Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 23, 2023 53 stopped through the line at all. One of the touchdowns scored by him was made with the entire opposing backfield hanging on different parts of his body." Next came the historic trip to West Point for Notre Dame's first game a ga i n s t m i g h ty A r my, wh i c h fea t u re d we l l - seasoned players from across the nation. In "the game that changed foot- ball," Dorais flung aerials about the lot, completing 14 of 17 passes, some to a speedy Rockne, for 243 yards in the 35-13 victory. Yet it was Eichenlaub who scored 2 touchdowns. One report noted "the men who manned the Army line that afternoon maintain that it was plunges by Eichenlaub, the biggest man on the Notre Dame team, that did the most damage." Said another observer, "He tore the Army line to shreds." In a 14-7 win at Penn State, "Eichen- laub played the same smashing game that thrilled the West Point fans. The big fullback broke through the oppos- ing line for steady gains, and in the sec- ond quarter skirted left end and tore down the field for a touchdown." The Irish completed their perfect season with a 30-7 romp at Texas, and the Daily Texan said of Eichenlaub: "He ran low and hit with a superhuman force that carried all before him. Often he emerged from the line with several sets of tacklers hanging on to him, to stumble on for several yards more." Eichenlaub was named to a number of All-Western teams, one of which noted: "Eichenlaub has proved a tower of strength to his team for two years and in that time has been largely re- sponsible for his school's assuming the role of a championship eleven." In his final college game, a 20-0 vic- tory at Syracuse on Thanksgiving Day, 1914, the Scholastic reported: "Syra- cuse's vaunted line of giants, weighing 210 pounds from tackle to tackle, and with a reputation of being one of the best forward walls in the country, was s i m p l y p o we r l e s s before the smashing drives of the peerless Eichenlaub." Eichenlaub served i n t h e U. S. A r m y d u r i n g t h e G re a t War and played on t h e m i l i ta ry fo o t - ball team at Camp Sherman, Ohio. He played a few pro games, then settled in as an insurance agent in his native Columbus. But he stayed active in the sport, serving as a college football of- ficial for more than 25 years. In 1972, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. ✦ Jim Lefebvre is an award-winning Notre Dame author and leads the Knute Rockne Memorial Society. He can be reached at: jlefebvre@blueandgold.com "Eichenlaub is easily the star of the squad. Weighing 195 pounds and built in proportions that are almost perfect, he has proven in every game that the smashing style of attack is certain of making gains." THE SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE The Knute Rockne Memorial Society wishes to congratulate the 2023 Rockne Award recipients Thom Gatewood '72 Living Legend Award Kevin Corrigan Champion Award Missy Conboy '82 Leadership Award Jack Nolan Communicator Award Larry Dwyer '66 Dis nguished Service Award Michael Leep Community Leader Award Jim Augus ne Heritage Award The Knute Rockne Memorial Society wishes to thank all who helped make the 2023 Knute Rockne Spirit of Sports Awards Celebra on a great success. We appreciate your par cipa on and support. Relive this great event by visi ng www.RockneSociety.org