Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1440504
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM FEBRUARY 2022 45 speaker and wit. After his coaching ca- reer, he became the color commenta- tor on the Irish Football Radio Network from 1985 to 2000 and a longtime con- tributor to Blue & Gold Illustrated. Yonto had played fullback and guard at Notre Dame in 1945-46, and he be- came part of Parseghian's first Irish staff in 1964. He coached defense the next 17 seasons, leading the unit that helped deliver the two national titles in 1966 and 1973. Moore and Kelly were both former championship coaches at St. Joseph High School in South Bend and made successful transitions to college coach- ing. Moore was the national high school coach of the year in 1963. He led St. Joe to its first state championship in 1964 and joined the Irish coaching staff in 1966. Kelly was a Nebraska assistant in 1961-68, then spent the next 17 seasons coaching Notre Dame's linebackers. Boulac spent more than 40 years as an Irish coach and administrator, and he received the Knute Rockne Loyalty Award in 2017. BRINGING IN THE BRIGHTEST Jim Strong had played football at Mis- souri Southern State in the 1970s and as a young coach fell into the sphere of one Lou Holtz, who hired Strong as an assis- tant at Arkansas in 1983. Then, as they say, one thing led to another. Strong went along with Holtz to Minnesota in 1984, then joined him at Notre Dame in 1987. He coached the running backs for the 1988 national champs, then spent a year as offensive coordinator. On the other side of the ball, Holtz was impressed by Iowa's eighth-year linebackers coach, former Nebraska linebacker Barry Alvarez. He hired Al- varez as Notre Dame's linebacker coach in 1987, and the next year, promoted him to defensive coordinator. Alvarez guided one of the most dominating defenses in Irish history in the 1988 champion- ship season. After 1989, he was hired as Wisconsin's head coach. Alvarez, selected to the College Foot- ball Hall of Fame in 2010, was honored with the Knute Rockne Living Legend Award for 2020, presented Sept. 24, 2021 in Chicago. ✦ Jim Lefebvre is an award-winning Notre Dame author and leads the Knute Rockne Memorial Society. He can be reached at: jlefebvre@blueandgold.com A former fullback and guard at Notre Dame for Frank Leahy in 1945-46, Joe Yonto, left with Parseghian, also became part of the coach's first Irish staff in 1964. He coached defense the next 17 seasons, leading the stalwart Irish units that helped deliver national titles in 1966 and 1973. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS Your book order supports the Knute Rockne Memorial Society. Order your autographed, inscribed copy of these books TODAY by visi ng www.RockneSociety.org/Shop or calling 612-242-3581 Get the full story on these iconic Notre Dame figures These books make great gi s for any Notre Dame fan "A must-read real jewel… wonderfully researched and detailed." --SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE "The defini ve piece on this American hero." --COLLEGE FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME Loyal Sons: The Story of The Four Horsemen and Notre Dame Football's 1924 Champions Winner – Independent Publisher Book Awards Coach For A Na on: The Life and Times of Knute Rockne Winner – Independent Publisher Book Awards