Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM APRIL/MAY 2026 13 95 Years Ago: April 13, 1931 Thirteen days after the shocking death of Notre Dame head coach Knute Rockne in a plane crash, the Fight- ing Irish finally learned that assistant coaches Heartley "Hunk" Anderson and Jack Chevigny, both former Rockne players, will work in tandem as the suc- cessors. The move is prompted on April 10 when Anderson approached university president Rev. Charles O'Donnell C.S.C. about the protocol for spring practice. With the campus still grieving, no steps had been taken to replace Rockne — until O'Donnell met with 320 player candidates plus the two assistants and laid out the plan that still reflected a stage of denial. "There will never be a head coach but Rockne at Notre Dame," O'Donnell said. "Anderson will be in charge, but he will be the senior coach and Jack Chevigny the junior coach. Rockne cannot be dis- placed as head coach. "The eyes of the football world are on Notre Dame. It wants to know what Notre Dame will do without Rockne. You will answer. Carry on." 60 Years Ago: May 7, 1966 Notre Dame's Varsity Vs. Old-Timers Game — which two years later would become the intra- squad Blue-Gold Game — featured stellar freshman quarterback-receiver combinations that had been ineligible to play the year prior because eligibility for frosh was not allowed until 1972. In 1965, the 7-2-1 Fighting Irish lacked a pass- ing game to complement a strong running attack and dominant defense. That 1965 team passed for only 850 yards, and the top wideout — captain Phil Sheridan — had only 10 catches for 140 yards. On this day, freshman Jim Seymour caught 10 passes for 166 yards — but classmate Curt Heneghan won the Hering Award as the best re- ceiver of the spring. Two freshmen quarterbacks — Terry Hanratty and Coley O'Brien — also shined against the Old-Tim- ers, coached by Bill Early. O'Brien was briefly "bor- rowed" by Early to guide the unit. He led them on a 60-yard drive before head coach Ara Parseghian had O'Brien change his jersey back to the varsity. 45 Years Ago: May 2, 1981 The Blue-Gold Game, which generally attracted 15,000-20,000 spectators in a good year, shattered its attendance record with 35,675 paying customers in what was dubbed "Faust Fever." The enthusiasm and ultra-positive outlook from first-year head coach Gerry Faust, who built the nation's top high school program at Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller, became transcendent and had many Fighting Irish faithful wondering if Notre Dame would ever lose a game under his watch. "In all my years in sports, I've never seen such a magnetic personality," said longtime Notre Dame sports information director Roger Valdiserri — who had worked with Frank Leahy and Ara Parseghian — in an interview with Sports Illustrated, which fea- tured a huge spread on Faust just for spring practice. Parseghian served as the honorary referee for the coin toss, and at halftime 1949-81 Notre Dame athletics director Ed "Moose" Krause, who was re- tiring prior to the start of the new school year, was presented a new Cadillac. The game itself began with a 97-yard kickoff re- turn for a touchdown by Chris Stone, brother of top 1980 rusher Jim Stone. Quarterbacks Blair Kiel (5-of-9 passing for 75 yards), Tim Koegel (6-of-11 passing for 106 yards) — who played for Faust at Moeller — and Scott Grooms (7-of-8 passing for 76 yards), all former Parade All-Americans, took turns working with the first team. The attendance remained a record until 2007, when "Jimmy Clausen Fever" attracted 51,852 to the spring finale. Such fevers were not healthy, as the Irish finished 5-6 in 1981 (their first losing season in 18 years) and 3-9 in 2007 (the most losses in a season). 30 Years Ago: May 11, 1996 Former Notre Dame running back/captain Rodney Culver and his wife, Karen, were among the pas- sengers who died in the crash of ValuJet Flight 592, a DC-9 that went down in the Florida everglades near Miami. The 26-year-old Culver saw action as a freshman fullback for the 1988 national champions, scoring a touchdown in the Fiesta Bowl win over unbeaten West Virginia. He led the 1990 Fighting Irish in rush- ing and was the lone captain selected on the 1991 team that would defeat No. 3 Florida in the Sugar Bowl. Culver was on the San Diego Chargers' roster when he perished. "Rodney was as good as they come," Chargers general manager Bobby Beathard said. "No matter what you do in football, you've got to have people like Rodney Culver to build a championship team. "He was such a model person, in life and football. He never asked for any- thing. A great example of a team guy." 25 Years Ago: April 1, 2001 Senior National Player of the Year Ruth Riley had her "Moment of Ruth" when she connected on two free throws with 5.8 seconds left to provide the winning points to defeat Purdue, 68-66, and win the first national title for Notre Dame women's basketball. The 6-foot-5 Macy, Ind., native fin- ished with 28 points, 13 rebounds and 7 blocked shots in the triumph. Two days earlier, Notre Dame van- quished powerful UConn — led by Di- ana Taurasi — with all five Irish starters scoring in double figures, led by point guard and current head coach Niele Ivey's 21. Guard Alicia Ratay finished with 20, Riley 18, plus forwards Ericka Haney and Kelley Siemon had 15 and 11, respectively. UNDER THE DOME Anniversaries In Notre Dame Athletics History: April/May Century of Notre Dame football still under the watch of Jack Shaughnessy! What a blessing (1926 – 2026) Love, Your Family Twenty-five years ago, senior Ruth Riley finished with 28 points, 13 rebounds and 7 blocked shots to lead Notre Dame past Purdue (68-66) for the program's first national title in women's basketball. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS