where have you gone?
1973 National Champions
They quietly rose to the top
with few individual accolades
By Lou Somogyi
A
mong Notre Dame's 11 consensus
national champions, perhaps none
had less star power than the 1973 unit.
It had the fewest All-America selections among any Fighting Irish champion squad, with only two of them a
first-, second- or third-team pick from
nine different outlets: tight end Dave
Casper, who had only 19 catches, and
safety Mike Townsend, who grabbed
three interceptions.
Contrast that with head coach Ara
Parseghian's first consensus champs
in 1966, which had 12 All-Americans.
The 1977 unit saw 11 of its 22 starters on offense and defense taken in
the first three rounds of the NFL Draft,
including third-rounder Joe Montana
at quarterback, while the 1988 national
champs had 12. The 1973 champs had
six.
Other than Casper — a member
of both the Pro and College Football
Halls of Fame — consider this about
the 1973 offense:
• Quarterback Tom Clements (6-0,
189) was classified as too small for
the NFL and wasn't even drafted, although he would have a prolific career
in the Canadian Football League.
• The starting three-man backfield
of fullback Wayne "The Train" Bullock
Members of the 1973 championship team returned to campus in September and were honored prior to
Notre Dame's 17-13 win over Michigan State.
photo by Bill Panzica
