Tag: Knute Rockne

Knute Rockne’s interesting observation of former MLB player

Pardon me, Rock?

It’s safe to say that the world was a different place back in the 1930s.  Just how different you ask?  Let’s look at a certain baseball card and it’s odd connection to Notre Dame football.

Zeke Bonura was a Major League first baseman from 1934-1940 as he spent time with the Chicago White Sox, Washington Senators, New York Giants, and Chicago Cubs during his career.  His 1936 Goudey World Wide Gum card (No. 112) was brought to my attention Friday night and I just feel the need to share.

Bonura looks like a handsome fella on the front of the card as the picture captures him in a suit instead of his uniform.  It’s the back of the card however that you’ll likely be a bit more interested in as that offers an observation from former Notre Dame football coach that, well, is certainly an observation that was made:

If you can’t see the photo clear enough, it reads:

The late Knute Rockne, glimpsing this handsome youth under a shower at Notre Dame, promptly remarked: “Get a load of that fellow’s physique!  Where upon Henry John was named “Zeke.”

Also, if you’re at all a baseball fan you should be following Christopher Kamka on Twitter.  He’s the biggest stat-head I’ve ever come across and loves baseball as much as anyone I know, especially the White Sox.

On that note I’ll be signing off now.  Talk to you all for the game on Saturday afternoon.

Related:

Notre Dame-Navy: Staff Predictions

Charting Notre Dame’s path to the College Football Playoff

Notre Dame updates depth chart for Navy week

Every 90-plus yard run in Notre Dame football history

Notre Dame football: Injury update ahead of Navy game

Notre Dame-Navy: The world the last time the two didn’t meet (before 2020)

What was the world like last time Notre Dame and Navy didn’t play (previous to 2020, anyway)

Notre Dame and Navy have been playing football against each other for a very long time.  The two met every year from 1927-2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic wound up ultimately costing the two their annual meeting last fall.

Previous to 2020, the last year Notre Dame and Navy didn’t play football against each other was all the way back in 1926.  Here are a variety of things that were going on in the world in 1926:

Notre Dame-USC: fun facts about epic rivalry

For the first time in two fulls years we can say it: Beat SC.

Notre Dame and USC have made up the greatest intersectional rivalries in all of college football for nearly a century and get set to meet for the 92nd time this Saturday in South Bend.

Last year didn’t see the Irish and Trojans meet due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the Pac-12 not playing out of conference games, the first time the schools didn’t meet since World War II.

Order is restored and things return to normal this Saturday as Notre Dame welcomes USC to South Bend as the rivalry gets renewed once again.

Ever wondered how these two programs came to be great rivals?  Here are 10 things to know about the history of Notre Dame and USC:

Brian Kelly talks record-setting celebration, Belichick relationship

What is your favorite style of pizza?

It was almost fitting that Notre Dame was in Chicago for the game Brian Kelly passed Knute Rockne for the most wins by a football coach in program history.  Rockne was after all from Chicago having grown up in the Logan Square neighborhood before taking off to attend and play football at Notre Dame.

So what better way was there for Kelly to celebrate breaking Rockne’s record than by participating in two of the things Chicago is most known for:  pizza and traffic.

Kelly was on the Dan Patrick Show on Wednesday and described the celebration that was a bit of a throwback for the former Grand Valley State head coach.

“We were in Chicago so we celebrated with some pizza and by sitting on a bus in traffic getting out of Chicago” Kelly stated, noting it was like being back in Division II football or like in minor league baseball.  He also shared that he understands why its a big deal but was more excited to see some of Notre Dame’s young players develop against a good Wisconsin team.

The interview also gets to how the showdown with Cincinnati this week was scheduled and into the relationship between Kelly and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick.

On relationship with legendary football coach Bill Belichick…

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Notre Dame vs. Wisconsin: Fourth-Quarter Analysis

That was a fun final 15 minutes.

It didn’t always look easy. In fact, it looked downright scary a lot of the time. However, you never can argue with what the scoreboard says when you’re ahead and the clock hits zero. That’s Notre Dame after its 41-13 win over Wisconsin in its Shamrock Series game at Soldier Field. As an added bonus, it allowed Brian Kelly to surpass Knute Rockne as the winningest coach in program history with 106 victories and get a pair of Gatorade baths for the accomplishment.

The fourth quarter began with the Badgers (1-2) threatening to reach the end zone, but the defense that could become more valuable for the Irish (4-0) as the season goes on was able to hold them to a 27-yard field goal from Collin Larsh. That 13-10 Badgers lead lasted all of one play as Chris Tyree returned the ensuing kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown. It was the first time the Irish had scored on a kick return since 2016. Suddenly, the Badgers fans who were dancing to “Jump Around” a few minutes earlier weren’t feeling so hot.

The Badgers faced a third down on their next drive. The play that followed resulted in Jayson Ademilola forcing a Graham Mertz fumble on a sack and Isaiah Foskey recovering it. With Jack Coan still on the bench, Drew Pyne completed a 22-yard pass to Michael Mayer to set up the Irish in the red zone. Two plays later, Pyne hit Kevin Austin for a 16-yard touchdown that only could be described as a backbreaker. It was Austin’s second touchdown of the game.

Desperately needing a score, the Badgers advanced to the Irish’s 34-yard line. When the drive stalled out there, Larsh attempted a 52-yard field goal that sailed left. Hope remained alive for the Badgers after the Irish went three-and-out, but Cam Hart quickly picked off Mertz for his second interception of the game. The offense didn’t get far, not that it really needed to at that point, but Jonathan Doerer kicked a 37-yard field goal anyway.

Even with the outcome decided, the Irish’s defense decided it wasn’t done scoring. Jack Kiser came out of nowhere and returned an interception 69 yards for a touchdown. That somehow still wasn’t enough for the unit to make its statement. Drew White returned his own interception to the end zone from 45 yards out.

The Irish stomped on the Badgers, then stomped on them again. That’s quite the good feeling, isn’t it? What dominance at the end.

Former Notre Dame stars congratulate Brian Kelly

In no more than four words describe Brian Kelly’s tenure at Notre Dame.

After a dominating fourth quarter in which Notre Dame ran off 31 straight points to beat Wisconsin 41-13 on Saturday, Brian Kelly became the winningest head coach in program history.  His 106 wins now top Knute Rockne for the most ever by a Notre Dame head coach and some former Fighting Irish players took to social media to congratulate him.

Here are some of those messages:

Brian Kelly ties Knute Rockne for most wins at Notre Dame

Congrats to Brian Kelly on one heck of an accomplishment!

With Saturday’s 27-13 victory over Purdue it’s now crowded atop the all-time victories as a head coach list at Notre Dame.

The win was Notre Dame’s 105th under the direction of Brian Kelly which ties him for the most in program history.  Obviously Rockne leads in national championships as Kelly still looks to join that exclusive club with the Irish.

When asked about it earlier in the week Kelly offered the following:

“I see it a little bit differently in a sense that I think it means longevity. I think it means stability. I think it means winning. But it doesn’t mean anything else relative to comparisons or who’s better. I think those things don’t really mean much to me. It just means I came here to do a job and that was to bring Notre Dame back to its its winning traditions and we’ve gotten there by being consistent and having stability. I think that’s what it means more than anything else to me.”

Related:

Notre Dame outlasts Purdue:  5 instant takeaways

 

Worst Notre Dame loss under Brian Kelly

What’s been the Irish’s worst showing under their current coach?

Brian Kelly is entering his 12th season as Notre Dame coach. He needs only four wins to pass Knute Rockne for the most in program history. Along the way, he has accumulated 39 losses. The worst came during the Irish’s annual meeting with USC in the 2014 regular-season finale.

The Irish entered the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on a three-game losing streak, including their final two contests at Notre Dame Stadium. It didn’t help that the defense was ravaged by injuries. The Trojans didn’t care about any of that as they dominated early and never looked back in a 49-14 win.

USC jumped out to a 35-0 lead late in the second quarter. Malik Zaire, whom Kelly substituted for the struggling Everett Golson, ran for an 11-yard touchdown soon after to keep the goose egg off the Irish’s side of the scoreboard before halftime. Late in the third, Greg Bryant, Notre Dame’s leading rusher for 79 yards on seven carries, had a 1-yard touchdown run. By then, however, the Trojans not only had finished their scoring, but became the first team ever to throw six touchdown passes against the Irish.

Golson turned in his worst performance of the season, completing seven of 18 passes for 75 yards and one interception. He and Zaire particularly had a tough time with Trojans linebacker J.R. Tavai, who recorded three-and-a-half sacks and forced a lost fumble. It’s a miracle that the Irish only turned the ball over twice.

2014 had a happy ending for Notre Dame as a month later, it defeated LSU in the Music City Bowl, 31-28. Still, it had to be hard to forget that poor showing in Los Angeles. Perhaps using that game as motivation, the Irish have won four of the five meetings since. Hey, whatever gets you ready to play.

Notre Dame head coaches who also played college football

What Notre Dame coaches have played at the collegiate level?

It’s amazing to think that for all of its rich history, Notre Dame has had only six former college football players as head coach. To make it even more amazing, you have to go all the way back to the beginning of the program’s history of coaches to find half of them. What’s more, it has been 36 years since the Irish had a former college player in their head coaching role. With Brian Kelly only four wins away from passing Knute Rockne on the program’s all-time list, it doesn’t appear the Irish will be adding to this short list anytime soon.

Whichever former college football player eventually ends up as Notre Dame head coach will be joining some rare company. We’re talking three apiece in the 19th and 20th centuries with none coming in the 21st yet. Until then, Irish fans will have to settle for these men holding what is a rare distinction in South Bend:

By dying, Knute Rockne helped usher in modern aviation

As we approach the 90th anniversary of Knute Rockne’s untimely death, it’s a good time to reflect on the Notre Dame icon’s legacy.

As we approach the 90th anniversary of Knute Rockne’s untimely death, it’s a good time to reflect on the Notre Dame icon’s legacy. Everyone knows what he meant to the football program and the university. However, despite being killed in a plane crash, his place in aviation is often overlooked. Jim Lefebvre, the Executive Director of the Knute Rockne Memorial Society, wrote a piece about it for the Chicago Sun-Times.

The short version is that Rockne was the first prominent American to die in this fashion, and the public immediately turned on the aviation industry out of anger. Eventually, airplanes stopped being produced with wooden wings and took on all-metal bodies, which provided enough comfort and safety for passengers that worldwide travel through the air soon became a regular thing. Also, the agency we now know as the FAA was more hands-on in regulating its industry and certifying aircraft.

While it was incredibly tragic to lose Rockne before his time, he ultimately played a role in making planes widely regarded as the safest form of travel. He should be remembered for that as much as the forward pass.