Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1349365
www.BLUEANDGOLD.com APRIL 2021 17 UNDER THE DOME 90 Years Ago: April 13, 1931 Thirteen days after the death of Notre Dame head coach Knute Rockne in a plane crash sends the grief-stricken campus reeling, the 1929 and 1930 reigning national champions with a 19-game winning streak learn that assistant coaches Heartley "Hunk" Anderson and Jack Chevigny, both former Rockne players, will work in tandem as the successors. Three days prior to the announcement, Anderson had approached university president Rev. Charles O'Donnell, C.S.C., about what to do for spring practice because no steps had been taken to replace Rockne. After a few days of thought, O'Donnell informs the team of the plan that still reflects a stage of denial. "There will never be a head coach but Rockne at Notre Dame," O'Donnell told the team. "Anderson will be in charge, but he will be the senior coach and Jack Chevigny the junior coach. Rockne cannot be displaced as head coach. "The eyes of the football world are on Notre Dame. It wants to know what Notre Dame will do with- out Rockne. You will answer. Carry on." 45 Years Ago: April 1976 Second-year head coach Dan Devine and his staff focus their attention on rebuilding a secondary and make three major position changes to aid returning junior starter Luther Bradley. • Freshman fullback Jim Browner, who rushed for 394 yards as a rookie, is moved to strong safety because classmate Jerome Heavens rushed for a school-freshman-record 756 yards the same year. • Sophomore wide receiver Ted Burgmeier, who caught the game-winning 80-yard touchdown pass from Joe Montana with 1:03 remaining in the previous fall's 21-14 win at North Carolina, is relocated to cornerback. • Freshman quarterback and starting punter Joe Restic, who threw a 10-yard touchdown pass in the 1975 season finale at Miami, is shifted to free safety. Two years later, that trio and Bradley would help the Fighting Irish win a national title. 35 Years Ago: April 26, 1986 New head coach Lou Holtz's first spring concludes with the Gold defeating the Blue 24-17 in front of the second-largest Blue-Gold Game audience at Notre Dame. The 32,071 in the 59,075-seat Notre Dame Stadium trailed only the 35,675 five years earlier with the "Faust Fever" produced by shake- down-the-thunder first-year head coach Gerry Faust. There are 11 fumbles in the scrimmage, five of which are lost, and fourth-year starting quarterback Steve Beuerlein also tosses two interceptions. Lead- ing the Gold to victory is junior wide receiver Tim Brown, who returns a punt 52 yards and also tallies on a 64-yard hook-and-ladder from quarterback Terry Andrysiak to wideout Alvin Miller, who then laterals to Brown. 20 Years Ago: April 1, 2001 Senior National Player of the Year Ruth Riley has her "Moment of Ruth" when she converts two free throws with 5.8 seconds left to provide the winning points to defeat Purdue 68-66 and win the first national title for Notre Dame women's basketball. The 6-5 Macy, Ind., native finishes with 28 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocked shots in the triumph for the 34-2 Fighting Irish. The Irish fell behind 19-7, trailed 49-41 with 7:55 remaining and were down 66-64 when Riley tallied in the lane to knot the score with 1:01 remaining. She then rebounded a Purdue miss, enabling the Irish to hold the ball for the final shot. Forward Erica Haney contributed 13 points, point guard Niele Ivey 12 in her hometown of St. Louis, for- ward Kelley Siemon 10 and guard Alicia Ratay knocked down Notre Dame's lone three-pointer, where it was 1 of 10, to tie the score at 62. — Lou Somogyi Anniversaries In Notre Dame Athletics History: April On April 1, 2001, senior Ruth Riley hit a pair of game-winning free throws with 5.8 sec- onds remaining to give Notre Dame a 68-66 win over Purdue that secured the program's first-ever national championship. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS DID YOU KNOW... Your home address will be automatically changed to the mailing address on file with the US Postal Service? ALL addresses are cross-referenced with the USPS National Change of Address database. It can take up to 7 days for the USPS to update your address in their database? To prevent missed issues, please notify the US Postal Service ASAP. Your postal forwarding order expires in 60 days or less? Most forwarding requests expire in 60 days and DO NOT always include periodical mail. Issues are discarded at their discretion. You should call your local post office to verify your delivery address? Don't assume the post office knows your vacation or moving schedule. AVOID COSTLY DELAYS & REPLACEMENTS! Blue & Gold Illustrated Customer Service: 1–800–421–7751 We are happy to assist, but due to privacy laws all postal address changes must be completed by you.