RIP to a the voice of Notre Dame football. Legend.
It’s a bittersweet morning for Notre Dame football fans. Legendary voice of Fighting Irish football Tony Roberts has died. Roberts, who called Notre Dame football on the radio from 1980-2005, was 94 years old.
Any sports fan has a play-by-play voice they associate with their team. For so many Notre Dame fans that voice belongs to Roberts because of the quarter-century he spent calling Fighting Irish football.
Harry Oliver to beat Michigan in 1980.
Allen Pinkett and Notre Dame knocking off Dan Marino and No. 1 in 1982.
Timmy Brown’s Heisman season of 1987.
Beating Miami and the national title run of 1988.
Knocking off No.1 Florida State in the 1993 Game of the Century.
Arnaz Battle against Michigan State in 2002.
Arnaz Battle a month later against Florida State.
Zbikowski’s punt return against USC.
Roberts was there for them all with each call being as memorable as the previous.
Thanks for being the soundtrack to so many great memories for all of us. Rest easy, Tony.
Who were your first couple of favorite Notre Dame football players? One of mine is celebrating a birthday today. Happy birthday @40RBND!
When you look at the long history of Notre Dame football you’ll be hard-pressed to find a player responsible for a pair of more memorable plays than [autotag]Reggie Brooks[/autotag]. Brooks followed his older brother Tony’s lead and enrolled at Notre Dame in 1989. Originally a defensive back, the younger Brooks transitioned to tailback back for his junior season in 1991. That move resulted in [autotag]Lou Holtz[/autotag] and the Irish getting one of the best years from a running back in program history.
Brooks didn’t make a major impact in 1991, rushing just 18 times all year. He made the most of those opportunities though as he ran for 122 yards (6.7 ypc) and a pair of touchdowns. The next year he soared and became forever entrenched in Notre Dame lore for two incredible plays (and for having a monster year).
The first came on a touchdown run against Michigan that Brooks broke at least five tackles during before being knocked out just before crossing the goal line.
That run came early in the year and helped set the tone for what would become a massive season. Brooks totaled 1,343 rushing yards that year while scoring 13 times on the ground and catching one pass for a 24-yard score. It was another reception he had that didn’t count as a reception in the box score, but is still remembered as clear as day by any Notre Dame or Penn State fan that watched it.
I tried my hardest but couldn’t find the outstanding Tony Roberts call of this sequence online.
A week later Brooks overcame a stomach bug to rush for 227 yards and three touchdowns at USC. His two memorable scoring plays earlier in the year paired with that performance in front of a national audience helped him to finish fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting. Not bad for someone who shared a backfield with some guy named Bettis, huh?
Brooks, [autotag]Rick Mirer[/autotag] and [autotag]Jerome Bettis[/autotag] were the first real stars at Notre Dame that I remember watching. I know I watched games before that but those three were the first few that I grew an attachment to as a young fan.
Brooks would go on to be drafted by the Washington Redskins and played three years for them before finishing his NFL career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Today he celebrates turning 52 so happy birthday to Reggie.
I might not have been able to find a clip of it but after writing this first thing this morning I promise you I’ll be yelling “REGGIE BROOKS! REGGIE BROOKS CAUGHT IT FOR A TWO-POINTER!” in my head all afternoon.
Happy birthday, 40!
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Some great memories in here as Notre Dame has released their ten most clutch runs of all time in program history. Football factory fun!
Notre Dame has been playing football for a very long time and have won a lot of games in that time. Several have come down to the wire and ultimately been decided by a late touchdown run that put the Irish over the top.
Recently, Notre Dame’s advanced media put together their ten best clutch touchdown runs in the history of the program. Before we discuss the list let’s watch it together during a trip down memory lane, first.
