Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com MAY 2021 15 UNDER THE DOME 55 Years Ago: May 7, 1966 Notre Dame's Varsity vs. Old-Timers Game showcases the freshman class at quarterback and wide receiver, where the Fighting Irish need a huge upgrade. The 1965 team that finished 7-2-1 had a dominant de- fense and strong ground attack, but passed for only 850 yards with no wideout catching more than 10 passes for 140 yards. Because freshmen were still ineligible for varsity play until 1972, rookie 6-4 wideout Jim Seymour is the standout with 10 catches for 166 yards — but classmate Curt Heneghan wins the Hering Award as the best receiver of the spring. Two freshman quarterbacks — Terry Hanratty and Coley O'Brien — also shine against the Old-Timers, coached by 1940s player Bill Earley. O'Brien is briefly "borrowed" by Earley to guide the unit. He leads the team on a 60-yard drive before head coach Ara Parseghian has O'Brien change his jersey back to the varsity. Two years later, the Old-Timers system is scrapped in favor of an intrasquad Blue-Gold scrimmage. 40 Years Ago: May 2, 1981 A record crowd of 35,675 paying customers attend the Blue-Gold Game, an offshoot of "Faust Fever" created by first-year Fighting Irish head coach Gerry Faust. The enthusiasm and ultra-positive outlook from Faust, who built the nation's top high school program at Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller, became transcendent and had many Notre Dame faithful wondering if the program would ever lose a game under his watch. "In all my years in sports, I've never seen such a magnetic personality," Roger Valdiserri — Notre Dame's sports information director from 1966-95 who had worked with Frank Leahy and Ara Parseghian — said in an interview with Sports Illustrated. In an open quarterback competition, incumbent Blair Kiel (5-of-9 passing for 75 yards), Tim Koegel (6-of-11 passing for 106 yards) — who starred for Faust at Moeller — and Scott Grooms (7-of-8 passing for 76 yards), all former Parade All-Americans, take turns working with the first team. The spring game attendance remained a record until 2007, when "Jimmy Clausen Fever" attracted 51,852. Such "fevers" were not healthy, as the Irish finished 5-6 in 1981 (their first losing season in 18 years) and 3-9 in 2007 (the most losses in a season). 25 Years Ago: May 11, 1996 Former Notre Dame running back and lone 1991 team captain Rodney Culver and wife, Karen, are among the passengers who die in the crash of ValuJet Flight 592, a DC-9 that went down in the Florida everglades near Miami. The 26-year-old Culver, a former state champion sprinter from Detroit, tallied a touchdown as a fresh- man fullback in the 1989 Fiesta Bowl that won Notre Dame a national title, led the 1990 Fighting Irish in rushing and was embarking on his fifth NFL season. "Rodney was as good as they come," San Diego Chargers general manager Bobby Beathard said. "He was such a model person, in life and football. He never asked for anything. A great example of a team guy." 10 Years Ago: May 8, 2011 After numerous rumors nationally that he would succeed the retired Gary Williams as the head coach at Maryland, Mike Brey reveals that after 11 seasons at Notre Dame, he would like to remain at least another 11. Although Brey grew up around Maryland basketball, he called Notre Dame "home." The three-time Big East Coach of the Year also was named National Coach of the Year by four different outlets two months earlier while leading the Irish to a top-five finish in the regular season, 27 wins and a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. "This has become our program," Brey said. "Our identity is on it. It takes a lot of work to get it to this point." — Lou Somogyi Anniversaries In Notre Dame Athletics History: May Wide receiver Jim Seymour hauled in 10 receptions for 166 yards in Notre Dame's Varsity vs. Old-Timers Game during the spring of 1966. 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.