Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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52 SEPT. 23, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED IRISH ECHOES JIM LEFEBVRE BY JIM LEFEBVRE I n his 13 years as head coach and ath- letics director at Notre Dame, Knute Rockne accomplished much, gain- ing widespread recognition and national champion- ships for the Irish. Yet he was not able to schedule a game against mighty Ohio State. That meeting didn't occur until 1935, when head coach Elmer Layden took his squad into Columbus and returned with a stir- ring 18-13 comeback vic- tory in the first "Game of the Century." But Columbus did have a c o n n e c t i o n to No t re D a m e f o o t b a l l , a n d i t stretched back to 1911, dur- ing Rockne's playing days as starting left end for the Irish. While Rockne tipped the scales at 5-foot-8, 165 pounds and quarterback Gus Dorais was just 5-7, 145 pounds, one of their team- mates was massive fullback Ray Eichenlaub, at 6-0, 210, as imposing a figure as there was in football at the time. E i c h e n l a u b w a s t h e team's regular fullback for four seasons (1911-14), dur- ing which the Irish went 26-2-2. He teamed with fellow starters Dorais and Rockne his first three seasons for a mark of 20-0-2. Wherever the team played, spectators marveled at the strength of powerful "Iron Eich." Eichenlaub played his high school football at East High in Columbus, Ohio, yet was not particularly inter- ested in playing for the hometown uni- versity. His sights were set on Michigan and Notre Dame before he ultimately chose to head to South Bend. The Eichenlaub family was among many German immigrants who settled in Chillicothe, Ohio, 50 miles south of Columbus, in the mid-to-late 19th century. They belonged to St. Mary's Parish, and so did another German family, the Hunsingers, whose son Ed would go on to become one of the Seven Mules on Notre Dame's 1924 national champions. The Eichenlaubs moved to Colum- bus, where Ray was born in 1892. The family bakery in Chillicothe remained in the hands of a close relative and would continue to operate for decades. Young Ray feasted on more than pastries, though, growing to a size that made him an intimidating force whether on the football field, wrestling mat or as a shot putter. He quickly made an impact as a freshman in 1911, then reached star sta- tus the following season. " E i c h e n l a u b i s ea s i ly the star of the squad," the South Bend Tribune wrote. "Weighing 195 pounds and built in proportions that are almost perfect, he has proven in every game that the smashing style of at- tack is certain of making gains." The 1912 season finale, on Thanksgiving Day at Comiskey Park in Chicago, wa s a ga i n s t r iva l M a r- quette, which had tied the Irish three years running, 0-0, 5-5 and 0-0. This time, Eichenlaub and his mates ran wild, capturing a 69-0 triumph before 7,000 frenzied spectators. "A six-foot giant tipping the beam around the 200 mark … made merry with t h e M a rq u e t te ta c k l e rs, evading these men as if they were but hurdles … Eichen- laub, with all his weight, circled the end with a dash and speed that more resem- bled a 160-pound man," the South Bend Tribune noted. "His spring carried him through the arms of would- be tacklers and never once was stopped until he had crossed at least one of the chalk lines." Wrote Ring Lardner: "We will come right out and state he is the West's strongest fullback." The 1913 season came with much promise, as new head coach Jesse Harper had the squad in excellent form. They crushed early opponents, includ- ing a romp over Alma in which it was said, "Eichenlaub played his regu- lar game, and, of course, could not be Ray "Iron Eich" Eichenlaub — a 6-0, 210-pound native of Columbus, Ohio — served as Notre Dame's fullback for four seasons (1911-14), during which the Irish went 26-2-2. PHOTO COURTESY KNUTE ROCKNE MEMORIAL SOCIETY He Came From Columbus: 'Iron Eich' Was A Major Force For The Irish