Fighting Irish: Legends, Lists, and Lore

The University of Notre Dame played its first football game on Wednesday, November 23, 1887, in South Bend against the University of Michigan. There were no pep rallies, no television cameras, no hordes of sportswriters, no marching bands, and no fans decked out in blue, gold and green paraphernalia. The only tailgate party consisted of the Notre Dame players treating their counterparts from Ann Arbor to lunch after the game an 8-0 Michigan victory.

My how times change!

Since that game, nearly 120 years ago, Notre Dame football has become one of the most successful and visible programs in college history. The University has produced 11 national champions, seven Heisman Trophy winners, 41 members of the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame, and 178 All-Americans.

But there s so much more to Notre Dame athletics than football. The University s athletic program boasts 25 all-time NCAA team titles, and its athletes have claimed All-America honors nearly 900 times. Today, Notre Dame, which fields teams in 25 sports, annually places among the top 25 colleges and universities in the Directors Cup all-sports standings, an award which recognizes across-the-board excellence in athletics.

Fighting Irish Legends, Lists and Lore captures the history, tradition and spirit of one of the nation s most storied and revered athletic programs. The easy-to-read, year-by-year account chronicles the exploits and accomplishments of Notre Dame s most famous athletes and coaches in every sport. This book recaps the moments and legends that have become an unforgettable part of Fighting Irish lore.