thedrifter
09-18-09, 08:45 AM
themorningcall.com
NOTRE DAME
Fighting Irish to honor heyday teams of 1940s
By Tom Coyne
OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
September 18, 2009
-- Johnny Lujack loved crisp fall Saturday afternoons at Notre Dame after serving in the Navy during World War II.
Fans from around the country would travel to South Bend to see the Fighting Irish win -- and they always won. Best of all, though, Lujack and his teammates got a day off from coach Frank Leahy's grueling practices.
''We always felt that a game was kind of an easy scrimmage because the scrimmages we had against each other were mean and rough,'' the 1947 Heisman Trophy winner said.
All that work paid off. Notre Dame went unbeaten for four consecutive seasons and cemented itself as one of the iconic American sports teams of the era.
The university will honor that undefeated team of 1949 and all Irish squads of the '40s during its game against Michigan State on Saturday, recognizing the heyday of Notre Dame's storied football program when Leahy mixed a group of war veterans and college students into an unbeatable team.
''He was a great coach. But he rode them pretty hard,'' said the Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, president of the university for 35 years before retiring in 1987.
The Irish won four national championships in seven years and finished another season undefeated and ranked No. 2. They produced three Heisman Trophy winners during the decade. In the 60 years since, the Irish have won four national championships and four Heismans.
Murray Sperber, a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who wrote ''Shake Down the Thunder,'' a history of Notre Dame football, said although Knute Rockne's winning percentage of .881 is better than Leahy's .855, the 1940s teams were probably superior.
''If you look at the schedules, Rockne loved to play patsies,'' Sperber said.
The schedules from 1918 to 1930 usually included two games a season with opponents such as Kalamazoo, Lombard and Beloit, while Leahy's schedules consisted of name teams and usually included three or four ranked teams.
Those who follow Notre Dame football say unique circumstances led to the Irish '40s dominance. Rockne laid the groundwork with his teams, leading Roman Catholics around the nation to cheer for Notre Dame and parochial school boys to dream of playing for the Irish.
Before Rockne's death in a 1931 plane crash, the Irish had won 19 straight and were declared national champs in 1929 and 1930 by numerous organizations. They didn't win any titles over the next 10 years.
In Leahy's first season, the Irish went 8-0-1 and finished No. 3. They won the national championship in 1943 and Angelo Bertelli won the Heisman despite playing in only six games before joining the Marines.
Leahy and many of his players joined the military after that season, but the remaining Irish coaches kept recruiting. Leahy did a little recruiting of his own in his work with the Navy, including keeping up with his players.
Ellie
NOTRE DAME
Fighting Irish to honor heyday teams of 1940s
By Tom Coyne
OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
September 18, 2009
-- Johnny Lujack loved crisp fall Saturday afternoons at Notre Dame after serving in the Navy during World War II.
Fans from around the country would travel to South Bend to see the Fighting Irish win -- and they always won. Best of all, though, Lujack and his teammates got a day off from coach Frank Leahy's grueling practices.
''We always felt that a game was kind of an easy scrimmage because the scrimmages we had against each other were mean and rough,'' the 1947 Heisman Trophy winner said.
All that work paid off. Notre Dame went unbeaten for four consecutive seasons and cemented itself as one of the iconic American sports teams of the era.
The university will honor that undefeated team of 1949 and all Irish squads of the '40s during its game against Michigan State on Saturday, recognizing the heyday of Notre Dame's storied football program when Leahy mixed a group of war veterans and college students into an unbeatable team.
''He was a great coach. But he rode them pretty hard,'' said the Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, president of the university for 35 years before retiring in 1987.
The Irish won four national championships in seven years and finished another season undefeated and ranked No. 2. They produced three Heisman Trophy winners during the decade. In the 60 years since, the Irish have won four national championships and four Heismans.
Murray Sperber, a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who wrote ''Shake Down the Thunder,'' a history of Notre Dame football, said although Knute Rockne's winning percentage of .881 is better than Leahy's .855, the 1940s teams were probably superior.
''If you look at the schedules, Rockne loved to play patsies,'' Sperber said.
The schedules from 1918 to 1930 usually included two games a season with opponents such as Kalamazoo, Lombard and Beloit, while Leahy's schedules consisted of name teams and usually included three or four ranked teams.
Those who follow Notre Dame football say unique circumstances led to the Irish '40s dominance. Rockne laid the groundwork with his teams, leading Roman Catholics around the nation to cheer for Notre Dame and parochial school boys to dream of playing for the Irish.
Before Rockne's death in a 1931 plane crash, the Irish had won 19 straight and were declared national champs in 1929 and 1930 by numerous organizations. They didn't win any titles over the next 10 years.
In Leahy's first season, the Irish went 8-0-1 and finished No. 3. They won the national championship in 1943 and Angelo Bertelli won the Heisman despite playing in only six games before joining the Marines.
Leahy and many of his players joined the military after that season, but the remaining Irish coaches kept recruiting. Leahy did a little recruiting of his own in his work with the Navy, including keeping up with his players.
Ellie