked me how I was, and I asked him, 'Who won?'" The game-changing play made such an indelible impression on the Notre Dame student body, it would chant "Here comes Shannon! Here comes Shan- non!" on every Irish kickoff the rest of his career. On the 125th anniversary of Fighting Irish football in 2012, BlueandGold. com ranked Shannon's hit No. 24 on its list of greatest/timeless/most memo- rable plays in the program's annals. During Shannon's four seasons from 1951-54, Notre Dame was 32-5-3 and finished in the Associated Press top four each of his last three years. As a 1951 freshman when he was eligible because of the Korean War, he notched a team-high four fumble recoveries. The next year, Notre Dame de- feated four conference champions or co-champs (Texas, Purdue, USC and Oklahoma) in which Shannon recovered three more fumbles and intercepted two passes. In head coach Frank Leahy 's final season (1953) in which the Irish were 9-0-1 and finished No. 2, Shannon caught late touchdown passes in each half, the latter with six seconds left in the contest for the controversial 14-14 tie with No. 20 Iowa. As a 1954 co-captain under first-year head coach Terry Bren- nan — whom he also played for at Chicago's Mount Carmel High — Shannon joined quarterback Ralph Guglielmi and lineman Frank Var- richione as the three All-Americans on that 9-1 team, earning second- team notice from Sporting News. Shannon was drafted by the local Chicago Bears (63rd overall pick), but went into the armed forces and played two years for Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C. He went into private business in the Chicago area when his service commitment was finished. Shannon's son Gerard and grandson John followed in Dan's footsteps and suited up for the Irish football squad. John graduated this past year after winning the Patrick Mannelly Award, recognizing the nation's top long snap- per, in 2019. During his tenure in Monogram Club leadership, including his time as presi- dent from 1995-97, Shannon aided efforts to further participate in awards for student-athletes, as well as make changes to Heritage Hall. Also during his leadership tenure, the first women joined the Monogram Club Board as part of a concerted effort to represent the student-athlete population. Survivors include his wife of 65 years, Kathryn "Kitty" Shannon; four chil- dren, 10 grandchildren, and a sister. — Lou Somogyi UNDER THE DOME During Shannon's four seasons from 1951-54, Notre Dame was 32-5-3 and finished in the Associated Press top four each of his last three years. (Left to right: Frank Varrichione, Terry Brennan, Shannon and Ralph Guglielmi.) PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS 2021 OPENER CHANGED Notre Dame's 2021 season opener at Florida State has been moved up to Sunday, Sept. 5. The game was originally scheduled for Labor Day, Sept. 6. As has been customary in prior seasons, the college football game played on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend is the lone game of the day and an evening kickoff. Notre Dame and Florida State last played on Nov. 10, 2018. The Fighting Irish won 42-13 on their way to a 12-0 regular season and College Football Playoff appearance. The teams' last game in Tallahassee was in 2014, a 31-27 win for the Seminoles that was part of their undefeated regular season and CFP berth. Notre Dame is scheduled to play the Seminoles seven times through the 2037 season. Florida State holds a 6-3 lead in the all-time series. — Lou Somogyi NOTRE DAME-NAVY RENEW RIVALRY THROUGH 2032 After 93 comes 0. Notre Dame and Navy had owned the longest continuous intersectional rivalry in college football with 93 straight meetings since their first matchup in Baltimore on Oct. 15, 1927. That will end this season because of the COVID-19 pandemic that forced alterations for both schools, including a 10-game Atlantic Coast Conference schedule for Notre Dame. However, it will be a temporary glitch because the two schools — led by directors of athlet- ics Chet Gladchuck of Navy and Jack Swarbrick of Notre Dame — have extended their series contract that ran through 2026 six more years through 2032. In 2011, Notre Dame and Navy agreed to extend their series 15 years through 2026 — which would have been the 100th consecutive year of meeting between the two. "Obviously, many will be disappointed that our longstanding competitive streak with Notre Dame will be interrupted due to the scheduling circumstances imposed by the pandemic," Gladchuck stated in a Navy press release. "However, we have agreed that Navy and Notre Dame will continue as one of college foot- ball's longest intersectional matchups through our extension, and I appreciate Notre Dame making this a priority." — Lou Somogyi Dan Shannon: 1933-2020