Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM MAY 2024 15 60 Years Ago: May 7, 1964 Dedication of Notre Dame's new Memorial Li- brary took place. Although the library officially opened Sept. 18 the previous year, the Word of Life Mural on the façade — featuring Christ The Teacher — had not yet been installed. It was actu- ally supposed to be dedicated May 8, but strong winds led to the mural, composed of 324 panels with 81 different stones from 16 countries, to be unveiled ahead of schedule. Two days later, another renaissance on cam- pus continued when first-year head coach Ara Parseghian's first spring with the football team concluded with a 30-23 victory in the Varsity ver- sus Old Timers Game. The latter included 12 pro players, six of which were still active in the league. Replacing injured starting quarterback John Hua- rte, who separated his throwing shoulder a week earlier, Sandy Bonvechio began a long tradition of backup quarterbacks stealing the show in the final scrimmage by completing 9 of 12 passes for 170 yards, with 19- and 56-yard scoring passes to Jack Snow. The Old Timers made it close with their own passing attack, when George Izo — the No. 2 overall pick in the 1960 NFL Draft — completed 13 passes for 225 yards with touchdowns to Red Mack and Jim Kelly. Because of the problems against the pass, Parseghian later decided to move running back Nick Rassas and quarterback Tom Longo to the secondary. 45 Years Ago: May 3, 1979 With the 82nd pick (third round) in the NFL Draft, the San Francisco 49ers selected quarterback Joe Montana from Notre Dame. The 49ers had just hired new head coach Bill Walsh from nearby Stanford, where in his two seasons there (1977-78) he directed the Cardinal to two bowl wins and No. 15 and No. 17 finishes in the Associ- ated Press poll. San Francisco had just finished with the worst record in the NFL (2-14), and had lost its first-round pick in a deal for running back O.J. Simpson. In need of a quarterback, Walsh's No. 1 target was Morehead State's Phil Simms, but he became the No. 7 overall pick (New York Giants). Next on his list was Clemson's Steve Fuller, but Walsh reportedly was tepid in a personal workout he watched of Fuller — though he was intrigued by the receiver catching his passes: Dwight Clark, who caught only 11 passes in 12 games as a senior and 33 in his career with the Tigers. Three quarterbacks were taken in the first round — No. 3 overall pick Jack Thompson from Washing- ton State (Cincinnati), Simms and Fuller (Kansas City). None were taken in the second, and Montana became the fourth overall with the final selection of the third round. In the 12-round draft back then, Walsh also decided to select Clark in the 10th round. 20 Years Ago: May 2, 2004 Rev. Ned Joyce, C.S.C., passed away at the age of 87. The executive vice president of Notre Dame from 1952-87 — a term inexorably linked with president Rev. Theodore Hesburgh C.S.C. — Joyce was the primary decision maker in the athletics department during those 35 years. 10 Years Ago: May 8-10, 2014 For the first time in 20 years — or since the end of the 1988-93 halcyon era in which the Fighting Irish were 64-9-1, including 5-1 in major bowls, with a national title — eight Notre Dame players were selected in the NFL Draft. Only LSU (nine) had more, while Notre Dame was tied with Alabama for second. Furthermore, five were chosen in the first three rounds, another first since 1994. The group was headlined by first-round offensive lineman Zack Martin, the No. 16 overall pick (Dal- las), who had started a school-record 52 consecutive games at left tackle from 2010-13. Juniors Stephon Tuitt (Pittsburgh) at defensive end and tight end Troy Niklas (Arizona) went in the second round, while nose tackle Louis Nix III (Houston) and guard Chris Watt (San Diego) were drafted in the third. Rounding out the group was linebacker Prince Shembo (Atlanta) in the fourth round, and then the sixth round featured cornerback Bennett Jackson (New York Giants) and wide receiver TJ Jones (Detroit). UNDER THE DOME Notre Dame's Joe Montana was the fourth quar- terback selected in the 1979 NFL Draft, going to the San Francisco 49ers in the third round with the 82nd overall pick. Montana went on to win four Super Bowls with the 49ers. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS Anniversaries In Notre Dame Athletics History: May DID YOU KNOW... ✦Your home address will be automatically changed to the mailing address on file with the US Postal Service? ALL addresses are cross-referenced with the USPS National Change of Address database. ✦ It can take up to 7 days for the USPS to update your address in their database? To prevent missed issues, please notify the US Postal Service ASAP. ✦ Your postal forwarding order expires in 60 days or less? Most forwarding requests expire in 60 days and DO NOT always include peri- odical mail. Issues are discarded at their discretion. ✦ You should call your local post office to verify your delivery address? Don't assume the post office knows your vacation or moving schedule. AVOID COSTLY DELAYS & REPLACEMENTS! Blue & Gold Illustrated Customer Service: 1–800–421–7751 We are happy to assist, but due to privacy laws all postal address changes must be completed by you.