Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM AUGUST 2023 53 WCCO in Minneapolis requested per- mission to broadcast. Initially, Rockne denied the request, due to overcrowd- ing in the press box. There was also a question of whether WCCO's cover- age would crowd out WGN's signal. Once Rockne was assured the signals wouldn't significantly overlap, he fi- nally allowed both stations to cover the game. It was a player from Rockne's 1924 championship team that would have a major role in Notre Dame's national broadcast presence. Joe Boland, an Irish lineman under Rockne, would go on to coach the Notre Dame line under head coach Elmer Layden from 1934-40, then conceived and single-handedly built the Irish Football Network, under flagship station WSBT in South Bend. Boland had been calling Notre Dame games for WSBT for several years. By the 1940s, Notre Dame was charg- ing stations to broadcast, yet still not awarding exclusive broadcast rights. Games would be a veritable who's who in broadcasting — Bill Stern on NBC, Red Barber on CBS, Ted Husing on Mu- tual and Boland on WSBT. Gradually, Boland sold more and more stations, first throughout the Midwest, then na- tionwide, on joining the Irish Football Network. Over the course of less than a decade, Boland's relentless drive and persistence would lead to the creation of the larg- est specialized network the radio world had known. Notre Dame football could be heard almost everywhere across the United States and internationally as well. As television developed in the 1950s, Notre Dame's popularity made for fre- quent appearances. From ABC games featuring Indiana native Chris Schenkel, to Notre Dame's own Sunday morning replays with Lindsay Nelson and Paul Hornung, the Irish cemented their place as a favorite TV team. Eventually, it would lead to the exclu- sive television contract with NBC begin- ning in 1991, a unique partnership that would anchor Notre Dame's continued singular status as a powerful indepen- dent in football. ✦ Jim Lefebvre is an award-winning Notre Dame author and leads the Knute Rockne Memorial Society. He can be reached at: jim@ndfootballhistory.com Joe Boland, a lineman on Notre Dame's 1924 national championship team, called Fighting Irish games for years and single-handedly built the Irish Football Network. PHOTO COURTESY KNUTE ROCKNE MEMORIAL SOCIETY 1970 All-American and College Football Hall of Famer Thom Gatewood will be honored with the 2023 Rockne LIVING LEGEND Award For more informa on, please visit: www.RockneSociety.org Announcing the 7th Annual Knute Rockne Spirit of Sports Awards Celebra on Friday, September 22 Smith Ballroom The Morris Inn University of Notre Dame 11:00 a.m. - Noon Social Hour & Buffet Noon - 1:30 p.m. Awards Program