Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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14 OCT. 15, 2022 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME 95 Years Ago: Oct. 15, 1927 The Notre Dame football squad traveled to Baltimore to play against the United States Naval Academy for the first time ever. It was the first of 93 straight years that the Fighting Irish and Midshipmen would meet on the gridiron — the third-longest, never interrupted rivalry in college football before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled their scheduled game in 2020. "For that inaugural contest, the city put on the Ritz," The Baltimore Sun reported. "Both teams got motorcycle escorts to the stadium and were met by a crowd of 55,000, including Governor Albert Ritchie, Mayor William F. Broening and military moguls such as Major General Douglas MacArthur. A regiment of 1,700 Midshipmen disembarked the train at Clifton Park Station and marched to the Stadium, led by the Navy band playing 'Anchors Aweigh.' The Notre Dame Club of Washington, 2,000 strong, did the same but got lost on foot. Scouts were sent to find them. "The Irish arrived from a resort on Gibson Is- land, where they'd bunked; Navy's players, from the Baltimore Country Club where, that morning, The Sun reported, 'their muscles were limbered in rounds of golf.'" Navy led 6-0 at halftime on a 5-yard run by half- back Art Spring, who later became a rear admiral and chief of staff of the U.S. 7th Fleet. However, head coach Knute Rockne's Irish dominated the second half en route to a 19-6 victory. 90 Years Ago: Oct. 15, 1932 Two unbreakable school records were set during Notre Dame's 63-0 victory against Drake. The first was 629 rushing yards by head coach Hunk Anderson's Fighting Irish. Although the "modern record" is listed as 597 versus Navy in 1969, this remains the highest recorded number at the school. Second, in the midst of The Great Depression, only 6,633 showed up in Notre Dame Stadium, which remains the record low for a game. 70 Years Ago: Oct. 18, 1952 In a bizarre outing, Notre Dame fumbled a school-record 10 times at No. 9 Purdue — but the Boilermakers coughed up the ball 11 times. The Irish ended up recovering 15 of those 21 miscues, including a touchdown by right tackle Joe Bush on a John Lattner fumble in the end zone during the 26-14 victory. In that same game, Lattner snared a 47-yard touchdown pass from Ralph Guglielmi on the last play of the first half to give the Irish a 20-7 lead. Lattner's five fumbles in the game had him scurrying afterward. "I didn't go back on the train with the team because I figured Coach [Frank] Leahy was going to throw me off of it," said Lattner, whose brother drove him home to Chicago before he reported back to classes for Monday. The following week, Leahy demanded Lattner carry a football with him all week while attending classes or while going anywhere else. 20 Years Ago: Oct. 19, 2002 The No. 7 Fighting Irish and first-year head coach Tyrone Willingham extended their season- opening winning streak to seven games with a 21-14 victory at previously unbeaten Air Force. In the process, Willingham joined Jesse Harper (1913-14) and Ara Parseghian (1964) as the only Notre Dame coaches to win their first seven games. It also marked Notre Dame's best start since opening the 1993 season with 10 consecu- tive victories. Playing in front of an Air Force-record crowd of 56,409, the Irish offense produced a season-high 447 total yards while limiting the nation's top rushing team to just 104 yards on the ground — 235 below their season average coming into the game. The Irish allowed the Falcons to stay in it with 3 fumbles and 2 missed field goals by Nicholas Setta. Quarterback Carlyle Holliday gave Notre Dame the lead for good with a 1-yard sneak midway through the third quarter that made the score 21-14. Holliday also scored on a 53- yard run after being flushed from the pocket. Running back Ryan Grant scored the other Irish touchdown on an 18-yard run and finished with a team-best 190 yards on the ground. Anniversaries In Notre Dame Football History: Oct. 14-20 UNDER THE DOME John Lattner had 5 of Notre Dame's school-record 10 fumbles in its 26-14 victory at No. 9 Purdue in 1932. He offset those miscues with a 47-yard touch- down reception on the last play of the first half that give the Irish a 20-7 halftime lead. PHOTO BY BORROR STUDIO/COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS