Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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ball briefly in the spring of 1970 and well enough to be picked in the 39th round a year later. Word had it that while Theismann was playing baseball, quarterback Bill Etter was perform- ing so well in spring drills that he was threatening to unseat Theismann for the starting role, which immediately brought him back to football prac- tice and off the baseball diamond. He would lead the Irish to a No. 2 final ranking that year. From 1963-66, Rich Sauget Sr., was a quarterback and catcher at Notre Dame, and then his son Rich Jr. was a tight end and pitcher in the early 1990s. Since the 1960s, the football/base- ball standouts at Notre Dame include, chronologically: GEORGE SEFCIK (1959-61) Rushed for 789 yards and 4.8 yards per carry in his three seasons as a two- way player under head coach Joe Ku- harich, leading the team in intercep- tions in 1959 (three) and kickoff returns in 1960. In his senior year of baseball in 1962, he led the team in batting average (.367), home runs (four) and RBI (23). DAN MCGINN (1963-65) The starting punter in 1963 and 1965 while a reserve quarterback, the south- paw McGinn still holds the Notre Dame record for career strikeout average (12.66 per nine innings). He played five sea- sons in the majors (15-30 career record) and in 1969 hit the first home run for the expansion Montreal Expos (off Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver). Current sophomore Malik Zaire in 2014 became the first left-handed QB at Notre Dame to play in a game since McGinn. KEVIN HARDY (1964-67) He is the last athlete at Notre Dame to earn monograms in three different sports. The two-time All-American de- fensive tackle and first-round pick was a reserve on the 1965 basketball team that made the NCAA Tournament and also played right field in baseball. After helping the 1966 football team to the national title (a year when he also filled in at punter), he batted a team high .398 for the baseball team. PAT EILERS (1986-89) A starting wideout on the football teams that won a school-record 23 straight games in 1988-89, he also let- tered in baseball while batting .307 in 53 games in 1989, starting 16 times in left field. He holds the unique distinction of scoring the go-ahead touchdown in the 31-30 win over No. 1 Miami on Oct. 15, 1988, and then on March 8, 1989, scoring the go-ahead run in a win over fifth- ranked Miami in baseball. FRANK JACOBS (1987-91) The top-rated tight end recruit split time with freshman star Derek Brown during the 1988 national title season, and he scored the last touchdown in the Fiesta Bowl win over West Virginia to clinch No. 1. He devoted full time to baseball after getting injured in football in 1989, and in 1991 he set the single-season Notre Dame record for home runs with 20. IRV SMITH (1989-92) Another tight end that would be a